West County High School will be Analy after rebranding fails

West County High School will return to being called Analy High School as early as next year after officials ended a rebranding effort that arose from a controversial consolidation with El Molino High School in Forestville.

West Sonoma County Union High School District’s board of trustees voted 4-1 Wednesday night to no longer consider rebranding West County High School, which was supposed to be a temporary name after Analy and El Molino merged as the district seeks to address a growing budget deficit.

Board member Angie Lewis dissented following a discussion that lasted nearly two hours and reflected the tumultuous year of protests, lawsuits and recall efforts in response to the consolidation.

Around 40 members of the public commented during the meeting. They included Analy alumni who were determined to preserve their school’s legacy, current staff and students who wanted to continue efforts to build a strong institution after the merger, and El Molino supporters who wanted to ensure their school’s legacy wasn’t forgotten.

“Don’t destroy all the Analy history that we’ve all created,” said one caller who described himself as a member of its class of 1980.

Another caller, who identified herself as a current sophomore, said reverting back to Analy would take away one last piece of identity among the former El Molino students.

“Please, let us be us. Let us be West County,” she said.

In her closing comments, Lewis noted she attended Analy but criticized Analy alumni’s insistence that their alma mater’s name be retained, stressing that a name doesn’t affect the quality of a school.

She also chastised her fellow trustees for falling back after so much progress had been made after the consolidation.

“I’m pretty frustrated and embarrassed,” Lewis said.

Board Vice President Jeanne Fernandes noted there was never any commitment to using “West County High School” as a permanent name and it was designated a temporary name from the beginning.

“I’m confused as to how we went from going from a temporary bridge name to it being permanent,” she said.

Trustees were on the receiving end of criticism about their approach to rebranding, with several critics arguing it should’ve been pursued after — and not before — surveys were conducted to gauge the public and students’ positions.

One of them focused on the school’s approximately 1,400 students. Responses from 1,148 of them showed 52% supported naming the school Analy and 32.1% wanted to call it West County. The remaining students abstained or chose “other.”

Results were included in a staff report for Wednesday’s meeting, and it did not break down the feedback based on whether a student was associated with Analy or El Molino.

Board President Kellie Noe conceded she was disappointed with the process and said it only left the community more divided.

“The West County name has not brought together our community,” she said.

School officials proposed consolidation last fall as a potential solution to a $1.2 million annual structural budget deficit.

School officials previously blamed the projected budget gap on declining enrollment and state funding that hasn’t met rising staff and facilities costs. Districtwide, the student population fell nearly 12% over the past five years and about 32% since 1981.

Analy, which is about 113 years old, was the larger of the two campuses and expected to have a student body of about 1,000 going into this school year. El Molino’s number would have been around half as much.

Community members opposed the move over concerns about equity and impacts to students from rural communities along the Russian River. Board members said they chose to close a school to offer more programs on the consolidated campus.

Board members approved consolidation in March.

Opponents filed a lawsuit in April to stop consolidation, but a Sonoma County Superior Court judge ruled they did not meet a 35-day window to file legal challenges or successfully argue why the school district hadn’t followed the law in implementing consolidation.

A recall effort targeting Board President Kellie Noe and Vice President Jeanne Fernandes, who both supported the merger, failed in August after organizers did not collect enough signatures for a ballot initiative.

They needed at least 7,187 valid signatures from registered voters in the school district but had only collected 3,084 signatures for a recall, Sonoma County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Deva Proto said in August.

Opponents also targeted board member Laurie Fadave, who voted for the consolidation, but she resigned in July for reasons unrelated to the consolidation, she said.

Further controversy arose in September when the board appointed Sebastopol resident Patrick Nagle to fill the vacancy. Opponents contended the spot should have been filled by someone who represents rural western Sonoma County.

Forestville resident Steve Griffith, 71, has two children who graduated from El Molino and said he agreed that the rebranding process was “flawed and rushed and mishandled.”

He said he understands Analy alumni’s attachment to their school’s name, but students were supposed to have a new start after the merger.

“I personally love the tradition of names and longevity and I honor that. But I also feel schools can reflect the broader community if the opportunity comes up,” Griffith said. “I had hopes the board was going to honor its commitment to a new school, a fresh start for a newly consolidated school. But that has now been lost.“

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.