As soon as Thursday, the The Sonoma Valley Unified School District board could vote on a consolidation plan which could lead to the closure of one or more schools. This is a difficult discussion to have and a decision to make, but it may be necessary given the declining enrollment and fiscal reality. As families, alumni and teachers face the possible closing of a beloved school, they should try to remember that school board members don’t like it any more than they do.

Last month, the district The School Consolidation Committee submitted a report highlighting challenges. Enrollment in district schools has fallen by more than a quarter since 2015, including an alarming 42% at Altimira Middle School. This is part of a longer trend of declining student enrollment in the district that stretches back at least two decades.

The result is underutilized facilities. The district’s total enrollment is 3,018 students, but the district’s schools have a capacity of nearly twice that number. That’s a lot of wasted space that the district is losing money maintaining.

Things won’t get better either. The district estimates it will lose another 600 students by 2031.

Responsible fiscal management requires exploring all options and considering how many schools the district needs at each grade level. We do not envy school board members put in this position, as families, alumni, and faculty at affected schools almost always raise their issue under these circumstances.

School board members felt the heat to come a few years ago. After the 2022-23 school year, they closed Dunbar Elementary School in Glen Ellen. Most of the students moved to El Verano Elementary School. Parents and teachers were unhappy, in part because board members made the decision late in the school year, leaving little time to prepare students for the change.

This time, the board is taking up the question earlier, allowing more time for their decision to sink in and preparation to take place. To their credit, board members actively sought public input. The Consolidation Committee began meeting in January, so this shouldn’t surprise anyone. The school board also encouraged the public to submit comments and come to their meeting next Thursday to weigh in.

What everyone should hope to avoid is the deeply divisive and disruptive backlash that occurred when the West County Union High School District decided to close El Molino High School in Forestville in 2021. Critics filed recall papers against three school board members who supported the closure. This effort failed, but it damaged relations between the council and the public. One of the three resigned from the board, and another, a longtime member, chose not to seek re-election.

The reverberations continue today. On October 30, the California Judicial Performance Commission issued a decision sentencing a local High Court judge for political misconduct over his public opposition to the renaming of the district’s surviving high school after the merger.

Closing a school is never easy, but sometimes it is necessary. It behooves all concerned to recognize this fact so Sonoma Valley Schools can move forward without lingering bitterness and bitterness if the board must make this agonizing choice.

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