But I have to stand by the fact that I feel we have to do whats in the best interest of the kids, not alumni., Noe also stands by her votes on consolidation and pursuing a rebranding, though that timeline was delayed. The West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees recently voted to study consolidation of the district with some or all of its 10 feeder districts. Have a question that starts with, Whats the deal with? Lets figure it out together. How to vote | A parent of five Analy High graduates, she taught in the English department there for 17 years and served as department chair for eight years. [4][5], The recall effort began after the three board members voted on March 10, 2021, to approve a plan to consolidate Analy and El Molino high schools. Over the years we have done a lot to maintain the two-school model, Noe said, including funding a marketing position to try to attract more students first to El Molino, which was experiencing the bigger enrollment decline, and then the district as a whole. West Sonoma County Union High School District measure to levy $48.00 per parcel annually for three years be adopted, raising $1,150,000 . Heading into the 2020-2021 school year, the West Sonoma County Union High School District was facing a structural deficit of $1.2 million, which would surpass $2 million if unchecked by the 2022-2023 school year. Please see below the most current map options for WSCUHSD - Trustee Area Scenarios. We really consider ourselves the hub of the community and that local control, that input, theres fear of that being lost.. Debbie Ramirez for School Board 2022 FPPC#: 1452253, Powered by CampaignPartner.com - Political. Board members approved consolidation in March. Noon-1PM, Sonoma Valley Grad Debuts First Full-Length Film on Streaming Services, California Pauses Home Loan Program Over Demand, California's Largest Electric Companies Looking to Change Billing, Preschool Fair this Wednesday for Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County Will Not Report Daily Covid Counts Anymore. Aiello wants to explore what cuts could be made temporarily instead of permanently and to inform the community of those possibilities. Throughout all of the hardships, shes been a really strong leader.. Aiello said she understands why teachers advocate for the things they advocate for, alongside her perspective as a parent of an Analy High School graduate. Board members said they chose to close a school to offer more programs on the consolidated campus. Let us be West County, she said. The result is a deepening of the hurt and frustration already felt by many rural families., The group that tried without success to recall three school board members earlier this year said in a statement it is looking into the necessary steps to circulate a recall petition to remove Patrick Nagle from his appointed position.. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: Analy and El Molino high schools merged earlier this year. Sonoma County lost slightly more than 5% of its enrollment between 2016-17 and last school year, according to School Services of California. Sonoma is a popular tourist destination, owing to its . School officials proposed consolidation last fall as a potential solution to a $1.2 million annual structural budget deficit. [3] Her candidate statement reads that she supervised staff, worked with managers to carry out budgets and planned future staffing needs. Overall, our goals are to get the board to revote and not close El Molino High School [or] if they are going to choose to consolidate to do it in a thoughtful, longer term process," Hayes said. The West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) will have two seats open in November. Learning is a transformative experience. West Sonoma County High School District I think I have the ability to listen and work with all kinds of different people.. She said she wanted community involvement in budget decisions to make cuts that would impact students the least, but COVID-19 and the fires challenge communication. We have an incredibly supportive parent association that funds a set of enrichment activities and specialists that add to our school day, he said. Opponents contended the spot should have been filled by someone who represents rural western Sonoma County. I am familiar with the tools to ensure that these things happen, such as fostering robust school site councils, seeking stakeholder engagement around the annual planning document, the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), and ensuring that the English Learner Advisory Committee meets regularly and provides meaningful insight to administration. The school board trustees made the move official with a unanimous vote at their regular board meeting Wednesday night. So, I have training in how to read a budget, and I understand it. West Sonoma County Union High School District. Schallebaum Gleeson is a retired nurse who worked in classrooms with disabled and medically fragile students in special education. The interim Superintendent of the West Sonoma County Union High School District has resigned. His term will run through December 2022. Counties | Ferdinandson started at the district in 2000 as an English teacher and in 2021 became principal of the school, which had just been renamed West County High School in an attempt to rebrand it after its merger with El Molino High School. You can reach Staff Writer Kaylee Tornay at 707-521-5250 or kaylee.tornay@pressdemocrat.com. Ballotpedia features 407,502 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. And the results may look different for different districts, Herrington said. Particularly now, what are they going to do in the future? I personally love the tradition of names and longevity and I honor that. I looked at it saying we might be able to get through the 2021-22 school year without consolidating, but it might do more damage to go that route than if we just went ahead and consolidated, Nagle said. I had hopes the board was going to honor its commitment to a new school, a fresh start for a newly consolidated school. She also chastised her fellow trustees for falling back after so much progress had been made after the consolidation. Fernandes, who served on the school board from 1997 to 2010 and then was elected again after running unopposed in 2016, pointed also to what she described as insufficient funding from the federal and state government. The sunlight was just beginning to recede from the treetops in Forestville on a warm summer evening when Josh Nultemeier headed to quiet Pajaro Lane with a pen and three petition forms. Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees has placed on the ballot the question of whether the District should levy an education . We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. Im not here to weigh in on what I think is better or best. [1] [2] Fadave resigned in July 2021, citing personal reasons. Dana Pederson, superintendent of the Guerneville School District, said comparing employee contracts, benefits packages and seniority scales alone could prove complicated. He said he hopes those conversation will lead to an agreement to work together rather than run to file for recall. On Twitter @ka_tornay. Only 36,035 people, about 12% of the countys more than 300,000 registered voters, are eligible to weigh in on the recall question against the West Sonoma County Union High School District school board members, said Deva Proto, Sonoma County registrar of voters. It is important for the new school board to work diligently with school administration and community stakeholders to identify ways to balance the budget while also aligning with community values and priorities. Ill answer the questions. Here is a list of the districts involved in the study, their enrollment and percentage of students who qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. When students and school staff feel safe and respected, engagement grows and learning is improved. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. Unified districts provide K-12 education. When Kellie Noe was a fresh-faced 28-year-old who had just been elected to the West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees in 2006, she had no children of her own and she and her husband Dennis Rosatti lived in Camp Meeker, part of the El Molino attendance area. For now, Nagle and some of his critics plan to meet and talk about things. The Sonoma County Elections Office approved the recall petitions for circulation. I believe that a solid public education for all of our youth is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy, thriving society. Board Vice President Jeanne Fernandes, who nominated Nagle after the interviews concluded, pointed to his experience working with budgets as an important asset. Gravenstein Union School District Superintendent Dave Rose said he wasnt surprised by the high school districts move. Sonoma County has the third-highest rate of declining enrollment in the state behind only Alpine and Los Angeles counties. The West Sonoma County Union High School Board of Trustees appointed Sebastopol resident Patrick Nagle as a new trustee at a special meeting Wednesday night. He and his wife, Ame, a 93 El Molino graduate, are two of many west county residents angry at the school boards decision last year to move El Molino students to rival Analy, consolidating the two campus communities into one to address a growing budget deficit. Board Appointment - January 23, 2019 mjwebb240@sbcglobal.net . The Sebastopol school has 1,466 students enrolled this year, according to the California Department of Education. She is hopeful that neighborhood blitz events like the one that brought Josh Nultemeier to Pajaro Lane and the several dozen locations where recall petitions are still available to sign will pan out in their favor. The West Sonoma County Union High School Board of Trustees appointed Sebastopol resident Patrick Nagle as a new trustee at a special meeting Wednesday night. Menu . West Sonoma County Union High School Districts Superintendent Chris Meredith wished them the best, but deflected questions on any issues the administrators might have had prior to their resignations. There havent been any answers, Beal said. The county office has $65,000 budgeted for such studies, he said. An effort to recall three of the five members of the West Sonoma County Union High School District board of trustees did not go to a vote in 2021. 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 hadnt followed the law in implementing consolidation. Back on Pajaro Lane, 20-year-old Ivan Garcia was signing the forms Josh Nultemeier had brought. He said he understands Analy alumnis attachment to their schools name, but students were supposed to have a new start after the merger. But I also feel schools can reflect the broader community if the opportunity comes up, Griffith said. I understand their sense of loss and the uncertainty about how this will affect their children. District Board President Patrick Nagle confirms Eric Hoppes stepped down Friday, six weeks after . But I think that on a school board, its important to have a teachers point of view, she said. 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. Yet, OConnor said he thinks the board needs to face the reality that budget cuts that reduce services might have to happen and that the board must consult the community or face conflict. No off-topic remarks. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. Im confused as to how we went from going from a temporary bridge name to it being permanent, she said. I want to encourage the development of curiosity, empathy, resilience, balance, creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills. The three leaders have accepted positions at neighboring school districts, confirmed Julie Aiello, board president of West Sonoma County Union High School District. The departures of Analy Principal Shauna Ferdinandson and vice principals Erin Elliott and Rachel Lasek come after they led the school through the controversial consolidation with El Molino High, a failed attempt at rebranding, a teachers strike, multiple fires and the pandemic. "I just felt that that was really a huge plus for our district, (that) being one of our greatest issues our budget, she said. Many of them are over issues related to the pandemic, such as school closures and reopenings. On Twitter @ka_tornay. Responses from 1,148 of them showed 52% supported naming the school Analy and 32.1% wanted to call it West County. An opportunity for geographic representation was missed tonight, Hopkins said in a Facebook post. Emails were sent to parents and In Person and Virtual En Persona y Virtual Tuesday April 25th 2023 6:00-8:00 pm We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. You have to have an atmosphere where people feel the freedom to express themselves and ideas without judgement, and that we look at everything intellectually and that we put everything out on the table, and we discuss it, he said. Its counterproductive.. Board members Julie Aiello and Angie Lewis voted against it, and the motion passed in a 3-2 vote. Several Far West County residents, including Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, expressed unease and anger over Nagle's appointment, citing that all other board members are also from the area. West Sonoma County UHSD 462 Johnson Street Sebastopol, CA 95472 Phone: 707-824-6403 Fax: 707-634-7363. WEST SONOMA COUNTY UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Board Meeting A Public Hearing will be held for the Proposed LCAP and Budget Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at 5:. Updated: November 29, 2021 By Camille Escovedo, Staff Writer, Sonoma West Times & News, October 12, 2020. West Sonoma County Union High School: 1,782 students; 33% receive free and reduced-price lunch, Source: California Department of Education, 2019-20 data. West Sonoma County Consortium News Sonoma Community Advistory Commitee In Person and Virtual En Persona y Virtual Tuesday April 25th 2023 6:00-8:00 pm 5860 Labath Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928 Zoom Link: https://sonomacoe.zoom.us/j/87354155941 . The West Sonoma County Union High School District has been operating with a structural deficit for a decade. Though formerly Analy and El Molino students will enter school on Aug. 12 incorporated under the temporary shared name of West County High School, these residents are hopeful the consolidation may itself only be transitory, too. On Friday, an email to parents by Cloverdale Unified School Districts new superintendent, Steve Jorgensen, announced Ferdinandson will be the next principal at Washington Middle School. . But representation for the more remote regions of the district, by a current resident, continues to be a sticking point. 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. But that has now been lost.. Forgot Password? Regardless of whether the recall is successful in west Sonoma County, the school district board is due for a shake-up with the November election. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. Candidates for the board of the West Sonoma County Union High School District include (clockwise from top left) Julie Aiello, Kyle OConnor, Lynn Schallebaum Gleeson and Laurie Ann Fadave. OConnor said he wanted committees of board members, parents, teachers and administrators to research independently but still have as much transparency to the public as possible. However, she said the board would need to think creatively and explore the feasibility study on consolidating districts. If the number of valid signatures meets or exceeds the minimum requirement, certification of the petition would be brought to the school board at its next regular meeting, Proto said. "Theyre not listening to the community, said Loretta Castleberry, an Analy alumna. This article was produced by Sonoma West Times & News, the hometown newspaper of Sebastopol and west county since 1889. This is not where we want to be.. OConnor is a local manufacturing business owner, Air Force veteran and former member of the Russian River Fire Protection District Board of Directors. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Student Achievement Is Our Top Priority . Were definitely on the road to meeting our goal, she said. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%. For some it may be beneficial, for some it may not.. Districts are now given money, as well as an increased level of spending freedom, based on a series of parameters including the percentage of low-income and socioeconomically disadvantaged students they serve. The school districts tentative steps toward rebranding the combined campus in Sebastopol sparked the ire of the Analy High School alumni community in late spring. The West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees has placed on the ballot the question of whether the District should levy an education parcel tax for the specific purposes stated in the full text of Measure A. Fadave, who was elected to the school board only last November but taught at Analy for 17 years, said she understands where people are coming from in their desire to regain some sense of control by recalling her and the others. 5860 Labath Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928 Zoom Link: https://sonomacoe.zoom.us/j/87354155941 Jennifer Nix, General Counsel for School and College Legal Services returns to our next CAC Meeting for more Q&A. But what may not be apparent in the study, those same officials said, are loyalties and connections forged over generations in some of the smaller districts. The reality is we have to be able to look at everything, we have to be able to talk about everything, and not every conversation is a strategy to take something from someone, he said. This would be the first local consolidation study undertaken since the state in 2013 adopted its Local Control Funding Formula model of doling out funds to schools. Though the name West County High School is considered a placeholder name until the students decide on a permanent one during the upcoming school year, alterations to the Analy campus pushed many Sebastopol families to join the recall effort. Steve Griffith, a Forestville resident and parent to two El Molino alumni, was the only applicant from a river community to apply for the open seat. | This column is about the story behind the story, a place to shine a light on who we are, what makes us a community and all of the things that make us special. At this point, I am going to refrain from commenting except that I am serving as Analy's principal until June 30, 2023, Ferdinandson said in an email. Board President Kellie Noe conceded she was disappointed with the process and said it only left the community more divided. When theres instability at the top, it shakes things all the way down, McElroy said, noting that the revolving door of teachers and administrators in the past few years has caused confusion and stress among staff and students. Or will it help the district? But my hope is that this will subside and that we will have our kids back to school and that we will be able to have forums with teachers, parents, students, to be able to help make some decisions, she said, looking forward to connecting with students in person once schools could reopen. | Around 40 members of the public commented during the meeting. The West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) is pleased to announce Shauna Ferdinandson as the new 2021-2022 Principal of the West Sonoma County High School READ MORE > Community Letter from Board The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member. 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