Trustees split over pausing high‑school closures; elementary boundary changes advance

SANTA ROSA, Calif. — The Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Trustees debated two competing plans to reduce a projected budget shortfall during a tense meeting on Feb. 19, 2025, ultimately rejecting a boardmotion to pause high‑school closures and approving a set of elementary boundary adjustments that officials said are needed under either plan.

The dispute centered on two scenarios presented by district staff and discussed with fiscal oversight from the Sonoma County Office of Education: a “3‑3 pause” scenario that would delay any high‑school closure for a year or two while the district pursues negotiated staffing changes and attempts to stabilize enrollment, and a “3‑3‑1” scenario that would close a single comprehensive high school in year one — staff identified Elsie Allen High School (often referred to in the meeting as “LC Allen”) as the site that would be shuttered under that option.

Board members and staff said the choices are driven by an immediate and longer‑term fiscal reality: the district is projecting multi‑million dollar shortfalls and must reach roughly $20–24 million in savings to avoid deeper state intervention. Lisa (fiscal team) told trustees the two secondary scenarios yield different year‑one savings totals — roughly $10.6 million under the larger‑savings plan versus about $8.6 million under the pause model — and that converting schedules and transportation patterns also affect the results. District staff said changes in busing and a potential negotiated…