Santa Rosa trustees review 2026 facilities master plan amid funding shortfall and community concerns

Santa Rosa City Schools trustees met March 5 for a special study session on the district’s 2026 Facilities Master Plan, receiving a site-by-site update from consultants and hearing public comment that challenged proposed school closures and use of bond funds.

The meeting, convened as a study session rather than a decision meeting, centered on plans to replace portable classrooms with permanent TK/K buildings, modernize aging classrooms and site facilities, and reposition some campuses to support newly configured 7–12 programs. Consultants told the board the master plan is an "aspirational document" intended to identify projects, estimate rough orders of magnitude and prioritize work over 10–20 years, with an implementation plan to sequence near-term projects. "Facilities master plan is, by design, an aspirational document," the lead consultant said.

Why it matters: the plan guides what the district may put in future bond measures and what it will seek for state matching funds. Consultants and staff also told the board the package as presented currently exceeds available bond dollars; staff showed an exercise indicating roughly a $52 million gap between proposed work and bond-level funding, not counting opportunities for state match, developer fees or property disposition that might reduce the deficit.

Public comment and equity concerns Rob Chandler, a…