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Charter renewal hearing draws packed public comment as families warn of competition and program loss
Summary
At a public hearing on May 13 the board received CCLA's charter petition updates and dozens of students, parents and educators urged the board to preserve SRLA/CCLA TK-8 configurations, protect band and electives, and craft a district-driven coexistence plan with LC Allen's 7-12 expansion.
The Santa Rosa City School Board received a packed public hearing May 13 on the Cesar Chavez Language Academy (CCLA) charter petition and related proposals affecting the Santa Rosa Language Academy (SRLA). Presenters from dependent charters described program strategies; community members urged the board not to fragment TK-8 campus models or to weaken band and elective access.
Interim principal Gabriela Mendoza Torres presented the CCLA petition in final form and described program changes for seventh and eighth graders: a seven-period day in which every student would be required to take a Spanish course (either "intro to Spanish" or a grade-level Spanish class) as part of the school's mission to be biliterate and bicultural. Mendoza Torres also described a phased, hybrid proposal to add a 9-12 blended/virtual-high-school option, starting small and seeking WASC accreditation as the program grows.
Students and parents testified at length about the impact that a relocation, split, or reassignment would have on instruction and extracurriculars. "We are not broken. So please do not break us," Veronica Jordan, a longtime CCLA parent, told the board, summarizing pleas from multiple families who said the school's marching band, advanced band and 0-period electives are critical to students' engagement and identity. Parents and school staff warned that separating the middle school or moving it to another campus would disrupt music continuity, limit access for students with IEPs and English learners, and undermine neighborhood access to dual-language instruction.
Several trustees acknowledged the community's concerns and requested additional data. Trustee Medina urged the district to form a joint committee to continue the collaborative work between LC Allen and CCLA/SRLA to create a "coexistence model" with enrollment caps and breakeven analyses that protect both neighborhood pathways and choice programs. District staff committed to providing requested financial breakdowns and clarification on shared-cost arrangements (for example, when charter students attend classes hosted at other sites).
No action was taken on the charter petitions at the hearing; the board will consider authorization or non-authorization on June 10, 2026. In the meantime, trustees asked staff to deliver enrollment and budget analyses, data on the number of English learners who applied to the accelerated charter, and shared-cost clarifications for programs that cross sites.
What happens next: The board will reconvene the authorizing role on June 10 to take action on the charter petitions. Staff were asked to provide a fiscal breakeven analysis, site-level enrollment projections, and details about how any proposed 7-12 pathways would co-exist with neighborhood middle/high-school plans.
