Declining enrollment, rising costs and possible school closures — Press Democrat editorial

Santa Rosa schools are mired in a financial quagmire with declining enrollment, expenses rising faster than revenues and no easy way out.

District officials warn that four, possibly five, schools may need to close to balance the books.

Each school is the center of a small community with its own history and traditions passed down from one generation of students and educators to the next. Closing schools should be a last resort.

But the dismal financial picture could leave Sonoma County’s largest school district without an alternative.

“Our district is at a critical juncture,” Superintendent Daisy Morales said at a special school board meeting last month. “We face an urgent fiscal need to make significant cuts to maintain solvency.”

Santa Rosa City Schools projects a deficit of $20 million or more in its $240 million annual budget in each of the next two fiscal years.

The budget crisis has been brewing for more than a decade, and the day of reckoning might have come sooner if not for federal Covid relief money and the state’s forbearance in the wake of the 2017 wildfires.

It comes down to basic arithmetic.

Enrollment has fallen from 15,430 in 2012-13 to 12,860 this year; A decrease of 16%. The downward trend is likely to continue; This is a harbinger of an increasingly tight budget squeeze.

Meanwhile, the district’s full-time staff has increased by nearly 3% since 2012-13, its annual budget has increased by $70 million since 2016-2017, and the district, which gave raises to teachers and administrators this year, is facing understandable pressure from others. fair treatment of employees.

The state’s K-12 funding formula, which is based on average daily attendance, magnifies the impact of declining enrollment in districts with high absenteeism and truancy rates, such as Santa Rosa.

Three new school board members will take office Dec. 11, and they must balance the books with the four remaining members.

In addition to school closures, cost-cutting options presented at the special board meeting on Nov. 20 include staff reductions and downsizing contracts for classroom aides in special education programs.

Of these options, closeouts promise the biggest savings.

There are 14 elementary schools, four of which are charters, with an average annual operating cost of $3.3 million. The most expensive is Hidden Valley, which costs $4.2 million annually.

There are four secondary schools that cost an average of $5.1 million a year. The most expensive is Rincon Valley Middle School at $6 million.

The average cost for the six high schools is just under $12 million per year. Santa Rosa High School is the most expensive at $13.9 million.

A school consolidation committee is scheduled to report in February.

Similar drills are being held in districts across the state, including Sonoma Valley Unified School District and Petaluma City Schools. The catalysts are largely the same: fewer students, rising costs, the end of COVID aid.

Responsible stewardship for any financially challenged school district requires exploring all options, including universally unpopular options such as closing schools. But school boards and administrators should not limit themselves to immediate needs. Considering that the state’s population has barely increased or even decreased in recent years, districts also need to make long-term plans.

Any serious process would include consideration of consolidating some of Sonoma County’s 40 school districts; many of them failed to field enough candidates for this year’s contested school board elections.

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