New Trustee Appointed
On Wednesday night, the day after the ribbon cutting, the West Sonoma County Union High School District selected Julie Aiello, a former teacher and board member, to replace Rio Kuteira who resigned from the board in August. Aiello will represent Area 4, which centers on Graton and Forestville, and she will serve through 2028. She was on the board from 2020 to 2024, and board president for two years. Aiello, an elementary school teacher for 34 years, was sworn in at the meeting, and she will be on the board for its next meeting on October 21.
Dr. Joseph Eichenseher, a family physician at Providence and the father of three, one of whom is a 10th grader at Analy, also applied for the board seat.
Forum for school board candidates on October 20
On Tuesday, October 20th, Sebastopol Times will host a forum for the public to hear from the candidates for the school board in the November election. The forum will take place at 5 pm in the library on the El Molino campus.
The only contested election is Area 5 where Lewis Buchner, the incumbent, is running against Dani Sheehan-Meyer. Harold Kwalwasser is running uncontested to fill the Area 1 seat, as current trustee Shawn Chernila is not running again. Denny Rosatti is also running uncontested to fill the Area 3 seat held by Board President Jeanne Fernandes, who is not running again.
Candidates Buchner, Sheehan-Meyer, and Rosatti are confirmed for the October 20th forum.
Ribbon cutting for Analy’s new CTE buildings
There were a lot of people to thank at Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for Analy’s new CTE (Career Technical Education) building, chief among them were the taxpayers, who provided the funding when voters approved Measure A in 2018. Superintendent Chris Meredith also thanked the facilities team, Jennie Bruneman and Denise Fisher, the faculty and staff who provided input on the design of the building, and the architects and construction partner and subcontractors. He thanked all of them for spending “the last 18 months on site turning plans on paper into the facilities that we see here tonight.” He added: “None of what you see here would have been possible without the extraordinary support of our community.”
Board President Jeanne Fernandes said: “As I look at this beautiful facility, and every one gathered here with us tonight, the first thing that comes to mind is our community, and the investment they continue to make on behalf of our students.” She added: “When a community entrusts a school district with bond dollars, it comes with an enormous responsibility.” Fernandes, whose many years serving as a trustee comes to an end this year, took pride in the opening of this new building because she was on the board when Measure A was approved. “Ultimately, the success of this investment will not be measured by the building standing behind us. It will be measured by what happens inside of it.”
Analy Principal Chuck Wade said: “When I think about the amazing spaces we’re officially opening tonight, I keep coming back to the idea that every single one of our students needs a place where they can see themselves at school, where they can find their place here. That place can be a classroom. It can be a field or a stage. For some of our young people, it’s a club, a shop, a lab, a team, or a group of friends. Or a truck…”
A student in a truck had just pealed out of the parking lot nearby, a not infrequent occurrence at Analy. Wade ran with it.
The new CTE building — there are three buildings in a row that total 15,000 sq. ft. — contains a fabrication studio with advanced welding equipment, a culinary arts center with auxiliary prep spaces, agricultural science classrooms, a sports medicine classroom, plus a collaboration room, and two flex classrooms.
The facilities feature multiple state-of-the-art technologies not found in a typical classroom. Each room is connected to a microphone audio system that allows the teacher to amplify their instructions across the entire classroom—an essential tool if students are cooking in the kitchen or machines are running in the fabrication shop. The culinary center also features an overhead camera system that lets the instructor demonstrate a skill at various workstations and project it to TVs mounted on the walls. This allows students to learn from live demonstrations without needing to crowd around one workstation.
In his talk, Chuck Wade emphasized that the new spaces are part of a big effort at Analy so that every single student will leave school prepared for their next step in life. “When I look at this amazing building, I see a place where a student who may not yet have found something that they love here can discover that they love designing something, building something, cooking something, growing something, solving a real problem, working with a team, or turning an idea into something tangible. I see students finding interests they didn’t know they had. I see them developing skills that they can take with them. And I see them beginning to imagine themselves in a future that might have been difficult for them to picture before."
Heidi Mickelson, who directs the CTE programs at Analy, commented: “I’ve seen the plans, sat through the meetings, and watched the buildings take shape. But the moment that means the most to me was seeing our students walk through the doors on the first day of school.” As a former Analy ag teacher, she said: "I know how much real-life, hands-on experiences can impact a student’s learning.”
Jennie Bruneman, the facilities director and overseer of the project, thanked the architecture firm Quattrocchi Kwok and the general contractor, GCCI, adding that “they were incredible partners.” Construction Coordinator Denise Fisher added: “When you spend this much time working on a project of this size, you quickly realize these buildings aren’t really built by companies. They’re built by people. They’re built by electricians, plumbers, welders, carpenters, equipment operators, concrete crews, painters, roofers, laborers, inspectors, project managers, and countless others who show up every day and bring their individual craft to a much larger effort. Many of the people who worked on this project live and work right here in Sonoma County. Some are even graduates of Analy and El Molino, who came back to help build something for the students following behind them.”
Bruneman pointed to a new bench behind the podium. “(Woodworking teacher) Clay Pafford said: ‘Wouldn’t it be really cool if we had a bench with all the stickers from all the contractors and subcontractors who worked on this project?’ We loved that idea,” said Bruneman. “Clay and his students incorporated them into the bench and covered them with a clear epoxy, which you can still smell. It is permanently preserving this little piece of the project’s history.”
