Will the Lions roar again?
An ongoing study will determine the feasibility of a new district that would combine as many as seven elementary schools with a reimagined El Molino campus.
In spite of the decision made by the West Sonoma County Union High School District (WSCUHSD) board in March of 2021 to consolidate El Molino High School into Analy High School, some West County residents remain steadfast in their hopes of reopening the El Molino campus.
A new proposal now being reviewed by the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) would do just that. It combines Monte Rio, Oak Grove, Fort Ross, Montgomery, Guerneville, Forestville and possibly Harmony Union districts into one unified K-12 district. They’d all feed into El Molino High School, which would be a part of the new district.
The effort to reopen El Molino is being spearheaded by longtime school board member and El Molino alumnus Kim Lambert.
“I put a lot of years into our school districts and to watch our far West County kids have to be on the bus from Fort Ross all the way to Analy for hours is frustrating,” said Lambert. “It’s just not serving our kids. I think after COVID and Zoom and all, there’s just so much potential to make an education that serves all of them. I feel like this is the perfect time right now to make this happen.”
Factors such as declining birth rates and increased housing costs have cut enrollment at some West County districts in half over the past couple of decades. Since both Analy and El Molino can now realistically fit every West County high school student on just one of their campuses, consolidating them was an obvious and easy way to solve WSCUHSD’s ballooning deficit three years ago.
Even so, many far west county parents feel that they were somewhat blindsided by what Lambert calls an “abrupt” decision made by the board. After all, it was Analy, a school that was once El Molino’s chief rival, that their kids were transferred to.
Lambert believes there is a way to keep both West County high schools open without increasing taxes.
“Out of seven of our schools, I think we have two or three part-time superintendents because they’re so small,” Lambert said. “And then the other ones are all full-time superintendents. It would allow us to consolidate all of our services. We don’t need a superintendent at every site.”
The splitting up of WSCUHSD into two “unified” districts was one of three scenarios that SCOE outlined in a 2022 study on the subject of West County reorganization. SCOE’s consultants are now in the process of conducting an in-depth study to determine the feasibility of reopening El Molino. According to Eric Wittmershaus, Director of Communications at SCOE, it should be published in early 2025.
From there, “Some party—either school board trustees, another governmental entity or voters via a petition—would need to decide to initiate a unification or reorganization,” said Wittmershaus.
“The proposal would then go to the county committee on school organization for review,” he continued. “The county committee would initiate a series of public meetings in the affected area. The county committee would make a recommendation in favor of or against the proposal; that recommendation then is referred to the California Board of Education, which can conduct additional hearings and analysis before voting to approve or disapprove. If the state board of education votes to approve, an election would be scheduled in the affected area.”
While Lambert hopes that everything falls into place as soon as the 2026-27 school year, Wittmershaus of SCOE warns that the process could take several years.
“There are a lot of steps,” he said.
According to SCOE’s 2022 study, Wittmershaus says “the districts would lose about $1.7 million in funding but may be able to realize cost savings of $3 million to $5 million.” There would also be unknown expenses associated with revitalizing the El Molino campus to make it ready for a full high school offering again.
As of now the Laguna High School continuation program and district offices are located at the El Molino campus. Most locals agree, however, that El Molino has yet to be resurrected in a way that fills the potential of the space.
Rather than going back to how things were before the consolidation, Lambert believes there is an opportunity to build El Molino back better.
“We have so much property at El Molino, you know, we can do a beautiful preschool and have our high school kids working in there,” Lambert said. “There are many potentials to do something amazing.”
These potentials all involve a drastic shrinking of the current Analy High School enrollment. Creating a new district in West County would essentially tear the current WSCUHSD district—Analy’s enrollment area—in two.
The Sebastopol Times reached out to WSCUHSD board chair Julie Aiello, to gauge how their board was feeling about the new proposal. Her answer was diplomatic.
“It is the school board’s responsibility to make sure all decisions are fiscally responsible and in the best interest of our diverse school population,” Aiello said. “West County students should expect a comprehensive high school that offers a rich and rigorous curriculum that includes sports programs, art and music, Career Technical Education (CTE), Advanced placement classes, and support services for all types of learners.”
WSCUHSD board member Debbie Ramirez, who opposed the closing of El Molino, is intrigued by the new possibilities. Speaking as an individual and not for the WSCUSHD board, she said, “I believe it’s important to carefully review the unification feasibility study once it’s published this fall. I have been intrigued by this concept since the 2011 Grand Jury report on the topic.”
“Our priority should be to ensure that any decision made will enhance the educational experiences and outcomes for all students, while staying fiscally responsible and true to our community values,” Ramirez said. “Ultimately, this will be a decision made by the voters, and I look forward to engaging along with the community, educators, and families throughout this process to help inform that decision for our future.”
Smaller districts mean local control. Unification means giving up local control in return for cost efficiencies. The unified district will have to show how they will use the combined cost savings to offer an higher level of resources for the students in the community in order to convince the small district voters to give up their small district control.
I remember researching the school districts in Sonoma County in aid of some League of Women Voters project. Holy cow! What a mess. Some only had one or two schools. I had been raised in Lancaster California and we had the Lancaster School District (yes, it got funny in the 60's) but included all the K-8 schools in Lancaster and the Joint Unified High School District which had at least four or five schools in it including two Continuation schools. I believe the districts should be consolidated because each district has a bunch of administrators etc. where the money spent on their salaries could go to instruction. What a mess West County is. Just to use the District I live in, we have three schools, a pre-school, a primary school and an elementary school. I literally drive by all of them when I go home from the library. Why not add the other close by districts (many in walking distance of where I live) all into one district? Why not a West County School District for the K-8?