Final bell rings as Santa Rosa closes two more schools

Students, teachers and staff shared hugs, high fives and tears this week as two longtime Santa Rosa schools closed their doors for the final time.

Friday marked the last day for Hilliard Comstock Middle School, while Thursday was the final day at Steele Lane Elementary School. The closures end decades of history for both campuses — Comstock served the community for 54 years, and Steele Lane for more than 70 years.

The Santa Rosa City Schools Board previously voted to permanently close the schools as part of an effort to avoid bankruptcy and state receivership.

"Good afternoon, Comstock students. That was the final bell as a Comstock student. Please have a wonderful summer," a school announcement said over the speakers as students left campus for the last time Friday afternoon.

For many students, the emotional goodbye centered around the friendships and relationships they built at the school.

"Sad, it was a sad day," student Allyson Garcia said.

"It's only been two years, and I've already been really attached to the school," said 8th grader Danniell Torres.

"I don't know if I'll see these guys ever again," 7th grader Cesar Alamilla added.

Teachers also reflected on the campus closure and what it meant personally.

"I've worked here for a decade. So this was a part of my identity and who I was," said special ed teacher Lacinda Moore.

Alamilla spent the day collecting signatures from classmates and teachers on his white shirt so he could remember the school in the future.

"When I'm older, I want to remember the school and all my friends from here," Alamilla said while looking at the Sharpie signatures covering his shirt.

Alamilla said leaving behind the people he cared about most has been difficult.

"My favorite teacher, honestly, was Mr. Lozano. I'm going to miss him the most," he said. "And then my favorite person, I'm going to have to say Chavie right there."

After hugging his friend, Alamilla added, "I'm going to miss him a lot."

Many students said saying goodbye to friends has been one of the hardest parts of the closure.

"There's some sadness because I have a lot of friends that are not going to the same school [next year]," student Allyson Garcia said.

Comstock Middle and Steele Lane Elementary are the latest schools to permanently close in the district.

Last year, Santa Rosa City Schools also shut down Albert Biella Elementary, Brook Hill Elementary, Santa Rosa Middle School and Slater Middle School as the district worked to close a multi-million-dollar budget gap.

District spokesperson Patrick Gannon said the closures were necessary to stabilize the district financially after years of declining enrollment and rising costs.

"We won't have this cloud of financial uncertainty next year," Gannon said. "We're going to be in a better place where we can focus on the students that need us the most."

According to the district, enrollment has dropped by roughly 2,000 students since 2019, leaving the district with about 13,000 students.

"We have kind of the perfect storm of declining enrollment and inflation," Gannon said. "I think everyone is paying more."

Many students and faculty members from Comstock will move to Piner High School, which will adopt a seventh- through 12th-grade format. Other students will transfer to two additional schools.

Comstock Principal Kelly Briggs said staff members had more than a year to prepare for the transition.

"The teachers were really kind of ready.  They were ready for new systems, ready to merge with Piner," Briggs said. "While they were sad to leave the school behind, at least they knew where they were going and had a chance to collaborate with their colleagues."

Although Alamilla said he wishes he could have graduated from Comstock, he said he is also looking forward to a new beginning at Piner High School.

"Hoping I can see new friends, see new people, and maybe meet some people that I already know over there, and create new memories," he said.

Beginning next school year, the Santa Rosa school district will be down to 18 schools.