At its May 8 meeting, the Sonoma Valley Board of Education voted 4-1 to close Flowery School at the end of the 2025-26 school year. The decision is based on projected economic shortfalls.
Flowery is a bilingual school with a large portion of students from the Springs. The board’s decision opens the door to a broader reorganization of the district—one that will significantly affect students and parents across Sonoma Valley.
Impact on students and programs
If Flowery students are transferred to schools like El Verano, what will be the impact on existing programs and students there? Readers might consider how their own lives would have been affected if their elementary school had closed and they had been forced to transfer elsewhere.
Flowery receives students from throughout the district. Will those students continue to learn in a similar bilingual environment? Will the district maintain a bilingual program at their new school?
Plans for school organization
The board is also weighing how to reorganize school grade levels. Suggestions include creating a TK-2 campus (transitional kindergarten through second grade) and a separate grades 3-5 school. Such changes would affect schools like El Verano and Sassarini. How will parents and residents respond?…