Many people are thinking about and discussing the possible closure of Prestwood School. I think the decision to close Prestwood instead of one of the other schools makes the most sense given that only about 100 of the total of approximately 400 elementary students lives east of Broadway and that approximately 66% of the elementary students identify as Hispanic/Latino, a group whose population primarily lives in the Springs and El Verano areas.
My purpose in writing this letter is to share an idea which occurred to me for future use of the Prestwood School campus, assuming the final decision of our school board is to close that school. The school has a very nice multi-purpose room, recently renovated, and large sports fields that have long been used for youth sports. The Prestwood campus abuts the high school sports fields and is a short walk to the Aquatic Center on the high school campus.
My idea is this: wouldn’t it be great if the City of Sonoma’s newly created Park and Recreation department could utilize the multi-purpose room, the sports fields and some other rooms on the Prestwood campus for programs and activities that provide recreational and educational activities that would serve the youth and adults in our community. These programs and activities could be the result of collaboration between the Park and Recreation Department and existing organizations already providing programs that serve the youth and adults who live in Sonoma Valley…