In the middle of a high school campus

The new Montgomery STEM building that houses middle school only (Chase Soylu Chee / The Puma Prensa)

By Chase Soylu Chee, News Editor & Video Editor and William Winkelman, Website Editor

After the Santa Rosa City Schools District decided to shut down numerous schools to ease the $20 million budget deficit, the school year has been different for incoming elementary schoolers, middle schoolers, and high school students across the remaining campuses. 

On Friday, February 21, 2025, the SRCS board passed a vote to spare Elsie Allen High School from closing, but passed the vote to close Herbert Slater, Santa Rosa, and Hilliard Comstock Middle Schools. This monumental decision resulted in the integration and transitions of HSMS and SRMS into Montgomery and Santa Rosa Junior High.

Due to the incoming wave of two new grade levels, Montgomery High School received a new STEM building while Santa Rosa High School transitioned its DeSoto Hall into new 7-8 classrooms. With these changes, there comes a culture shock to students, faculty, parents, and administrators. 

“It took a while to get used to…and there’s a lot of stuff we’re still getting used to,” said Kensey Gariss, an 8th-grade student at Montgomery Junior High. Gariss is a part of the leadership class, which works alongside MHS’s Associated Student Body. 

“We’re just there, co-existing,” said Gariss. Students have adjusted to the separate schools due to the administration’s decisions on schedules. Students from both schools only see each other during the intersecting High School Guided Study (similar to MCHS’s Advocacy) passing period and Junior High Brunch. 

When it comes to school events, MHS Junior High PE teachers promote athletic events and spirit weeks to the students, but other than that, both schools have divided events in regards to Associated Student Body (ASB) events and rallies. 

“I think [the administration] has been handling it pretty well. I know Montgomery [MHS] probably wasn’t happy with us around them, but they’re solving it really well, and everything’s going pretty good,” noted Gariss on the chain of events from the first day of school to now. 

“We thought that we would have smaller classes, lots of students leaving, but my classes are full,” said Megan Covey, former HSMS Mathematics and Yearbook Teacher and now Mathematics and Yearbook MJH Teacher. Covey states, relating to electives, “everything has come to a standstill,” and that “everyone is losing money,” due to a lack of state and district funding. The increase in students for electives and constant rescheduling has led to money not being available for students overall, making it even harder to teach with a lack of resources.

“I'm losing touch of being able to talk to our admin, the principal is always busy now, and I can’t just swing by to her office,” Covey states, “it feels like the Slater group is on an island and I want to reach out.” The disconnect between the two school levels is still higher due to the lack of interaction, but it is slowly being worked on at the teacher level.

“Most days, I don’t realize a middle school is on campus,” said Monica Ashcraft, English teacher and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Coordinator at MHS. For Ashcraft, the year has been going smoothly with class availability and general resources. On the other hand, there has been a disconnect between respective departments, as most meet separately and hold occasional hybrid meetings with each other. 

Alongside this disconnect, MHS’s AVID program, which improves college and career readiness in high school, is having budget issues due to the district's debt. “The decision to add grades is wildly inconsiderate to the high school,” said Ashcraft.  

Dealing with these issues, “[Montgomery’s] admin is consistently timely and detailed in taking feedback and trying to do something with the feedback,” said Ashcraft. 

Likewise, Santa Rosa High School is facing a similar situation with the addition of the junior high to its campus, which has led to increased competition for classroom space and resources. 

Like their teachers, students share similar sentiments. “Everything is separated. For rallies, they have it at a different time. Same with Back to School Night, the people organizing events have to do it twice,” said Mihali Santorineos, a junior at Santa Rosa High School. Santorineos expressed identical views to students at MHS. Students from both schools rarely see or know each other, and the schedules are vastly different.

While support for the transition is controversial, the relentless effort to ensure the middle school's smooth transition has made the change easier for everyone involved. The year has not been without its challenges, but the persistence of those dedicated to student success suggests that these schools may develop a new sense of identity, one built on resilience and adaptation. 

As Casey Maytoren, SRJH PE teacher, says, “Everything was thrown at admin and teachers without any plan for it. When you merge companies, you hire someone, not just throw them together.” This impacts school life as “it's the extra that the teachers do that makes schools feel special.”

Many Montgomery and Santa Rosa Junior High and High School teachers, counselors, and administration refused to comment. Some initially accepted to comment, then cancelled or ignored further response.