District overview
Santa Rosa High School District
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is the high-school district governed and funding its fiscal recovery?
Santa Rosa City Schools operates the legally separate Santa Rosa High School and Santa Rosa Elementary districts under the same seven-member elected Board of Education. This page covers the High School District. Its main operating revenue follows California’s Local Control Funding Formula and therefore declines with attendance and enrollment, while restricted special-education and bond funds must be managed separately.
Funding follows enrollment
The district identifies Local Control Funding Formula revenue as its primary funding source and says declining enrollment directly reduces it.
Fiscal recovery is under county oversight
The county accepted a positive second-interim certification with grave concerns and retained a fiscal expert through December 31, 2026.
School-level records remain important
Campus School Site Councils recommend school plans and site-level categorical priorities within district policy and budget constraints.
The county's positive certification means the district projects it can meet obligations across the forecast period, but the county says current reserves and liquidity remain fragile.
What the official record establishes
Board-approved expenditure reductions reported by Sonoma County.
The county describes this as about 2% of projected 2026-27 expenditures.
Approximate amount in the county's April 2026 review.
A compatible enrollment and total-expenditure pair is not provided, so a derived figure would be misleading.
Major projects
Fiscal stabilization plan
Positive certification with continued oversightThe board approved ongoing reductions and one-time solutions intended to restore solvency; the county says implementation, cash, enrollment assumptions, and reserves still require close monitoring.
- County finds the district unable to meet projected obligations without corrective action
- County accepts positive second-interim certification with grave concerns
- Current fiscal-expert assignment is scheduled to end
Funding
General fund
About $16.6 million in ongoing reductions and $19 million in one-time solutions are identified; the available fiscal letter does not itemize every reduction.
Santa Rosa City multi-district SELPA
Application and local-plan development underwayThe elementary and high school districts are applying to leave the Sonoma County SELPA and form a shared Santa Rosa City SELPA, with local board oversight of special-education resources and policy.
- District notifies the county SELPA that it may exit
- District page states local plan was due to the county superintendent
- Target launch date for the new SELPA
Funding
Special-education funding
The district reported a $1.1 million loss in 2025-26 and $3.4 million annually thereafter under the revised county SELPA formula.
Bond-program spending realignment
Commitments exceed available balancesThe county reported roughly $25 million more in bond encumbrances and expenditures than available balances and said planned spending would be reduced to fit available funding.
- County identifies the approximately $25 million mismatch
- County-requested deadline to align purchase orders and expenditures
Funding
District bond funds
The source does not identify which campus projects will be reduced or delayed.
This partial overview synthesizes seven official district and county records collected for the trailing year. It does not treat the unavailable Simbli meeting archive as reviewed.
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