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Record of Proceedings

Joint Meeting of Santa Rosa City Council and School Board on Youth Safety and Economy - October 7, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, October 7, 2026
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, October 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:28:25

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:31

I'd like to ask Adriana on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting.

0:37

For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar.

0:51

It looks like a globe.

0:53

If you are on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, and put a check mark on your preferred language.

1:00

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

1:03

Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so you only hear the Spanish interpretation.

1:11

Claudia, will you please restate this in Spanish?

Speaker 2

2:10

Thank you very much.

2:11

Back to

Unassigned speaker

2:12

you.

Speaker 3

2:13

Welcome everyone.

2:14

Thank you for coming out to the first joint meeting of the San Rosa City Council and the San Rosa City Schools Board in seven years.

2:21

The time is 6 03.

2:23

Madam City Clerk, would you please take the very long roll?

Speaker 4

2:26

Thank you, Mayor.

2:27

Councilmember Rogers is absent.

2:29

Councilmember McDonald is also absent this evening.

2:32

Councilmember Fleming.

2:34

Councilmember Ben Wellows.

2:35

Here.

2:36

Councilmember Alvarez.

2:37

Present.

2:37

Vice Mayor Krepki.

2:39

Here.

2:39

Mayor Stepp.

Speaker 5

2:41

Here.

Speaker 4

2:42

Trustee Medina.

Speaker 5

2:44

Presente.

Speaker 4

2:45

Trustee Kirby.

2:47

Trustee Dufassi.

Speaker 6

2:49

Here.

Speaker 4

2:50

Trustee De La Torre.

2:51

Here.

2:52

Clerk Jenkins.

Speaker 7

2:53

Here.

Speaker 4

2:54

Vice President Prack.

Speaker 7

2:56

If

Speaker 4

2:57

President Castin.

Speaker 7

2:58

Here.

Speaker 4

2:59

Thank you.

3:00

Please let the record show that the student board members Way and Alvarado are also absent this evening.

3:05

And that concludes roll call.

Speaker 3

3:07

Thank you very much.

3:08

And I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, Board President Castin, for the Pledge of Allegiance and Land Acknowledgement.

Speaker 8

3:13

Thank you.

3:14

If everyone could please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and stay standing for the territorial land acknowledgement.

3:55

This land acknowledgement calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit.

4:03

By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm indigenous sovereignty and we will work to hold San Rosa City schools more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous people.

4:13

Thank you.

Speaker 4

4:29

No, Mayor.

Speaker 8

4:34

Thank you.

4:36

Well, first off, good evening, and on behalf of the San Rosa City School Board, I want to welcome the public and extend my gratitude to the mayor and the city council for hosting us tonight.

4:47

It's been seven years since our two governing bodies have convened in a joint session.

Unassigned speaker

4:52

Rebuilding this bridge has been a core priority, not only for myself and the mayor, uh, but also our respective colleagues, because the truth is that our access is entirely interdependent.

Speaker 8

5:04

The state of our schools dictate the future of our city, and the health of our city directly impacts what happens in our classrooms.

5:12

Tonight we're gonna be focusing on two critical pillars of that shared reality youth safety in our local economy.

5:18

We know that our students' safety and well-being does not begin when they step on to a campus, nor does it end when the final bell rings.

5:26

Supporting our youth is a 24-7 holistic endeavor.

5:31

The multi-layered collaborations between the city, the school district, and our community partners are vital for our youth, not only when we face a crisis, but also in those intimate moments where we can truly impact the future trajectory of a child.

5:47

Over the last two years, we've done a lot of work to align our goals and our resources between the city and the school board.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Education█████████████████████████████████33%
Public Safety████████████████████20%
Youth Programs██████████████14%
Workforce Development██████████10%
Economic Development██████6%
Public Comment██████6%
Procedural███3%
Racial Equity██2%
Public Works█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Joint Meeting of Santa Rosa City Council and School Board on Youth Safety and Economic Impact - October 7, 2026

The Santa Rosa City Council and the Santa Rosa City Schools Board held their first joint meeting in seven years on October 7, 2026. The meeting convened at 6:03 PM and adjourned at 8:29 PM, focusing on two critical pillars of collaboration: youth safety and the economic impact of education. Mayor Mark Stapp and School Board President Caston co-chaired, with presentations from Superintendent Dr. Monica Thomas, Police Chief John Cregan, economist Dr. Robert Eyler, SRJC President Dr. Angelica Garcia, and SSU President Dr. Michael Spagna.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Duane Dewitt (Roseland alumni): Called for authentic community engagement and for expanding vocational programs (shop classes, explorer programs) as alternatives to gang involvement.
  • Priscilla Cordero (via interpreter): Representing English learners and low-income students, she questioned the district's financial priorities and requested more resources for non-duplicated students.
  • Carlos Gonzalez & Johnnie Balmontes (TRIO Pre-Collegiate Program, SSU): Requested letters of support from the City and School District for their federal TRIO grant, emphasizing the program's four-decade history of helping first-gen and low-income students.
  • Janice Karrman: Supported widening occupational pathways, noted the burden of student debt, and urged stronger business-school partnerships.
  • Jen: Criticized the inaccessibility of public comment at SRCS board meetings (no virtual option) and advocated for equal data visibility and support for girls' flag football.

Discussion: Youth Safety Update (Item 8.1)

  • Superintendent Thomas and Chief Cregan highlighted the strong SRCS-SRPD partnership.
  • Positive Data: Double-digit drops in controlled substances, weapons, and fights on campus. Suspension rates declining. Student perception of safety steadily increasing. No stabbings or loaded firearms on campus reported in 2025/2026 YTD, compared to four of each in 2022-2024.
  • Police Calls: SRPD responded to 6,000 calls at SRCS since 2022. Calls peaked in 2023 and are trending downward.
  • Strategies: Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams (BTATs), Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP), expanded use of the Stop It app.
  • Challenges: Off-campus conflicts spilling into schools, police staffing shortages (14 unfilled patrol beats), and a $14 million city budget shortfall preventing funded School Resource Officers (SROs) despite an approved 2025 MOU.
  • Council/Board Discussion: Councilmember Rogers asked about suspension disproportionality; Dr. Thomas acknowledged disparities for students of color and unhoused youth. Trustee De La Torre noted the MOU's positive framework. Trustee Medina expressed strong opposition to armed SROs, stating they do not feel safe for marginalized students. Trustee Caston proposed a youth involvement opportunities database.
  • Outcome: Item received and filed. The Mayor and Board President announced the reappointment of a school board member to the VPP.

Discussion: Education's Role in Santa Rosa's Economy (Item 8.2)

  • Economic Context (Dr. Eyler): Schools act as critical infrastructure for economic development. Santa Rosa City Schools represents about 20% of the county's K-12 workforce, generating a 1.2x economic multiplier. He projected significant enrollment declines due to demographic shifts, creating major workforce headwinds.
  • Santa Rosa Junior College (Dr. Garcia): SRJC serves 33,000 students (43% Latino, 80% part-time). Its CCAP program providing free college credit to high schoolers grew from 275 to 1,000 students. She highlighted that impacted programs (nursing, dental hygiene) are constrained by facility space.
  • Sonoma State University (Dr. Spagna): SSU placed 71 teachers in SRCS since 2018. He proposed a "Santa Rosa Compact" to create a seamless K-12 to career pipeline. Stressed paid internships, career readiness, and the Seawolf Promise program.
  • Council/Board Discussion: Trustee Kirby confirmed CCAP is free and discussed program expansion. Trustee Medina asked about SB 1255 (HSI designation), which Dr. Garcia noted is currently unfunded. Councilmember Alvarez asked about education efficiency in the face of AI and technology. Trustee Du Fosee advocated for neurodivergent students. Trustee De La Torre raised the challenge of graduates finding local college-level jobs.
  • Outcome: Item received and filed. Strong support was expressed for developing the Santa Rosa Compact.

Key Outcomes

  • Joint Meetings Restarted: The boards committed to making these joint meetings a regular occurrence.
  • VPP Appointment: A school board member will be appointed to the Violence Prevention Partnership.
  • Santa Rosa Compact: The City, School District, SRJC, SSU, and Chamber will explore a formal compact to align education with workforce needs.
  • Youth Safety Direction: Staff was directed to continue strengthening the SRPD-SRCS partnership and pursue funding for SROs and a youth opportunity database.
  • Economic Partnership Direction: Staff was directed to deepen ties with higher education to bolster the local talent pipeline and address workforce job placement.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to ask Adriana on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting. For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar. It looks like a globe. If you are on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, and put a check mark on your preferred language. Click done to activate and begin the interpretation. Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so you only hear the Spanish interpretation. Claudia, will you please restate this in Spanish? Thank you very much. Back to you. Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming out to the first joint meeting of the San Rosa City Council and the San Rosa City Schools Board in seven years. The time is 6 03. Madam City Clerk, would you please take the very long roll? Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers is absent. Councilmember McDonald is also absent this evening. Councilmember Fleming. Councilmember Ben Wellows. Here. Councilmember Alvarez. Present. Vice Mayor Krepki. Here. Mayor Stepp. Here. Trustee Medina. Presente. Trustee Kirby. Trustee Dufassi. Here. Trustee De La Torre. Here. Clerk Jenkins. Here. Vice President Prack. If President Castin. Here. Thank you. Please let the record show that the student board members Way and Alvarado are also absent this evening. And that concludes roll call. Thank you very much. And I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, Board President Castin, for the Pledge of Allegiance and Land Acknowledgement. Thank you. If everyone could please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance and stay standing for the territorial land acknowledgement. This land acknowledgement calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit. By offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm indigenous sovereignty and we will work to hold San Rosa City schools more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous people. Thank you. No, Mayor.

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