Big changes as Petaluma students head back to school

New Petaluma City Schools Superintendent Gary Callahan begins his first school year in relatively calm seas after the district weathered a storm of economic uncertainty, curriculum change, technology innovation and, last year, labor unrest.

But there are still challenges ahead as Callahan takes command of Sonoma County’s second-largest school district.

Callahan, 50, replaced Steve Bolman on July 1 after the previous superintendent left to pursue other interests. The new superintendent comes to Petaluma from the Roseville City School District where he was the assistant superintendent of educational services.

His hiring is one of several administrative changes in the district that includes former Casa Grande High School principal Linda Schelee replacing Ron Everett as Director of Human Resources. She has been followed at Casa Grande by long-time assistant principal Eric Bachman. Sharon Howell will step into Bachman’s vacated assistant principal position.

Former Petaluma High School assistant principal Bennett Holly replaces Emily Dunnigan as principal at Kenilworth Junior High School. Amy Schluetter will be the new interim assistant principal at Kenilworth.

Rebecca Lofton takes over for the retiring Rusty Sims as principal of alternative schools San Antonio and Valley Oaks. Jon Tallent will replace Lofton as principal of Crossroad Community Day School.

Callahan said he has already been impressed with the wide range of programs offered by the Petaluma district as it prepares students either to continue to higher education or move on in other career pathways.

“We have a system in K-12 that prepares students with the proper skills that will take them anywhere they want to go,” he said.

Part of that is making sure the students and teachers have the tools to meet the needs of 21st century learning and this year, and this year every Petaluma City Schools student will have his or her own electronic device.

“The kids deserve the best and our teachers deserve the tools to help create a better learning environment,” said Callahan.

While there are changes in administrators, new faces in classrooms and new technology, there are also physical changes made possible the by passage of bond measures last year.

Among the improvements is a new synthetic field at Casa Grande High School that will include a long-anticipated all-weather track, allowing the Gauchos to have home track meets for the first time in four years.

At Petaluma High School, the gymnasium is being renovated and the leaky swimming pool repaired and improved.

Callahan points out that the improvements are a benefit not only to the school district, but the entire community.

What amounts to a new junior high school opens this year with the start of seventh-grade classes on the McKinley Elementary School campus. The Petaluma Accelerated Charter School will grow to include eighth graders next year. The new school, designed to accelerate learning, will feature small class size, individualized instruction and focus on the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) curriculum.

While the new superintendent steps into a good situation, the district does face challenges, including a shortage of teachers.

“We’ve had to be pretty aggressive with our hiring,” Callahan said. “Where in the past we might have a pool of 20-25 applicants for a position, now we are seeing three or four.”

And while the district’s financial situation has dramatically improved with the end of the recession and additional state funds, the budget is still tight.

“The state has not brought the district back financially to where it was prior to the recession,” Callahan pointed out, explaining that the district won’t be fully restored to its pre-recession level of state funding until 2021.

He noted that the district still doesn’t have the reserves it needs to weather another recession.

“Should there be another downturn in the economy, we don’t have the resources we had to help us get through the last downturn,” he explained. “Our goal is to manage all our resources to benefit the students without jeopardizing our limited budget.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Callahan and the Petaluma City Schools is to reverse the trend of declining enrollment. Enrollment figures for the new school year are not yet available. According to the district website, the enrollment last school year for the combined elementary and secondary districts was approximately 7,400 students, reflecting a steady decline from 7,875 in 2009.

“We are evaluating what is causing the decline in our enrollment,” said Callahan. He said one of the biggest problems might be the improving economy that is forcing up housing costs and driving families out of the community.

“I’m not sure how the district can combat that,” he said.

But one of the things the district can do, according to Callahan, is to get the word out about “the incredible things that are going on in our school district. A lot of school districts will not do what we’re doing because it is hard work. All the hard work our teachers and principals have put in is paying off.”

That work extends beyond the college preparatory classes to vocational education classes and new innovative programs like the Gateway to College.

“What we offer is many opportunities for students to be successful without pigeonholing them,” he said.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com.)