School District Organization

Sonoma County Committee on School District Organization

The Sonoma County Committee on School District Organization is responsible for overseeing the reorganization of school districts in the county through territory transfer, district consolidation, and unification. It is empowered to:

Create, abolish, or rearrange trustee areas
Increase or decrease the number of governing board members
Determine alternative methods of electing governing board members
Establish or abolish common governing boards
Rearrange trustee areas based on the federal decennial census

The County Committee may initiate, coordinate, facilitate, or arbitrate these operations. It may also formulate plans, respond to petitions, conduct public hearings, develop and release information, and analyze proposals related to the organization of Sonoma County school districts.

The County Committee is subject to the legal requirements of the California Education Code and State Board of Education policies and regulations, but has latitude to address each local situation in its own context. The California Department of Education (CDE) provides a Handbook for School District Organization, which details the duties, responsibilities, and processes that must be followed.

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Committee Members

The Sonoma County Committee on School District Organization consists of 11 members – two members from each of the five county supervisorial districts and one at-large member. Members are elected to four-year terms by representatives from the governing boards of all the Sonoma County school districts (one vote for each district).

Members must be registered voters and reside within the county supervisorial district they represent. No public school employees may serve on the Committee, but members of school district governing boards may serve.

ELECTIONS: If you are interested in running in an election for a seat on this committee, you must submit a Letter of Interest by October 1st of each year that has a vacancy or expiring term. You must reside within that appropriate Supervisorial District to be eligible as a candidate. If you have any questions about the election process, please contact Lacey Goff at lgoff@scoe.org or 707-524-2605.

County Committee Members as of 1/22/24

District 1: Jeremy Brott – Term expires 2026
District 1: Jeremy De La Torre – Term expires 2027
District 2: Ellen Webster – Term expires 2027
District 2: Russ Wigglesworth – Term expires 2025
District 3: Ed Sheffield – Term expires 2025
District 3: VACANT – Term expires 2026
District 4: Linda Mayberry-Chavez – Term expires 2027
District 4: Cindy Pryor – Term expires 2026
District 5: James DeWilder – Term expires 2024
District 5: Jeanne Bassett Fernandes – Term expires 2025
At Large: Ronald Abler – Term expires 2024