SANTA ROSA – It’s been seven years since the deadly Tubbs Fire consumed large parts of the city of Santa Rosa. This also included a special school that is just now completing its reconstruction. As school owners rush to reopen by the end of the year, they say they are being held up by delays at PG&E, a company many in the North Bay blame for the region’s megafires.
Anova is a private school for high-functioning autistic youth who have difficulty coping in a traditional school environment. It was a huge blow when the school building was destroyed in the Tubbs fire of 2017.
“The problem with children with autism is that they don’t deal well with change and transition and things they don’t expect,” says Andrew Bailey, founder and CEO of Anova. “So on the night of the Tubbs Fire, nine of our students also lost their homes.”
The rest lost their schools and have since been working in portable classrooms at the old site while a new school was built. Now it’s almost done.
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“We have a $22 million project. It’s 80 percent done,” Bailey said. “We just need that last piece of the puzzle, which is to get our electricity hooked up, so we can finish this job and get these kids home.”
That hasn’t been easy. An electricity pole needs to be installed on the site of the new school and much of the finishing work cannot be carried out until the electricity is connected. The utility says it cannot provide a time when that will happen.
“I asked the rep twice if they could just give me an indication, not a date, but maybe a month when they might be able to get this done and they couldn’t,” Bailey said.
The school is racing against time to open in January after winter break, and Bailey said it’s ironic that a utility company he blames for burning down the school is now delaying its reopening. PG&E denies it is responsible for the Tubbs fire, but has paid a $13.6 billion settlement to wildfire victims, including from that fire.
“What I do know,” Bailey said, “is that the public here in Sonoma County, especially in Sonoma County, is quite convinced that PG&E is responsible for the Tubbs Fire.”
Bailey said the company told him installing the pole would take a three-man crew in one day. In a statement from the utility on Sunday, a spokesperson wrote: “PG&E has escalated this project into our system and we are working with Anova on the remaining steps. We understand Anova’s timeline to move in over the winter break and PG&E is committed to our efforts.” part of meeting that timeline.”
For that, Bailey said, he would be truly grateful.
“We have to shout a little bit and I have to be a loud voice on behalf of our children and if that makes me a little bit unpopular with PG&E right now, then I’m willing to take that risk,” he said. “And I will be the first in line to shake their hands, thank them and invite them to our ribbon cutting ceremony when this is done.”
Anova is a private school for K-12 students from public school districts, but the new campus was built entirely with donations from the community. When completed, it will provide a welcoming environment for children who could really use a sense of sustainability in a place that is still very much in transition.
More information about the school can be found on the Anova website.
John Ramos
