What Sonoma Valley Unified School District does

Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) is a public K-12 school district operating under the California Education Code, serving students from Transitional Kindergarten through 12th grade across the Sonoma Valley in Sonoma County, California. The district operates six schools: two high schools (Sonoma Valley High School and alternative Creekside High School), one middle school (Sonoma Valley Middle School, renamed from Altimira Middle School in 2026), and three elementary schools (El Verano, Flowery, and Sassarini). Approximately 85% of graduating seniors receive scholarships or financial awards, and the district operates a Spanish-English Dual Immersion program at Flowery Elementary that continues through middle school.

The district is funded primarily through California state apportionment (LCFF), local property taxes across the Sonoma Valley tax base, federal grants, and developer fees on new construction ($5.38/sq.ft residential, $0.87/sq.ft commercial). It does not charge tuition. Operationally, SVUSD runs a conventional K-12 stack: PowerSchool as the student information system, ParentSquare for parent communications (email/text/app), and a portfolio of third-party edtech tools (Lexia Core5, Khan Academy, IXL, Raz-Kids, iLit, Duolingo, BrainPOP, Renaissance Accelerated Reader, Clever SSO via Google and Microsoft 365). Specialized programs include Special Education, English Learner support (ELPAC), Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten, food services, transportation, and arts/music education restored under Proposition 28.

SVUSD's strategic posture in 2025-2026 is one of turnaround after a decade of structural deficit: a new Superintendent (Jason Sutter) was hired, the FY2025 budget was balanced for the first time in ten years, Prestwood Elementary was closed as a final consolidation step, a cell-phone-free classroom policy was enacted at middle and high school levels, and Flowery Elementary was transitioned to a district-wide School of Choice for the Dual Immersion program. The Board of Trustees has committed to three 2026 priorities: raising literacy rates, reducing chronic absenteeism, and deepening community trust. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed on the district website and are instead found in LCAP and annual audit documents.

Name

Sonoma Valley Unified School District

Legal name

Sonoma Valley Unified School District

Website

https://sonomaschools.org

Company type

Public

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Sonoma Valley Unified School District is a California public K-12 district operating six schools (TK-12) for students in the Sonoma Valley, funded by state apportionment and local property taxes, with a Spanish-English Dual Immersion program and 501-1000 employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Public Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE)

Keywords

• Public K-12 education
• Dual immersion program
• Special education services
• Student transportation
• School food services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sonoma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Public school district funded primarily through local property taxes and state education funding allocations.
2. Developer Fees: One-time fees collected from new residential ($5.38/sq.ft), commercial/industrial ($0.87/sq.ft), and self-storage ($0.13/sq.ft) development projects to fund school facility capacity enhancements.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sonoma Valley Unified School District provides tuition-free public K-12 education across six schools: three elementary schools (El Verano, Flowery, Sassarini), one middle school (Sonoma Valley Middle School), and two high schools (Sonoma Valley High School and Creekside High School). The district also operates a Spanish-English Dual Immersion program beginning at Flowery Elementary and continuing through grade 8, supplemented by Special Education, food services, and transportation services.

Product overview

Sonoma Valley Unified School District operates a unified K-12 public education system consisting of six schools: two high schools (Sonoma Valley High School and Creekside High School), one middle school (Sonoma Valley Middle School, renamed from Altimira in 2026), and three elementary schools (El Verano, Flowery, and Sassarini). The district offers a specialized Dual Immersion Program at Flowery Elementary for Spanish-English bilingual education extending through middle school. Core educational programs are supplemented by Special Education Services, Food Services, Transportation, and communications via ParentSquare. The district uses PowerSchool as its student information system for enrollment and grade management. For 2026-27, Flowery Elementary transitioned to a district-wide School of Choice model with enrollment through Intra-District Transfer, no longer serving as a neighborhood school.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sonoma Valley High School

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of graduating seniors received scholarships
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration20 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Petaluma City Schools: Neighboring Sonoma County K-12 district and the prior employer of SVUSD's new Superintendent. Most directly comparable regional peer given geographic proximity and overlapping leadership pipeline.
• Santa Rosa City Schools: Adjacent Sonoma County unified school district serving Santa Rosa with TK-12 programming. Comparable in scale, governance structure, and reliance on California state funding.
• Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District: Sonoma County K-12 district with similar demographic profile and funding model. Operates neighborhood school assignment and TK-12 programming comparable to SVUSD.
• Napa Valley Unified School District: Adjacent North Bay county K-12 district of similar scale serving Napa. Comparable governance under California Education Code and overlapping dual-language programming.
• Cloverdale Unified School District: Smaller Sonoma County unified district serving a similar rural-valley demographic profile. Comparable in operating structure despite smaller enrollment base.
• Calistoga Joint Unified School District: Small Napa County K-12 district with comparable valley-community profile. Operates under the same California Education Code and LCAP framework.
• Bellevue Union School District: Sonoma County elementary district serving nearby Santa Rosa-area neighborhoods. Comparable at the elementary level though lacks the high school footprint.
• Old Adobe Union School District: Sonoma County elementary district operating neighborhood assignment and dual-language programming. Comparable at the K-6 level and a competitor for families in the Petaluma/Rohnert Park corridor.

Others

• Sonoma County Office of Education: County-level educational authority that provides oversight, support services, and the SCOE Employee Portal to SVUSD. Adjacent governance entity rather than a direct operating competitor.
• Marin County Office of Education: County-level educational authority providing administrative, fiscal, and instructional support to districts in Marin County. Comparable in role to SCOE and an analogous regional governance body.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sonoma Valley Unified School District