About Piner High School

The Piner area was settled early in the history of Sonoma County.  The name “Piner” was the family name of one of the early settlers.  The high school is located within the Santa Rosa City limits and within the boundaries of the present Piner-Olivet Elementary District.

A faculty-student committee was responsible for suggesting “Piner Prospectors” as the team name of the new school.  This suggestion was forwarded to the principal and superintendent, who approved this choice.  The same committee selected the colors of the school:  maroon and gold.

During 1965, plans for Piner High School were completed and approved by the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education.  Albert F. Biella was appointed first principal of the new school.  Clarence Felciano and Associates designed the school.  General contractors for the school were Wright and Oretsky, Santa Rosa.

The school was planned to be built in two phases: Phase One was completed for the opening of the school on September 12, 1966.  This group of facilities included two classroom buildings, the instructional materials center, the language laboratory, the industrial arts building, a cafeteria, music-administration complex, and gymnasium.

The first addition to the building was completed by March, 1974.  It included areas for vocal music instruction, a large home economics area, seven classrooms, a departmental office, an automotive shop, and general administration and counseling offices.

Later portables were added to accommodate the growth of student population. Then, in October, 2002, the Performing Arts Theater was completed.  The new Administration building was completed April 2005.  The Library and Science department remodel was completed on June 2006.  The new Culinary building was also completed in June 2006 and in use starting in August 2006.  The new Science and Technology building was completed in Fall 2013, offering our community a planetarium, an observatory, and a computer lab in a state-of-the-art, 21st Century facility.