Another Valley school district is eyeing potential school closures next year as declining enrollment is leading to a decrease in funding.
After seven months of research, the long-range planning committee, created by the district’s governing board, had its final meeting and decided on a recommendation to the board this week. They’re recommending the closure of nine schools in Kyrene. The district currently has 25 schools in total, which include six middle schools, two K-8 schools and 17 elementary schools.
In the committee’s recommendation, the district would have four middle schools and 13 elementary schools, deciding to go away with the K-8 model.
Here are the nine schools that could potentially close:
- Kyrene de la Colina
- Kyrene de la Estrella
- Kyrene del Milenio (possible repurpose)
- Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School
- Kyrene Traditional Academy
- Kyrene de la Mariposa
- Kyrene de la Mirada
- Kyrene del Norte
- Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School
“We knew that it was coming, but I think having the school names on the screen or on a piece of paper now is just what's shocking,” said Laura Bradley, a mom with two kids in two different schools on the list of potential closures.
The committee is formed of nearly 60 community members which includes parents, educators, school and district staff.
With declining enrollment it means the district was losing funding as well. At one point, the district had about 20,000 students and now has roughly 12,000 students.
“That's why we kind of picked that number of schools. We were trying to hit that $7 million target,” said Michelle Fahy, a committee member and former school board member for Kyrene.
"Seven million dollars is the shortfall in the budget due to declining enrollment," Fahy said. She added that in the Kyrene district specifically, the declining enrollment is due to the declining birth rate as well as the lack of affordable housing. That is much of what other districts have seen that had to close schools, but in some other areas, they said, school choice expansion played a role as well.
“We're all upset about this. There's really not any one of us that wants to do this,” Fahy said of recommending the closure of schools.
Families are still shocked after receiving the list of potential schools to close.
"I understand that there's a need to consolidate. There's going to be budget cuts that someone is going to be hurt, that it's their home school. I don't understand why it's this school,” said Jillian Sisneroz, a parent of a Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School student.
Fahy said the schools were chosen with the help of a demographer who has done extensive research on the district’s enrollment and students.
“He had to really look at all of that and say, 'How many kids can each school take? What would be the capacity?' And then he selected schools based on trying to level capacity across all the campuses,” Fahy explained.
As for staff, it’s unclear what would happen right now. However, the district said they would hope to keep staff through natural attrition.
"Fewer schools would mean fewer administrative and non-classroom positions, and the first approach to address that reduction would be through normal attrition, such as retirements,” the district’s website said.
The decision on which schools could close has not been made yet.
The committee will give final recommendations to the school board in September. Then, there will be a series of community meetings for parents and staff to ask questions and provide comments. A vote will not happen until December at the earliest and then whatever is decided, it will be implemented next school year.
Parents and some educators are hoping that with the time they have until December, they could change the minds of board members so their schools wouldn’t close down.
“My hope is that within the wait, we really have a chance to express to the board more than just the numbers because I think what they voted on was the demographers' map and where it made sense spatially but there's so much more that goes into it,” said Heidi Halverson, a parent from Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School student.
For more detailed information on where the meetings will be held or what the new boundaries could be, click here.
