After months of discussion and public hearings, the governing board for the Kyrene Elementary School District voted Tuesday night to close six schools — four elementary schools and two middle schools.
District officials say Kyrene was built to serve about 20,000 students, but enrollment is expected to drop to 11,000 or 12,000 over the next five years, resulting in a projected $7 million funding loss.
The planned closures are: Kyrene de la Colina, Kyrene de la Estrella, Kyrene de las Manitas, Kyrene Traditional Academy, Kyrene Akimel A-al and Kyrene del Pueblo.
The district was considering closing up to eight schools, but ended up choosing six. Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Board President Kevin Walsh said he was concerned closing more schools would lead to more families leaving the district.
“Which is going to exacerbate a problem that we’re trying to solve,” Walsh said.
Board member Amy Satre disagreed, saying the community loves its school district and would stick around.
“The community’s not going anywhere,” Satre said. “Why wouldn’t they just stay? Show our kids how resilient we are. Don’t we want to show our kids that?”
Superintendent Laura Toenjes said no matter what decision was made; the district would do its best to support its families.
“Our current Kyrene kids will be our priority in all of our transition,” Toenjes said. “This is about caring for people through change and making sure students and staff are supported every step of the way.”
The approved plan will close three schools next school year and three others the year after.
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