The Amphitheater Public Schools Governing Board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to close down four elementary schools next school year.
After the official vote, the meeting’s somber tone turned a bit defiant: “Boo! Shame on you! You will hear from us in November,” could be heard as dozens of community members and parents, some shouting, filed up the aisles to exit the Canyon del Oro High School auditorium.
The mostly muted meeting was done in just over an hour. It was moved to the larger venue because a bigger crowd was anticipated for Superintendent Todd Jaeger to make his formal recommendation to the board. And after more than three months of discussion districtwide, everyone was sad.
“You’ve given me the push to look outside the Amphi District,” said Holaway Elementary parent Caitlin Provincio, a third-generation Amphi parent, whose youngest is 2. “This will be felt for generations.”
The closure of four elementary schools — two in metro Tucson, one in Oro Valley and another in unincorporated Pima County — next school year is because of declining enrollment, the district says.
Holaway Elementary and Nash Elementary are both within Tucson city limits, Donaldson is in unincorporated Pima County and Copper Creek is in Oro Valley. The schools combined — in kindergarten through fifth grade — served about 1,100 students in the 2023-24 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The declining enrollment is due to two main factors, Amphi administrators say: The dropping birth rate in Pima County and the rising number of families using Arizona’s vouchers and Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to homeschool or attend private schools.
Underutilization of school property is also a factor for the district, which has capacity for nearly 19,000 students but serves just under 11,000.
“Operating half-empty buildings or worse, diverts millions of dollars away from other valuable classroom instruction and student services,” Jaeger’s formal recommendation spells out.
In recent days, at least two entities have expressed interest in renting Amphi school buildings, Jaeger said Tuesday, including the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, located on west Speedway for more than 100 years.
“ASDB looked at a number of our sites. We’re some distance away from all of this and the board has to approve it,” he said, adding he was encouraged by the potential “for a school that continues to be used as a school.”
Amphi is 132 years old and includes 22 schools in pre-K through high school in north Tucson and Oro Valley. Enrollment data for last school year shows Amphi had about 10,500 students across its 112 square miles.
Right-sizing school districts — an appropriate amount of campuses for the number of students they serve — is an issue facing every Arizona school district, as enrollment numbers at public schools continue to drop.
Expanded Korean exchange program underway here
Sixty-nine South Korean middle and high school students will visit the Tucson Unified School District over the next few weeks as part of the Tucson-Korea Ambassador Program.
The 10-year-old program has expanded this year to include high schools and the first group of 29 students landed in Tucson last weekend.
“The best part is all these students get a new experience and their perspective toward other countries has changed a lot,” said Yoon Lee, program coordinator for TUSD Asian Pacific American and refugee student services.
Student ambassadors from Sahuaro, Tucson and University high schools partner with the students from Ulleung-gun and Yeongyang-gun, South Korea during the school day, taking them to class, lunch and activities. Korean students stay with host families and tour Southern Arizona on the weekends.
Lee, a South Korean native, said she loves being a witness to friendships that can last a lifetime.
About 40 middle schoolers at Dietz K-8, Dodge Magnet, Magee and Wakefield will host their Korean counterparts and those Tucson students have the opportunity to travel to Korea next summer, Lee said.
Read the whiteboard
☎️ You need a pep talk: “Dude, live it up!
💐“Be grateful for yourself.”
🦫 If you’re feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs.”
📞 Those are a few of the recorded messages from West Side Elementary students in Southern California on the Peptoc hotline — a public art project. Messages are also available in Spanish. Check out the jubilant kindergarten laughter! Seriously: 707-873-7862
🌽 Iowa rolls out an ed plan: The Hawkeye State became the first approved for a Returning Education to the States waiver, as the Federal Department of Education is dissolved and states get more control over federal education dollars.
📣 Gov. Hobbs takes on ESAs: In her State of the State address this week, Governor Katie Hobbs blasted Empowerment Spending Accounts and called for a renewal of Prop. 123.
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