Faced with More Arizona Budget Cuts, Mesa School District Considers Major Overhaul
PHOENIX
(Wire Services)
November 9, 2009 —
Faced
with the
potential
for more
budget
cuts and
a
continually
declining
student
population,
Arizona's
largest
school
system
is
weighing
a major
restructuring
that
would
transfer
thousands
of
students,
shuffle
major
programs
and
close
schools.
Mesa
Public
Schools
officials
say the
overhaul
is
necessary
as they
brace
for more
midyear
budget
cuts in
January
from the
state
Legislature.
They
added
that the
restructuring
is the
best way
to
protect
classroom
instruction,
especially
since
they
have
already
had to
cut $60
million
from the
budget
in the
past two
years,
or about
15
percent
of the
$408
million
maintenance-and-operation
fund.
"We're
to the
point
where
we're
cutting
bone
now,"
Mesa
Superintendent
Mike
Cowan
said.
State
and
district
leaders
said
more
Arizona
districts
will
face
similar
challenges,
but they
won't
have
many of
the
options
that a
large
district
like
Mesa has
with
67,500
students.
Late
last
week,
administrators
unveiled
a plan
to close
three
elementary
and two
junior-high
schools
in order
to
"repurpose"
them,
which
could
save a
minimum
of $2.5
million
the
first
year,
district
projections
show.
The
restructure
plan
would
help the
remaining
schools
fill to
capacity
as
enrollment
continues
to
decline.
In the
past
five
years,
the
district
has lost
7,000
students.
Mesa is
the only
Arizona
district
to house
Grades
10-12 in
its
traditional
high
schools.
That
would
change
under
the
proposal,
which
calls
for
freshmen
at six
junior
high
schools
be
transferred
to three
high
schools.
This
would
streamline
sports
and
academic
programs
for a
minimum
savings
of
$83,000
the
first
year.
"We're
at a
crossroads
in
Mesa,"
said
Mike
Hughes,
school
board
president.
"If we
delay
now, it
will
mean
only
harder
choices
down the
road."
Gov. Jan
Brewer
and
legislative
leaders
have
reached
a
tentative
deal
under
which
lawmakers
would
return
to the
Capitol
in a
special
session
later
this
month to
begin
chipping
away at
a
state-budget
deficit
estimated
at about
$2
billion.
"When we
do these
midyear
(education
cuts),
it's
damaging
to the
kids,"
said
state
Sen.
John
Huppenthal
of
Chandler,
who
chairs
the
Senate
education
committee.
"We
absolutely
have to
get the
governor
and the
Legislature
together
for a
decision
(on the
state
budget),
and
January
would be
optimal,
while
July/August
is
despicable."
The Mesa
school
board
will
hold
public
hearings
in the
coming
weeks
and is
expected
to vote
Jan. 12
on the
restructure
plan, so
it can
begin
next
school
year.
Mesa
City
Councilman
Dennis
Kavanaugh
said he
is
concerned
about
the
effects
of
closing
schools
on
neighborhoods.
He was
particularly
concerned
about
the
proposal
to close
the
38-year-old
Powell
Junior
High,
even
though
the
district
plan
calls
for it
to be
converted
into a
community
center.
But
district
officials
said all
the
closed
schools
will
remain
active,
just not
as
traditional
schools.
"We're
not
going to
abandon
the
neighborhood,"
Hughes
said.
"We're
in a
crunch,
as is
the rest
of the
state,
so these
hard
decisions
have to
be
made."
If you want to Turn Arizona Blue,
follow us:
http://twitter.com/JonGarrido
