PHOENIX — Families in the Phoenix Elementary School District could see two of their schools close by the end of the school year.
The district is considering closing Dunbar Elementary and students there would move to Bethune. The district is also considering closing Heard and students would move to Capitol.
Officials say bus transportation would be made available to impacted students.
“Heard is a part of the family,” parent Angelica Luna said. “They are trying to transfer our students to the Capitol where the crime violence is very, very high…The safety of our children is the main concern right now.”
Paul Booth represents the Westwood Village and Estates Historic Neighborhood Association. He says a lot of children in his neighborhood attend Heard Elementary.
“There are various backgrounds but a lot of them are still trying to learn the English language, become proficient in English. There are higher poverty levels,” he said.
That is why Booth says he wants to know why Heard was chosen as one of two schools to possibly close. He created an online petition, which as of Thursday, had over 400 signatures.
“I think they’re not spending the money wisely,” Booth said. “I think they’re allocating too much to some of the other schools that don’t need as much as others and I think they don’t want to change some of those programs. They don’t want to cut them and it’s easier for them to get rid of a school that actually needs the most help.”
ABC15 asked Superintendent Dr. Deborah Gonzalez if more money was being spent on some of the district’s other schools with more unique programming, like Shaw Montessori School, as opposed to Heard.
“I know that’s not the case,” Gonzalez said, adding that the district does an annual study where they look at the money they receive from the federal government. “We have to be able to show that the money we spent at all of our schools is comparable to the number of students.”
Booth says he wants to see a breakdown of the money being spent and money being brought into each individual school within the district.
“We’ll be releasing a budget formula that we just worked on with our budget consultant this week,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says students who walk to Heard every day will now be allowed to attend Magnet Traditional School, which is right next door. She says students who take the bus to Heard would be bussed to Capitol Elementary, which is 2 1/2 miles away.
A district spokesperson said they will have different “hub stops” throughout the district where students will be picked up by bus. They will work with families to determine the location of the “hub stops” based on student enrollment.
However, Booth believes the changes may make more students leave the district altogether.
“People in this neighborhood aren’t going to send their kids to Capitol downtown when there’s the Osborn School District, Alhambra. If they have openings and they’re performing better, that’s where they’re going to go,” he said. “I don’t feel like closing schools is a long-term solution.”
The district says, like many, they have been dealing with declining enrollment for years. In part, they say it's because of lower birth rates and also because fewer people are living in the downtown area with the higher cost of living.
The district is 153 years old.
In an online video message to parents, the district's superintendent Dr. Deborah Gonzalez said a serious budget deficit has led them to take some hard actions.
"So that the next 153 years do not have to be a time where we worry about finances, but instead we worry about how many children we're able to serve," Gonzalez said.
Dunbar Principal Nadine Gofonia said she’s concerned about the staff and families that call the school a second home.
However, she supports the proposal in an effort to keep the same level of education across the district.
“We are really dedicated to taking care of the people in the schools as well as the families and the kids,” Gofonia said. “Combining some of the schools we can make resources go further and then I think the vision is to grow, grow back up in our enrollment and build the district back up.”
The district is holding the following public meetings:
- Thursday, February 13th at 5:15 p.m. (Heard, 2301 W. Thomas Rd.)
- Saturday, February 22nd at 10:00 a.m. (Capitol, 330 N. 16th Ave.)
- Tuesday, February 25th at 5:15 p.m. (Dunbar, 707 W. Grant St.)
ABC15 has reported extensively on plans involving local school closures and staffing changes. See some of our recent reporting below:
