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Parents, students and staff urge board to apply closure criteria consistently at Kyrene regional hearing series
Summary
At the Oct. 14 board meeting dozens of parents, students and community members spoke against proposed school closures and boundary changes, urging consistent application of data, preservation of high‑performing and small schools, and further stakeholder engagement before final votes.
Dozens of parents, students and community members used the Oct. 14 public‑comment period to urge the Kyrene Elementary District governing board to pause or reconsider parts of its draft long‑range plan that would close or repurpose neighborhood schools and redraw boundaries.
Speakers representing a range of neighborhoods and school communities told the board they feared losing successful programs and neighborhood anchors, and asked for consistent application of the district's stated metrics in deciding which schools to close. Several parents said the district's current draft appeared to remove some schools with strong academic performance or strong neighborhood enrollment while preserving lower‑performing or boundary‑free schools.
Christy Wolford, identified as a parent and community member, argued against closing a West Side middle school she called a "massive success story" and said…
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