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Parents, PTA raise alarms over preschool closures, tuition and proposed childcare conversions
Summary
Multiple public commenters told the board that preschool closures and new tuition policies have reduced access to early education; callers urged the district to make full‑day preschool free or delay conversions to licensed childcare that would lower program standards.
Parents and PTA leaders used the public comment period at a Phoenix Elementary District governing board meeting to press the district on preschool access, recent closures and tuition changes.
Allison Gulick, a parent from the Hurd boundary area, said the district had told families the Hurd and Dunbar closures were needed to preserve free preschool, but that closures were followed by tuition charges and program changes at other sites. “I, as a parent with a PS 1 student at Shaw now, am paying $500 a month,” Gulick said, and she asked why full‑day preschool programs at other campuses were no longer free and why outreach and transparency had been lacking.
An electronic comment read into the record by staff from Paul Booth asserted the district’s grandfathered Shaw PS‑2 program would be free this year but possibly $750 next year; the comment said Emerson and Kenilworth are charging $750 per month and estimated the district was foregoing more than $400,000 in potential tuition revenue at Shaw given an approximate 58‑student enrollment. That commenter urged the board to reject a last‑minute plan to convert three sites into licensed childcare centers, arguing the change would shift certificated preschool teachers to childcare roles, lower program quality and disadvantage families who expected a preschool curriculum.
April Pettit, president of PECTA (parent‑teacher group), thanked district staff and volunteers for a successful back‑to‑school event and praised district responsiveness to teacher needs during new‑teacher orientation. Pettit said she looked forward to continued partnership between parents and district leadership.
Board members did not take immediate action on the comments during the meeting; the concern set will connect to ongoing planning for early‑childhood programs. Commenters asked that the board consider making full‑day four‑year‑old preschool free at the Emerson and Kenilworth sites and requested more transparent, earlier communication about program changes and tuition.
