Parents, students and staff urge board to keep Butterfield assistant principal Alan Goffren after reassignment announced

Dozens of parents, students and staff urged the Maricopa Unified School District governing board on March 26 to reverse or reconsider a reassignment of Butterfield Elementary assistant principal Alan Goffren, saying his removal would harm the school community.

Speakers during the meeting’s public-comment period described Goffren as a long-serving administrator who supports students, staff and families. “Mister Goffren is a leader who builds bridges not barriers,” parent Amanda Coffey told the board. Kevin Kessler, a PTO officer and parent, said, “Butterfield Elementary will be less without mister Goffren. Please don't take away from our school.” Several students also spoke: “Mister Goffren is the nicest guy ever,” said former student Charlie Smith.

Board President Robert Downey opened the public-comment period by reading the board’s call-to-public guidance and citing Arizona law restricting board discussion to items on the agenda (ARS 38-431). Speakers were allotted three minutes each; the board noted that it could respond only by directing staff to study the matter, responding to criticism, or placing the topic on a future agenda.

Parents and staff described multiple examples they said show Goffren’s intervention and support for students, including involvement in an individualized 504 plan and day-to-day problem solving. Samantha Harris, a second-grade teacher at Butterfield, said she has worked with Goffren for two years and called him “the glue that holds the school together.” Several speakers asked the board to consider promoting Goffren to principal or to keep him in his current role rather than reassigning him; Harris said she opposed what she described as “a demotion to a PE teacher at another school.”

Speakers characterized the reassignment as a change imposed after a first-year principal arrived and expressed concern about continuing turnover at the school. “There’s been so many things at this school that has changed just in this school year,” parent Stephanie Johnson said, describing student anxiety related to staff changes.

Board members did not take action on the matter during the March 26 meeting. After the public comments concluded, the board proceeded to its consent and action agenda items. The board’s formal votes that evening addressed personnel schedules and districtwide matters; none of the motions on the agenda recorded a board decision to change Butterfield staffing during this meeting.

Copies of the public-comment record and audio/video of the meeting are retained in the district’s official minutes. Citizens who asked to speak said they wanted the board to hear parents’ and students’ perspectives before any final personnel moves affecting Butterfield Elementary.

The board chair thanked speakers for their comments and moved on to the business portion of the meeting.