Parents ask Scottsdale Unified Governing Board to choose least impactful school closure option

Scottsdale Unified School District is considering closing multiple schools due declining enrollment and parents shared their opinions on the issue with the governing board during a hearing Tuesday night.

The board is considering three closure options involving seven district schools after reporting the total capacity for the schools at 7,194 students, while only 3,296 are currently enrolled.

Evelyn Racette is the parent of a first-grader at Desert Canyon Elementary School. She emphasized having her child’s school close while she is still so early in her schooling could be detrimental.

“We moved into our community that we’re in at Desert Canyon Elementary School for that reason, because we knew that we wanted our child to grow up in a neighborhood school, to be able to ride her bike to school, to play at the parks,” Racette said.

Christian Sanft, chief operating officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, added the potential closure of Laguna Prep puts the organization’s work in the community at risk. He explained the local Boys & Girls Club currently serves 110 students each year at the school located right across the street.

“If Laguna stays open, and you can add as many kids as you want to it, we can help every one of those families with after-school care. We can help them with back-to-school shopping. We can help them with Christmas gifts. We can help kids that need help best if we have them right next door,” he said. “If that campus closes, our ability to help the district address some of the unmet needs that will be created by school closures is limited.”

Options A and B each include combinations of mergers, closures and repurposing that could affect Copper Ridge School, Cheyenne Traditional School, Laguna Prep Elementary, Desert Canyon Middle, Desert Canyon Elementary and Redfield Elementary.

Option C is more concise, calling for the closure of Copper Ridge School, which serves K-8 students, and Laguna Prep.

A seventh school, Anasazi Elementary, is being considered as a future option for students displaced by closing schools.

Racette noted the closure options are also creating division within the Scottsdale community. She asked the governing board to consider the closure plan that works best for the district overall.

“I think it’s hard when [parent-teacher organizations] (PTOs) are saying things like wear your colors, show your school spirit and I’m already seeing I love Laguna T-shirts … and I think that’s pitted school against school when we’re really supposed to be a district as a whole looking at what’s best for our children and our future,” she said.

Any of the options would save the district more than $2.5 million. The final closure vote will be held on Oct. 6.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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