001Good evening, everyone. Item 1.1, convene regular meeting. Our regular meeting is convened and called to order at 6 p.m. Today is December 16th, 2025. At this time, if you wish to speak to the board during the call to the public portion of the meeting, all blue cards need to be turned in to our board secretary, Ms. Nancy Mosier, who's seated to my right. This is a regular meeting of the Kyrene Governing Board. As always, our meetings are open to the public to see the business of the district. We stream our meetings live on the internet. If you can't watch a meeting live, a recording is made available on our YouTube channel. All board agendas are posted on our district office and our website at least 24 hours in advance of each meeting. Our superintendent, Ms.
002Laura Tenius, as well as staff leaders. Community members and students are here with us this evening. Item 1.2 is roll call. Board members, would you please state your name for the record? Cedric Collins. Bunny Davis. Amy Cedric. Trina Nelson. Kevin Walsh. Let the record show that we have five board members present this evening. Item 1.4 is our land acknowledgement. The Kyrene School District acknowledges that our community of schools is located on ancestral lands of the O'odham and Peejposh peoples. who have inhabited these lands since time immemorial. And with this land acknowledgement, the district formally recognizes the traditional care and keeping of these lands by native peoples allows us to be here today. Item 1.3 is the pledge and a moment of silence. I'm going to invite one of our school leaders that is here today.
003Do I see the principal of Kyrene de las Lomas in the crowd? I think I do. Principal Tika de Graffenried. You don't have to come up to the podium, but would you mind just please standing and leading us in the pledge? Principal de Graffenried, thank you. Thank you, Principal de Graffenried. Item 1.5 is our Kyrene Promise. We promise to provide welcoming, inclusive learning environments in which every student is honored, valued, and feels a strong sense of belonging and purpose. We promise to provide rigorous, responsive learning environments in which every student is given what they need to develop knowledge, skills, confidence, and a passion for learning. And we promise to provide vibrant, world-class learning environments in which every student believes they're empowered and prepared to make a meaningful impact on a rapidly changing world. That is
004the promise that we make to our students and our families. Item 2.1 is preview and approval of agenda. Board members, prior to this meeting, Member Satri asked if we could pull items 5.8 and 5.9 off the consent agenda for discussion. So I will make a motion that we have that change. Are there any other changes to the consent agenda or the meeting agenda? All right. Seeing none, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as modified. Is there a second to the motion? Second. Second by Member Davis. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? The motion passes 5-0. Item 3.1 is our Superintendent Report. We'll turn it over to Superintendent Tenius. Thank you, President Walsh. Governing Board members, staff, and community, both here in person or watching online, I am excited
005to share. Some of the exciting things happening around the district. So we are very proud to recognize our new and renewed National Board Certified Teachers in Kyrene. This certification is a voluntary rigorous assessment program designed to develop, retain, and recognize accomplished teachers while supporting ongoing improvement in schools. While state credentialing provides the requirements to teach, NBCTs must demonstrate advanced teaching knowledge. skills and practices aligned to national standards. Achieving certification signifies a high level of professional excellence and commitment to student learning. Congratulations to Kelly Nelson on her new certification and Katie, Julio, Tiffany and Joe on their renewals. You can learn more about this certification on our website. Kyrene hosted its district cross-country championship at Kyrene Apprende Middle School, where students completed in a 1.5-mile race representing their schools with pride. Kyrene Middle School captured both
006the boys' varsity and junior varsity titles, while Kyrene Altadena earned both the girls' varsity and junior varsity championships. Beyond strong performances, students demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship, supported by dedicated coaches who continue to guide and inspire our student-athletes. From the cross-country course to the digital arena, Kyrene continues to offer a wide range of competitive opportunities for our students. Kyrene Aprende and Kyrene Akimal et al. students competed in the District Esports Championship earlier this month, delivering exciting Rocket League matches that went into overtime and sudden death rounds. Akimal earned both JV and varsity titles, and Kyrene's esports program continues to provide inclusive opportunities for students to compete. collaborate and build technical and strategic skills connected to future STEM and technology pathway with more than 120 students participating this season. Another really big celebration. Kyrene Apprende Middle School has
007once again been recognized as an AVID National Demonstration School. This designation reflects a rigorous validation process and confirms the school's continued high-quality implementation of AVID strategies school-wide to support student success. Apprende was first named a National Demonstration School in 2022, a title given only to a select number of schools that demonstrate an exemplary model of the AVID college. You can learn more about the AVID program in Kyrene at kyrene.org slash AVID. So congratulations to Apprendi. And another Prende celebration, Kairina Prende's AVID national demonstration status reflects years of intentional work. And that work is closely tied to the leadership on campus. We are pleased to share that Principal Renee Corey was recently named AVID's inaugural secondary principal of the year at the 2025 Global Achievement Awards. This national recognition highlights her exceptional leadership and commitment to
008building and sustaining. a strong student-centered AVID program on the Apprendi campus. Congratulations, Principal Corey. And I'm very excited to share that for the fourth consecutive year, Kyrene has once again earned the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials. Nationwide, fewer than 150 school districts receive this recognition each year. Kyrene was the first district in Arizona in more than a decade to earn the award and remains the only district. to receive this honor four years in a row. This achievement reflects Kyrene's strong commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and stewardship of public funds. Congratulations to our finance team on this outstanding accomplishment. And it is time to wrap up quarter two. And as you know, each quarter, we are out celebrating our amazing Kyrene employees. Our Kyrene values, courage, compassion, connection, curiosity, and collaboration
009come alive when staff put them into action. Each quarter, colleagues submit peer nominations for the Kyrene Values Award. And we recognize 12 members of Team Kyrene representing certified staff. support staff, and administration who exemplifies these values in meaningful ways. Recognized employees receive a certificate and a $100 Amazon gift card generously provided by our sponsor, CORE. Congratulations to our 12 recipients this quarter. You can find a full list and a brief description of how they embody our values on our website and on social media. And it's that time of year that nominations have now opened for the 37th annual Tempe Diablo's Charities Excellence in Education Awards. This is an opportunity to recognize outstanding Kyrene employees for their dedication and their impact. Students, parents, and staff may submit nominations in a variety of categories. Nominations will be
010accepted through the end of January, and you can learn more and submit your nomination at kyrene.org. And I just want to remind everybody that this Friday, December 19th, is our last day of school for the second quarter. Kyrene Schools and the district office will be closed through Monday, January 5th. Students will return to campus on Tuesday, January 6th. So we hope everybody has a wonderful winter break. Get some rest, relaxation, and spend time with your loved ones. Thank you. Thank you, Superintendent Tenius. Item 3.2 is board member statements. Do any board members have statements this evening? Member Davis. Thank you. Thank you, President Walsh. I'm going to take a little point of personal privilege here, being the oldest one up here. I'm the least tired. I don't have a full-time job like the rest of
011the board members, so I have a little bit of energy to say a couple things that I'd like to say on this very momentous night. I don't know if I'll have a chance to do it again, but I'd like to say a bunch of thank yous first. First, I want to thank my fellow board members, because it's been a very difficult time for all of us. This decision about consolidation of our schools is hard on all of us, but I have been very, very happy with the professionalism and dedication and thoughtfulness that my fellow board members have exhibited. So I've had a lot of experience with boards in my long life with schools, and this is a sterling bunch of folks. So thank you. Made it. easier than it might have been in that way.
012I also want to thank, sort of chronologically, the long-range planning committee itself. I was not on the board when that committee convened initially, only at the very end of it. And the planning for it, anyway. We asked them to have a crystal ball to make predictions on very narrow grounds, and they worked very hard at it, and I hope that they realize that we appreciate them. I certainly do. Secondly, I want to thank the district administration, everybody you see up here and those you don't see. who are who were very busy working today here in this building. They've been working nonstop on this. for months, and some of them for years, because unfortunately, public school closures were something that could be foreseen for a long, long time. And we just have gotten to the point
013where they have done such a great job in Kyrene of keeping things above water that for a long time, people just didn't realize what a crisis was brewing. So that's quite an achievement. I don't know if you're happy now about it or not, because everything hit at once. But it was really brewing for a long, long time. You have a bunch of very professional folks, in my opinion, who do a great job and deserve a lot of credit for how this has gone. They understand that kids and families need healthy public schools to maintain healthy communities. That's very, very true in this great country of ours. But we only have Kyrene to work with. And so I want to focus on that, not on the whole thing about public schools, which is for another day.
014I also want to give some special thanks to our attorney. Jordan, who has put up with me and helped me understand the current laws as they exist that are a little bit different than when I was a school lawyer for Tucson Unified School District. So I appreciate your patience and thank you for that. The third group that I want to thank are the Kyrene certified and non-certified staff, our staff. I know this has been extremely hard for many of them, all of them, the ones who are moving potentially and the ones who are potentially not moving. It's been very hard. I appreciate you. And I stand with great respect to the strength and professionalism you've shown over the years of adversity where public schools have faced terrible odds in this state. I thank you for
015your commitment. I thank you on behalf of my grandchildren and their grandchildren, actually. I am in awe of your ability to seemingly give bottomless love to kids year after year, day after day. They come before you and you care about them all and their families. So I just thank you for that. And I really appreciate those of you, and there are many of you, who've refused to completely give in to the cynicism. And the fear that seemed to have overtaken many folks, especially after COVID. Totally understandable. But the school district has done its level best to do what's right by our children and our families, our general community. And I appreciate all of those efforts. I was not a school board member during that time, but I certainly was an observer. I was a community
016member. And of course. I want to thank the Kyrene community, the parents and the kids who came and spoke and wrote letters, lots and lots and lots of letters, and also the people who I know didn't do either but are paying attention. Because I know you're out there. I'm pretty sure that the rest of us up here know you're out there. And you're not forgotten. Just because we didn't actually hear directly from you doesn't mean that we didn't think about you. So it's been very gratifying for me to see the energy that this question has released in this community. And I'm hopeful that we can take that energy and build it. to make this district even stronger than it's always been. The best elementary school district in the state. And I think it still can
017be that. The public schools need us and we need them. So we need you. So just for a moment, let's not forget that we've sort of been forced into this mess, in my mind, by many of our state legislators who have refused to support public education in various ways. So we don't have a choice about being in this mess, but we have a choice about how we react to it. So here in closing is what I know. I know there are a lot. of grief going on in this place. I know that people are very, very sad. We are sad. None of us wants to do this. But I know that our community cares and has been willing in many cases to come and share their grief publicly. And I thank you for that because
018it's not easy to do. It's hard. But we're here to hear you and we have. No matter how we vote, and I have no idea, contrary to public opinion, I have absolutely no idea how any of us is going to vote. I don't, well, no, I know how I'm going to vote, but that's about it. At the beginning, if you can remember back then, I asked for helpers. I asked that the community be helpers, like Mr. Rogers used to talk about. We all need helpers more now than ever, no matter what happens next. Our community is faced with a choice that's actually quite simple. And some people have brought it up. You can either go or you can stay. Our community, our parents, some may choose to leave Kyrene altogether, depending on what is voted
019on tonight. And some have said that they plan to. So certainly they have the absolute right. to do so. I do not question that at all. Other parents may choose to stay and help and be the helpers that we still need to build our community out, to make the remaining schools even stronger. With greater population in schools come greater opportunities for programming and all kinds of experiences, not to mention making new friends and expanding one's horizons beyond where you've been before. So it depends on how our kids are watching us. So it depends on how we go into this, how they're going to react. I think they're actually going to be just fine. I hope that. You will choose to help us and stay. And that's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you,
020Member Davis. Do any board members have statements this evening? Perhaps less lofty. I will wish everyone a very nice winter break. This is a busy time of year. projects, tests, holiday parties for our elementary kids, musicals, athletics, playoffs, and teachers. I think regardless of what grade level you're in, it seems that somebody has a cough in every classroom. So to all of our families, our teachers, and our staff that during this admittedly challenging time, continue to keep your focus on doing what's best for our students. Thank you, and have a wonderful holiday and winter break. Item 4.1 is request to speak to the governing board. As per board policy 1302. Kyrene Governing Board does invite the U.P.O.D. citizens throughout the district. In person, members of the audience can address the Governing Board by filling out
021a blue card that's available at our sign-in table when you open and enter into the meeting. Written comments can also be submitted electronically through the link that is sent out in board meeting notifications prior to every board meeting. All of our electronic comments are read into the minutes and the board receives and reads those in full. State statute prohibits the goers from discussing items on the agenda, but we can listen and request the item be followed up if there are any concerns. We do wish to value transparency and ensure everyone has the opportunity to address the board, so we set a time limit based on the number of in-person public comments. If there are 1 to 15 speakers, each person will have 3 minutes to address the board. If we have 16 to 30 in-person
022speakers, 2 minutes and if we have 31 or more in person speakers, everyone will have 1 minute to address the board. Superintendent tenuous is informing me that we have a total of. 10 in person public comments this evening. That means that every person will have three minutes to address the board. If you've never spoken to the board during the call to the public, it's really easy. We'll call your name and you can kind of come up to the podium and just state your name for the record. And there's going to be a timer on your right, a timer on your left, and it'll tell you when your time is up. We do always like to prioritize making sure our students. have the chance to speak so we do have one student speaker this evening and
023then we'll proceed to all of our other in-person comments so i'd like to open up with our first in-person speaker that is our student miss kira lee hello kyrene board staff students community parents I know this is a difficult night for everyone. Thank you for supporting us as students and the community. I'm just here to talk about the outcomes a little bit. If population and... Whatever the word is keeps going down. We are going to eventually have to go through the same process over again. That depends if it's in the future, five years, 10 years, maybe even later. But I was, me and my mom were brainstorming some ideas and we were thinking that certain programs such as iReady, Amplify, and Mathia, they're good programs, but nobody really likes them. Like Mathia, A majority of
024us have to do it as homework because there's just simply not enough time. We barely use the workbook at all in our Algebra 1 class and last year. And then Amplify. Nobody likes Amplify. And then iReady, it's good because you can do math on your grade level, but still, nobody wants to do iReady. So just something to consider. Thank you. Thank you, Kira. Well done. Our next speaker will be Tony Allen, who will be followed by Mark Wolf. I was hoping I could go last so I wouldn't have to talk at all. But my name is Tony Allen. I do live in the Kyrene School District. My kids are all grown, and we're hoping someday to have grandkids. So thank you for helping them out. But my whole point is to thank you all for
025as hard as you're working. None of you signed up to go through this. You signed up to help kids. And in your way, you're helping kids. But I hope we all understand where the real problem with this whole system is. And it's not in this room. And it's in our legislature. We need more. We need them to fund us, not at the bottom of the barrel, but at the top. So I thank you for what you're doing. I hope. I hope everybody understands that you're doing the best you can, even if they can't get what they want. It's the best for our students and our community. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. Allen. Our next speaker is Mark Wolf, who will be followed by Michael Lamp. This is the email I sent to the board
026last Thursday. I've been a member of the Kyrene community since my family moved into Festiva Tempe in 2007. We moved from Atlanta into Mariposa's boundaries so that our older daughter could attend Mariposa when she was old enough for kindergarten in 2010. I urge the board to vote for the 5-0 plan to keep Mariposa and Aki Mall open as the plan that does the best at retaining students, mitigating future enrollment loss, and following the guidance of the Kyrene community. Mariposa has the highest utilization rate in the district among elementary schools. And Aki Mall has the highest utilization rate of any school in the district. During a time when enrollment has been shrinking district-wide, the enrollment of Aki Mall has been growing for years. There's no greater risk to student retention and future enrollment than closing the
027elementary and middle school that does the best job at attracting students into the district. The 5-0 plan would address the feedback many from the Kyrene community have voiced in public comments at the recent board meetings and regional hearings. This approach would address the feedback that we are moving too quickly and to slow down the process, that we're closing too many schools at once, that we don't know what impact will be on closing schools. This feedback was provided in a public forum open to all by teachers, principals, school staff, parents, students, alumni, members of the community, and other stakeholders. No school district in the Phoenix metro area is closing eight schools at one time. Closing fewer schools gives us more time to understand how best to retain students and mitigate future enrollment loss. If all districts
028are closing schools, parents are more likely to pick a district that is closing schools with the best outcomes in mind. Let that be our district. While I share your concern about what districts will need to do to balance the budget, I have a far greater concern that closing eight schools will lead to even more school closures in the future under a plan that closed the schools that were bringing students into the district. Closing five schools follows the guidance of the Kyrene community and gives us a far better future to retain students and mitigate future enrollment loss. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Wolf. Our next speaker is Michael Lamp, who will be followed by Matthew Sparks. Good evening, Governing Board Walsh. Good evening, Superintendent Tenius, Governing Board, community members. First off, I wanted to do a
029shout out to Catherine Peters, who has been our voice to Millennial over the past two months. She can't be here because Athena is turning six today. So happy birthday, Athena. You get six extra minutes of recess tomorrow in Miss Varela's kindergarten class. Here's the deal. No one wins tonight. The only way we win is in our response. A winning response is going to be collaborative, and it's been happening behind the scenes at sites and at the district level. It's going to be a winning response that puts parents' minds at ease, and again, they're going to have decisions to make, but I know those decisions are going to be there so that parents can make the best decisions for themselves. A winning response will put staff's mind at ease. For that, we're going to be looking
030at timelines, surveys, looking at what teachers need, regardless of the outcome. A winning response will look at kids' needs to ensure they get to experience what could be coming to them next year should they have change coming their way. And most importantly, a winning response needs to be modeled by us, the adults. We have too many experiences. We have too many examples in the nation today where adults are not modeling how to handle conflict. Together, we need to move together. Together, we need to work together, regardless of the outcome. Lots of people have skin in the game tonight. Lots of people are looking for joy. They may come out of here with sorrow. Regardless of that emotion, we need them to work together to make Kyrene as strong as possible. In the immortal words of
031my make-believe hero, Ted Lasso, onward and forward. Thank you, Mr. Lamp. Our next speaker is Matthew Sparks, who will be followed by Kathy Zinkhan. Hey, so I'm still on Team Kalina, right? And it's not necessarily just because I'm on the PTO, run the Watchdogs program, or because it's where I trust the amazing staff to care for my beautiful daughters each and every day. It's really because I firmly believe that shared campuses are in the best interest communally and fiscally for the districts. I'm also realist, and I understand that you may not see things the same way that I do. Where I hope that we can all agree, though, is that this process has been pretty terrible for just about everybody involved, yourselves included. So what I really am here to ask is, please don't kick
032the can again, right? You have the ability tonight to take a harder path. It may not be the easy piece as far as that's concerned. Please don't just close elementary schools. Please don't just do something short term. My children's cohorts will be involved in the next round of school closures if that happens in the next few years. Please make the right decision now that will serve the district in the future. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sparks. Our next speaker is Kathy Zinkhan, who will be followed by Christy Wolford. Hello, board. Hello, community members. Hello, Dr. Tannis, or Superintendent Tannis, or boss. Hi, boss. How you doing? My name is Kathy Zinkan Matsumoto. I'm a very proud integrated preschool special education teacher at Ninos Elementary. I was and still, because they're still around, a Kyrene parent
033of a gifted child and a special needs child. My husband and I have been Kyrene School District community members for 22 years. You have a very hard decision tonight, and I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that our state and our federal government doesn't care enough about our students to fully fund our public schools. I'm so sorry. I'm here to ask the board to please make the hard decision to close six elementary schools and two middle schools. It's what needs to be done at this time. To my colleagues and to my staffs, to our staffs at the closing schools, I am so sorry. To the students and the families of the closing schools, I am so sorry. I have been through a school closing and my school family was torn apart by that.
034I will never forget the fight that we fought, but we lost. It will be so hard and there will be so many tears. I won't tell you that it doesn't hurt, but you will be okay eventually. Board members, it's your call tonight, how Kyrene moves forward. Please close all eight schools, balance our budget, prioritize Kyrene's future for my colleagues, our staffs, our students, our families, and our whole Kyrene community. A couple weeks ago, We were having a bit of a morale crisis at our school. And so I put out a bunch of stickers for my staff, for our staff. And I put up a sign that says, I think you guys need to hear this tonight. You are doing your best. You are amazing. You are good at your job. You are important. And you,
035just you, are enough. So thank you for being our board. And I'm so sorry you have to make this hard decision tonight, but we will be okay. We will. All of us. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sinkham. Our next speaker is Christy Wolford, who will be followed by Allison Hopeman. Thank you, guys. Overcorrect now, you will regret the decision later. I notice some of you are looking at me, others are not. I understand, Bunny, you might have your mind already made up, but I would like to give you facts. The last chance that we have to give you facts as to why the 5-0 model is the sustainable model. Teachers will not need to be cut, Amy. You've got an absolute mastermind of a budget man over here in Chris Herman. He's won all
036these awards. He has already said, Laura has agreed, that this 5-0 model is financially sustainable for the next couple of years. He said last week as well, he's got creative ways to find money in the district before getting to the teachers. He's going to make it work for you guys. The 5-0 model is what you need to make this district healthy, to keep it healthy moving forward. And, Bunny. People are not going to leave just because they think that cuts are going to come up in the future. What that is actually going to do is inadvertently provide school spirit. People are going to want to show you guys for the next round of cuts that my school is worth it. You are going to have such a morale boost inadvertently with a 5.0 model because
037nobody wants to be on the chopping block down the road. The bottom line is, Kevin, you are right. This whole process is not meant to solve the problem. That's impossible. But it is meant to help the problem. We're going to have cuts down the road. unfortunate. It's just, it's what's going on throughout the state. But the one model, the 5.0 model that allows you the actual ability to take a look at things, take a step back, be more conservative, and allow you to make more educated decisions in your next round, that's what you want. That's what prevents the tears over here. That's what retains families in this district. That's what makes everybody happy moving forward. The 5.0 model is your only choice moving forward. That's what keeps Kyrene together. And honestly, you will have so
038many helpers with you to help, including Chris Herman, the mastermind, make it work. 5-0. Thank you, Ms. Wolford. Our next speaker is Allison Hopeman, who will be followed by Carly Fleeg. Hi, good evening. I just wanted to say I know most of you guys know what you're doing tonight and have figured that out. I just want to say thank you so much for all the work that you have put into this. I know that districts around the city and the state are making decisions unilaterally. They're not involving their community and their parents the way you are. This has been months in the making. And it is a testament to how much you value our community and our parents and our kiddos. So thank you. I know when you decided to be on the school board,
039this is not what you wanted. You were hoping would be like the action you would have to take. But it's so important. And with that, I want to encourage you to make the tough decisions. Five years from now, I want to be living our new normal and to be in, not to be debating this or to be having parents who are grieving this and trying to figure out if it's going to be their school or their kids that are impacted. We can just move forward with this. So I know that it's not the attractive thing. I know that it's the hard thing, but it is the necessary thing. And I think. I mean, I don't know everyone's story in here, but I'm pretty safe to say most of us are parents. We know that there
040are times where you have to make a hard choice that hurts your kid for their betterment. Every time my kids got a shot as a baby, my heart broke for them, but I knew it was what they needed. The tears would be temporary, but the benefits would be long lasting. And so just keep that in mind. And then I want to say to all the people who are at schools that are on the chopping block, my heart grieves for you. And I want you to know that. It's not just the schools that are slated to close that you have people like who care people who are at the other schools, their hearts are breaking with you and you don't stand alone. Like we stand with you and we grieve with you and we want to
041hug you and help you in any way we can. And we want to get through this together. On the other side of it, we want to make those great choices. That was, you know, our response should be, we can be great. Thank you, guys, and good luck. Thank you, Ms. Oatman. Our next speaker is Carly Fleek, who will be followed by Kelsey Wolf-Dane. For the record, my name is Carly Fleek. I'm a Murata mom by choice, a Mariposa mom by boundary, and an ardent supporter of public schools. And I promise I left my pitchfork at home today. You've heard from my voice a lot, so here's my TLDR, as the kids say. I think. I don't know. Restraint is easier to correct than decisions that erode trust and faith. Please close as few schools as
042possible. Large-scale closures risk triggering an attrition spiral that is extremely difficult to reverse, and our community should not be used as a proving ground for that kind of experiment. Gifted families are not asking for a gifted academy. We want the self-contained model because it strikes the right balance. greater academic rigor, instructional continuity, and the ability to meet gifted students' needs throughout the day, all within a broader and more diverse school environment that mirrors the world these children will enter. Please add me to the Gifted Programming Committee. I keep showing up because none of us know what the future holds, and I want my son to see me advocate, not just for him or for Murata or for gifted programming, But for every family in this district, every parent who has spoken has something meaningful worth
043fighting for. That has become so beautifully clear over these last several months. But these closures represent a seismic, world-changing shift for our children. Their friendships, their sense of belonging, the programs and teachers they rely on, and the microcultures built through years of trust and shared experience. The emotional toll is something no parent ever wants their child to carry. But despite all of this, I do hold deep hope because no matter what has been said or will be said about Murata, if we remain standing, we will welcome and love every single person who walks through our doors. The passion that keeps us showing up will become the energy we pour into creating the most welcoming home possible for every child who arrives. I am profoundly proud of the Murata and Kyrene community for standing together until
044the very end. We are Kyrene strong. Thank you, Ms. Lee. Our next speaker is Kelsey Wolf-Dane. Good evening, governing board members, Superintendent Tenius. Tonight, I have two items to share my final public comment in this process. The first is recognizing and appreciating many of the incredible community leaders here in Kyrene, both here and watching online. And the second is my final recommendation for you to close fewer schools. Starting with gratitude. At the risk of missing anyone, I want to publicly thank the following people who have been working tirelessly with us since the end of August. All because they are passionate about public education and Kyrene. To the schools who are not on any of the proposals tonight to stay open. Michelle Kay, the PTO President of Colina and Matthew Sparks. Missy Fleetwood, the PTO President
045of Benitas. And Emily and Sanghee, the organizers of Benitas Matters. Sam Smith, the PTO President of Kyrene Traditional Academy. Thank you. To the schools who, like us, still have a chance to stay open based on your vote tonight. Catherine Peters, as was mentioned, a parent of a kindergartner who's celebrating her birthday tonight. I have admired how she has come here solely representing Millennial and just supporting her. Casey Kimball, PTOSO President of Occumal, and Crystal Chow, as well as many others on the Occumal PTSO Board. Amanda Olgren, Pueblo PTSO President. and the many parents of the Protect Pueblo efforts. To the schools who were with us from the beginning and who have stood by our side through this process. Erin Wilkerson, PTO President Morada, Belinda, and many others of many of us. And it's been wonderful
046to get to know them through this process. And Erin and Courtney from Norte Jewel Language Academy. And finally, to our Mariposa Together team, I've done this so many times, but I've been able to keep my composure. So there's so many people to thank. So for the sake of time, I want to recognize Corrine and Celeste, Nicole, Jennifer, Michaela and Paul, and Melissa. In addition, gratitude to our Principal Spencer Walgonner and Assistant Principal Natalie Tucker for your leadership during these challenging months. So again, thank you to everybody here watching online. I'm sorry if I missed anybody. Okay, I have 16 seconds to encourage you to vote for one of the two alternative proposals tonight. We've talked about how we're an educational institution, iterative process, we can learn and grow from this. And so I want to
047express my gratitude to each of you, Principal, President Walsh, Vice President Nelson, members Satri, Davis, and Collins. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Wolf-Dunne. That concludes our in-person public comment this evening. Item 5.1 is our consent agenda as modified with the removal of items 5.8 and 5.9. Is there a motion to approve the modified consent agenda? So move. Motion by Member Davis. Is there a second? Second. Second by Member Satri. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 5-0. We'll now address these two items that were pulled off consent. The reason being, Board, as you may know, Member Satri is involved in the healthcare industry in her profession. These items relate to that space. So as a matter of practice, Member Satri simply abstains. With that, I will make a motion to
048approve Item 5.8, Purchasing Authorization, Approve Award of Contract K260131, Dental PPO Network and Administration Dental Prepaid Plan. Is there a second to the motion? Second. Second by Vice President Nelson. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? And an abstention? Abstain. Thank you. Motion passes 4-0 with one abstention. Item 5.9, I'll make a motion to approve the purchasing authorization to approve the award of contract K-26-0231 for voluntary critical illness and accidental injury insurance. Is there a second to the motion? Second. Second by Vice President Nelson. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstentions? Abstain. Motion passes 4-0 with one abstention. Item 6.1, Arizona School Board Association, or ASBA, bylaw vote. I will turn it over to our board liaison to the Arizona School Board Association, Member Davis. Thank you very much,
049President Walsh. As the assigned liaison, I have been in contact with the Arizona School Boards Association and had an occasion to review these proposed revisions to their bylaws. And it is my opinion that they are all valid changes to tighten the organization, make it more efficient. Make voting easier with members from all over the state, so diverse, distance from each other. Making voting electronic is very important, for example. And having a good process for executive oversight and leadership. defining committees, chairs, duties, and appointment authority, especially being important in my mind. So my recommendation would be that we vote to accept or uphold. I don't know the word to use for the verb, but I like them. I think they're well done. Thank you, Member Davis. Board members, all of you would have received a copy
050of the proposed board bylaw amendment. Is there any questions on it? All right. Seeing no one, someone like to make a motion to approve the proposed bylaws amendment. So move. I have a motion by Member Davis. Is there a second? Second. Second by Vice President Nelson. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes 5-0. Board Secretary Ms. Nancy Mosier will submit our vote to the Arizona School Board Association to let them know. Thank you, Member Davis. Item 6.2, proposed school closure and boundary changes. I will turn it over to Superintendent Tenius to start us off on this discussion. Thank you, President Walsh, governing board members, again, community and staff here this evening, whether you're in person or online. Tonight is the culmination of months of committee meetings, board discussions, public hearings, and
051community feedback. This has been a difficult... necessary process and it was critical that we created space for everyone in Kyrene to have a voice. I have deep respect for all of the families, staff and especially the students who have participated in this process. I also want to thank our board for the time invested in additional meetings and public discussions for maximum transparency. our staff for the work happening behind the scenes to prepare for all possible outcomes, and the 56 members of the Long Range Committee who spent months developing a recommendation to carry our district into the future. We have said often that long-range planning is about setting up future generations of Kyrene for success, but I also want to stress for our community that if the board votes to move forward with a plan that
052closes schools, we will take great care to support the students and staff who are part of Kyrene right now. No matter what the board decides or what our next steps may be, our current Kyrene kids will be our priority in all of our transition. This is about caring for people through change and making sure students and staff are supported every step of the way. So I'm first going to hand it over to legal counsel, Mr. Jordan Allel, who's going to explain the process for this evening. And then it will go back to President Walsh to lead, begin your discussion. Thank you, Superintendent Teneas, President Walsh, members of the board. As you know, our board follows a modified version of Robert's Rules of Order. And there is one district in the state, I believe, Phoenix Union
053follows official Robert's Rules, and I think they're crazy. So in a situation like this where there isn't a single possible board action for an agenda item, board members will begin the agenda item with a discussion where they can see if there's a natural consensus that's being built towards one of the proposals. Regardless of whether a clear consensus is reached, at some point a board member has the ability to make a motion to take action, and the board president will call for a second. If the motion receives a second, the board members have the opportunity for additional discussion before a vote will take place for that specific motion. If the motion receives a majority vote, at that point, the motion passes, the item is closed, and no additional proposals will be considered. If the motion does
054not receive sufficient votes in the affirmative, a board member may then make a motion on an alternative proposal and will follow the same procedure. Board president will ask for a second. There's the opportunity for discussion and a vote. And this process ensures that there's clarity regarding what it is the board's voting on, both for the public, for you as board members, and we'll continue that process until a proposal passes. Thank you, Mr. Allel. Are there any questions from the board to our council? All right. With that, board members, we now have an opportunity for any final discussion. If you have questions, our district leadership is here to answer them. We can share our thoughts on the proposals in front of us or other alternatives. And then, as Mr. Allel said, when we're ready, someone can
055make a motion. So I'll open it up for discussion. I motion to vote on the 5-0 model. All right. I have a motion from Member Collins to vote on the 5-0 model. I will second his motion. We will now have discussion on that motion. If there is any discussion. I think we've discussed enough. All right. No further discussion. All those in favor of the motion, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nay. We have a motion fails 2-3. Seeing that the 5.0 model has failed on motion, I would like to suggest to the board that we consider a hybrid of the 5.0 model and the 4.2 model that were presented at our last study session. That hybrid model would basically take the 5.1 and the 4.2 and make it a 4.1. Sorry, excuse me. Point of
056order. Yes. Just to ask Jordan is, are we sorry, Mr. Are we able to consider an item that we have no current map on or have not previously had advice from our executive team on? Thank you, Vice President Nelson, for the question. The board has a fair bit of flexibility in this. We've looked at the maps. And if the hybrid map was to accept maps that had been presented to the public, even if they weren't particularly in this form, I believe you can proceed with that without the need to go back for a public hearing. Obviously, you haven't had a chance to discuss as a board that type of proposal. You know, you have this opportunity to do so and to discuss, but I don't believe there is a requirement other than, you know, public
057notice that you're considering it that prohibits the board from considering an alternative. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lowe. A 5-1 model, I think, would be a combination of the 4-2 and the 5-0. It would close the same number of schools as the 4-2 model. So it's projected to save more costs than the 5-0 model that just failed, which I understand is a concern that this board has. The 5-1 model would also impact far fewer students than the 4-2 model using 40th day headcount. It would also allow us to apply the same criteria that we used for the six elementary schools that are proposed for closure against the middle schools. If you were to do that, you would be closing the same number of schools and impacting 450 fewer students than the 4-2 model. 450 fewer
058students. That's about the size of an elementary school. Like the 5-0 model. It keeps open the school with the largest enrollment in the entire district and the highest percentage of home students served among the eight schools being considered for closure. So if there were to be an interest in that, Mr. Allel, I believe the map would look like the west side map for the 5-0 model and the east side map for the 4-2 model. Can we see the previous one again, please? So what we're going to have to do is look at the two maps that are up there, and you'll have to see one side and then the other. So this would be the east side model that closes two middle schools. The map says close two middle schools. The alternative, I'm going to
059just stand up here because I think it'll be easier. So this map would be in place. On the east side. So it would be a combination of this. So it would so now don't look at this side of the map. Just look at this side. So it would be looking at on this side of the freeway on the west side, you would have three middle schools on the east side. You would have two middle schools. And if we applied the criteria in the same manner against the elementary in the middle schools in a five one model, the schools that would be coming back at the elementary would be Mariposa. the school that would be coming back at the middle school level would be Akino. President Walsh, I know we've had this discussion. This has been
060broached several times. This board has never been able to come to consensus that it wanted to proceed with a 5-1 solution. So I'm, I... I'm happy to discuss. I'm just a little perplexed as to why, when it has been something the board has not wanted to come to consensus on, that it's being discussed now. Happy to respond on that. My preference would be that we're closing no middle schools, given that there is not a consensus on that. This is what I'm falling back on. It does preserve the... district boundaries that have been presented in both of the alternative scenarios last week. It's just combining those maps. So I will make a motion for that proposal, what I will call a 5-1 model, which would keep open Mariposa and Akimol. Is there a second to that
061motion? And there will be further discussion if that motion is seconded. I'll second it. I have a second by Member Collins. Further discussion? I'd like a review of the financial aspects of this. Sure. Yep. And I can pull, I both have both the financial and the, and Mr. Herman, I may need to lean into you on this. It is a little bit of combination here you're going to have to do. Sorry. So this is your first slide that you looked at financially. If you look at the number of buildings closed, you can see this would be five elementaries and one middle school. So it brings us to the personnel for 3.3, the building day-to-day operations. Should we not operate the buildings at two, which could be a potential savings of about 5.3. I also have
062the chart that Mr. Herman shared last week. That breaks that down. What it doesn't do is you do not see the 5.1 scenario here, but we can give you the math behind that. But if we went back to the prior slide, Superintendent Tenius, I think I understand that there's about a $500,000 difference between the 4.2, which would have total cost of 5.8 mil, and a 5.1 at 5.3. Correct. It's about a $500,000 difference. A question I have is the capacity on, I imagine then if... I have that as well. The capacity, if there is three middle schools on the west side, what does that do to the capacity of each of those schools? So I'm just going to, Board Member Davis, it would be looking at west side here and doing the capacity here. If
063you are going to drop capacity... Anywhere from 49 to 57% at the three middle schools on the west side. Your two middle schools on the east side, if you kept only two and you closed one, would be in the 80s, 88, 87. Again, from the things we've talked about, both financial and capacity and utilization really being about student experience, you will have, obviously, one side will be in about in the 80s, one utilization. Thank you, Superintendent Dennis. I'd like a little bit more of an explanation of the effect on staff, on staffing. Well, it could be that we are reducing some staffing at the schools that have lower utilization. And so that's always been one of the challenges, right? As we continue to decline, we're going to have to decline in staffing as well. So
064it could be that we, you know, until we actually. go through the enrollment process and see where the numbers are. We can't make some of those decisions yet for staffing until typically once we have all the enrollment numbers and then staffing and contracts back, and then we start moving everybody around every year. That's part of our process. So I don't know exactly the number of staff you'd still be. If you think back to earlier on in the presentation, we talked about closing one middle school is about 13. and a half FTE. Closing elementaries is about almost eight FTE. So you will leave low utilization. And again, it doesn't mean the conversation of not coming back and talking about middle schools is off the table. In all likelihood, we still are having a conversation about utilization
065as a whole. And I think if you go back to, this slide's a good example. If we close only one If we close no middle schools, right, we're about in the 50% utilization at schools. Again, this is on average. If you close one, we still have, we're still in the 60%. And if you were to close two, we're about the 77% in the next five years. Because again, as enrollment continues to decline over the next five years. So it might mean you're not back in another year or two, but you're back in, you know, three to four years having a conversation about middle schools. And part of the reason I'm advocating this is that these models assume generally that all of your students are moving over to their new site. And I have concerns that
066closing too many schools is going to result in more students leaving the district, which is going to exacerbate a problem that we're trying to solve. And then this is the slide, I believe, that we shared last week that talks, that takes into account the different 0%, 5%, 7%, 10% of potential additional loss in enrollment. So I know, Mr. Herman, I think if we were to go, we don't have 5-1 up here, but if we were to have a 5-1, you know, where would that fall in this? Thank you, Superintendent Timmons. So we're going to do some visual math since we don't have the actual slide. But if you think about the 5-0 numbers, those are just five elementary schools. If you were to add a middle school to that. Really, the biggest difference would be
067the personnel savings. And so that would be about $800,000. So you would add about $800,000 of savings to the 5.0 model, if that makes sense. Or you could add it to the personnel savings. It would be another way to think about that. If you wanted to assume that you would not retain the building, so we've broken these potential savings into whether Kyrene continues to operate all of its buildings or whether it operates none of its buildings. By not operating a building, you would save about a half a million dollars of additional costs, potentially, if you did not operate that middle school. So between that personnel savings, potentially of $800,000. And the building day-to-day operational costs of about a half a million dollars, that would be about $1.3 million of either potential additional savings and then
068closing that gap from what the 5.0 model represents. So I hope that helps a little bit, but those would be the factors that would be in play. Thank you, Mr. Herman. Further questions or discussion? Can we have some thinking moments? Please. Member Satri, did you have a question or comment? Yes, President Walsh. I know you had expressed your concern about, you know, our reduction in enrollment, and I hope that's not so. you know, trying to predict the future. And it's really saddens me to hear that you think that that's going to happen. Because, you know, we were asked about our legacy and, you know, how it's going to go tonight. And I don't think it's just our legacy. It's the whole community's legacy and how we handle this moment, how we move forward and making
069that suggestion. That really makes me sad because I have more confidence in our community than that. I really do. That's why I feel a little bit different about it because our community loves their schools. That means they love the district and they love their community. So the community is not going anywhere. Why wouldn't they just stay? Show our kids how resilient we are. Don't we want to show our kids that? That we can teach. those values, the kindness, togetherness, community involvement, and stick it out and be stronger for it and not be worried. I'm sorry about what the other districts are going through because I know that's come up as well. And I know they had some very sad and difficult decisions and maybe their outcomes weren't what they expected them to be. But that's
070not us. That doesn't have to be our story. And I think that that. We can be the shining star in the state. We can show them that we can do this together. And that can be our legacy instead as a community, all of us. Thank you, Member Chaitrey. Yeah, based on what I said before, I tend to agree with Member Chaitrey. I don't want to under expect from a community that has shown great Great support for us. I wasn't sitting in this chair, but for years, you know, the Kyrene that I've heard the Kyrene that used to be, well, the Kyrene that used to be can still be. It's up to everybody, you know, whatever we decide, whatever schools are open, we'll house the same kids, the same families, the same programs, and potentially be
071even stronger. I mean, maybe all of a sudden we'll have people flocking back who've left because it's so good here. You know, it used to be. Why can't it be again? It's all about how much we want to work for our kids, how much hard work we want to do. Nothing has come easily to me in my life for a lot of reasons. And I learned very young to not take no for an answer. You know? And that, I had to make my world. And I did. So, I want to give our folks a chance to make theirs. This is not out of your control. This is making the best. Making lemonade out of lemons. Isn't that what they say? Making lemonade out of lemons. So, hmm? What? Oh, when life hands you lemons, thank
072you, sir. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. That's always an option. I have a little sign back here that I keep that says fortitude. And I put it up when I have to remind myself what I need to do. And fortitude, it's... It's an opportunity. You know, with every tragedy comes an opportunity. We can teach our kids how to overcome adversity rather than get deeper into it. So I tend to agree with you in that, with all due respect, I feel like we're not expecting what we... We know it's there from the people in this community. I know it's out there, you know, and I just would love to see it come through, the strength. Thank you, Member Davis. Any other feedback, comments, or questions? Member Collins? Yes. President Walsh, you know you're my
073guy. You're my guy. You know what I mean? However, I seconded it so I could see, potentially see. All of us on this board have put a lot of work into studying the models that we discussed previously. And I just think that's kind of unfair to us. And it's just my opinion. It's not personal. It's just business that it was unfair to us to have this model sprung on us because all of us studied these. And then when we came to discussion about which three we were going to go over. You know, I put in maximum time studying these different models, looking at all the different scenarios. And to me, I just think, like I say, you're my guy. It's not personal. It's just business. But I just I don't feel comfortable voting for that,
074knowing that we didn't have that time to study it like we did all the others. Even though we just had a little quick, brief explanation and we could see it. But as an educator. Come on now. You talk to kids all day and you ask them five minutes after you teach them. What did you learn? I don't know. OK, so I'm just saying from a personal standpoint, my perspective, like I can't ride with that one because we didn't have the time and energy put into like we did the other three. And I just can't confidently support that. Hope you understand. I understand that. No disrespect was intended. I'm simply proposing what I and my individual capacity. Feels like what would be best. And I will not take it personally if I do not have a
075second on that motion. So, Member Collins, do I understand you correctly that you are no longer seconding my motion? No, sir. All right. So there is no motion. Further discussion or motion? I would like to make a motion on the 4-2 model and open for discussion. I have a motion from Vice President Nelson on the 4-2 model. Is there a second to her motion? Second. Second by Member Satri. Discussion? So, you know, one of the public comments today, I know we're not going to talk to it specifically, but it really stuck with me because Kyrene really is a community that has valued collaboration and community voice. And when we established the Long Range Planning Committee, it was really important to me that we honor kind of that collaborative spirit that past boards have really... insisted
076on and watching those community members come together to have discussions about capacity and utilization and exploring the different approaches or grade level configurations and what they ultimately chose to prioritize was the broader community and I think their initial reflection I mean, recommendation reflects that commitment to that. That being said, we have also had an opportunity to hear from our community, the wider community outside of those 56 people, and there is a desire to close less schools. And other districts have used, they've used different models. We've seen some less. recently where others have just used capacity alone. And my concern with that is capacity alone often disproportionately impacts some of our most disadvantaged and diverse communities. And I don't want that. I don't want that. And making sure that we are, you know, listening, connecting with
077people and Taking care of our fiscal responsibility is really important to me because, as we can see from this lovely slide here, you know, all of the I'm so sorry, I have like notes jotted down about this because I'm very nervous. You know. None of the current proposals under consideration fully achieve that target impact of the $6.7 million. They just don't. So to me, what we're actually doing tonight, in addition, is deciding the severity of what Mr. Herman and his team are going to have to come up with because we are legally required to pass a balanced budget. It is not that they just can make do because they are. wizards and it'll work. It is because it is legally required of us to pass a balanced budget. So there still will be pain, but
078our community really wants us to close less than those eight schools. And I want to make sure that we are able to one, meet our legal obligation. but not delay action, to give people some certainty so they can start to plan for their new normals and making sure that any impact, that we're making enough of a cut that any impact we have maybe will not be felt as acutely in some of our more disadvantaged communities. There's my opening statement. I guess if anybody else wants to discuss as well. Other comments on the motion? Member Shadry. Yes, I agree with Member Nelson. I think I originally, it was a few study sessions back, I think that we came up with these different scenarios that we could study and review. And that was my logic at the
079time is that we were either going to grossly come nowhere near our target savings or maybe come closer at the expense of appearing as though we're not listening to the needs of our community and how they would like to see this process. So I personally do think that this model accomplishes both. Thank you, Member Sejci. Other discussion on the motion? Seeing none, we have a motion in the second. All those in favor of the 4-2 proposal, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Aye. The motion passes 5-0. Board members, the next item is item 7.1, Board Committee Conference Reports. Are there any reports? Seeing none, item 8.1, Items for Future Consideration. Do any board members wish to list items for future consideration? Hearing none, item 9.1, our next meeting date will be scheduled for January 13,
0802026. Item 10.1 is adjournment. I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting. Is there a second to the motion? Second. Second by Member Davis. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes 5-0. We're adjourned at 7.20 p.m.