11-05-2025 Kyrene Long Range Planning Public Hearing

001All right, good evening. We're going to be starting our hearing here momentarily. All right, we're going to be starting our hearing off. Good evening all. Item 1.1, we are officially calling to order our public hearing. Today is Wednesday, November 5th, 2025. We are at Pueblo Middle School. It is 6.05 p.m. So welcome to this public hearing. This is the fourth. seven public hearings that the governing board is having on the proposed school consolidations and boundary changes that have been recommended by the Long Range Planning Committee. So there is a hearing at each one of our six middle schools as well as a seventh hearing at the district office. This is our fourth hearing. The purpose of this hearing is to get feedback from you, the community, from students, from families, from staff on these proposed

002changes. The format is going to look a lot like the public comment portion of a board meeting if you've ever been to one or seen one. And by that I mean we're going to call up each person who would like to speak to the board tonight and they'll have a chance to go up to the microphone. Students, don't worry, that gets a lot shorter. So it'll be able to speak. We're going to start with our students first because it's a school night and we want to make sure we hear from each and every one of our students this evening. And then we're going to move to all adults. The comment format is going to be very similar. There's going to be a timer on the screen that will show you how much time you have.

003Now, at most of our board meetings, there's a time limit on speakers based on the number of comments submitted. But tonight and at all of our seven public hearings, because of the magnitude of what we're talking about today, Normally, if you've got 30 or more speakers, everybody only gets one minute. Tonight, everybody's going to have two minutes to speak to the board, regardless of how many people want to speak. So we will be here as long as you are here to speak to us, and we're here to listen to all your comments. That's the format here. Just in terms of timing and sequence, these hearings will go through November. The earliest the board would be taking any action would be in December. December the board has an opportunity to take action if the board decides

004to make any changes if they decide to make any changes we've gotten some questions about well what would that look like would we have to do another seven hearing Roadshow the answer is no We are only required to have one hearing. We are doing seven because we want to get this feedback. So if any change were to be made to this proposed plan, we would have another hearing after those changes were proposed. But none of that will happen until December because we want to make sure we get through each and every one of our hearings at all of our middle schools to make sure we get all of the feedback from our community. before we start making any additional changes so that's the timing and sequence for how this is going to go before we

005jump into the public comment we're going to do a very quick presentation from our superintendent miss laura tenius who's just going to present on the proposed school closures and boundary changes if you need a refresher before i do that do any board members wish to make any statements this evening remember davis I just wanted to welcome everybody. Thank you for coming. And I also wanted to give a shout out to our staff and all of you, actually, for coming and spending these hours with us. I believe it'll be several hours. So I also want to acknowledge the letters of support that we have received. We read all the letters that we get. and there have been all kinds of letters, and I just personally, as Bunny Davis, want to thank those of you who have

006spoken up with your thoughts and feelings, but especially I want to say you're welcome to the people who have said thank you to me. So that's all I wanted to say. Welcome tonight. I look forward to hearing from all of you. Thank you. Item two is our presentation. Superintendent Tenius. Thank you, President Walsh, governing board members, community members here joining us either online or in person. I want to just start with a brief introduction, and then I'm going to go into the actual boundary map. So thank you again to everyone who made time to be here tonight, whether to speak or to hear from fellow community members regarding the proposed school closures and boundary changes in Kyrene Elementary School District. I am Kyrene Superintendent Laura Tenius, and I have just a very short introduction. A

007year ago, the Governing Board voted to form a long-range planning committee to address projected enrollment trends and maximize the use of schools and facilities. After seven months of study, the committee presented a recommendation to the board in September. Following the board's review and early community feedback at the guidance of the Governing Board, the plan was modified in late September. Kyrene is now seeking feedback on the modified proposal. which will go to the board for a possible vote in December. Tonight, we will show you maps as well as a proposed implementation timeline. Then community members who signed up to speak will each have two minutes to address the board. As a reminder, this is not a town hall with questions and answers. This is an opportunity for board members to hear public comment both for and

008against the proposed changes. Questions can be submitted on the Long Range Planning webpage and may be answered in future communications or in online FAQs. I do want to take a minute to acknowledge how difficult this moment is for our community. No district wants to close schools. By consolidating our resources, Kyrene aims to preserve the excellence that defines our schools and ensures fiscal stability for years to come. I'm going to start with our elementary closures and boundary recommended changes. So just elementary schools right now. In our elementary, the proposal would close Kalina, Estrella, Millennial, and Menides in the 26-27 school year. The proposed changes would close Mariposa and Kyrene Traditional Academy in the 27-28 school year. The boundary changes that would occur because of the closures, Lagos and Norte would have no boundaries beginning in the

00926-27 school year, which means open enrollment only, no transportation. Kalina and Lomas would merge boundaries beginning in 26-27. Millenio and Esperanza would merge boundaries beginning in 26-27. The Estrella-Lago-Super boundary would be split between Monta Vista, east of 32nd, and Sierra, west of 32nd, beginning in 26-27. Menides and Murata would merge boundaries beginning in 26-27. Mariposa and Wagner would merge boundaries beginning in the 27-28 school year. Kyrene traditional would be split between Breesis and Paloma beginning in the 27-28 school year for out of district the Maricopa region students would be offered transportation to Monta Vista beginning in the 26-27 school year and the baseline region students would be offered transportation to both Ninos and Lomas beginning in the 26-27 school year There are no proposed changes to the boundaries for Cerritos, Cielo, and Ninos. These are

010the same changes I just shared, just in a timeline view for the elementaries. Most of the elementary changes, as you can see, occur next school year, including our out-of-district transportation changes and our dual-language open enrollment no-boundary changes. As for our middle school proposal, The middle school closures would include Occema and Pueblo in the 27-28 school year. And the middle school boundary changes would include centennial boundaries would change to include Lomas, Esperanza, part of Monta Vista south of Chandler Boulevard, and Lagos dual language open enrollment beginning in 27-28. Altadena boundaries would change to include Cerritos, Sierra, part of Monta Vista north of Chandler Boulevard beginning in 2728. The Apprende boundaries would change to include Breesis, Cielo, Paloma beginning in 2728. And the Kyrene boundaries, KMS, change includes Ninos, Wagner, Murata, and the Norte dual language open

011enrollment beginning in 2728. Out of district, Maricopa region students would be offered transportation to Centennial in 27-28, and our baseline region students would continue to be offered transportation to Kyrene Middle School and Centennial in 26-27. These are also the same changes I just shared in a timeline view for the middle schools. All of the middle school changes occur in the 27-28 school year. And that concludes the presentation. I will hand it back to President Walsh. Thank you Superintendent Tenius. If anybody's standing in the back there are a few seats up front. I know students don't like to sit in the front row but there are some seats up front. We are going to now jump into the public comment. By the way we are opening up some overflow space in the gym right next door.

012We are so glad to see such a great turnout and such engagement here. So as soon as that space opens up we'll open up some seating there as well. So I'm going to start off with our students. Before we call up any individual student. First, I want to address all the students that are here tonight. We're glad to see you. And for those that are speaking, this whole board wants to tell you that we're very proud of you for speaking tonight. Your voice matters and we know it can be intimidating sometimes to talk in public, especially in a crowded room with adults, but you are going to do great. So thank you for being here. Before we start, let's give a big round of applause to all of our student speakers. All right, our very

013first student speaker this evening will be Ayla Tepindela-Nayoglu, who will be followed by Danica Paleo. We can adjust that to make it a little bit easier for you. There you go. Thank you. Hi, my name is Isla Tepetalanliolu, and I am a sixth grader here at Pueblo. I was really nervous starting here, but soon fit in perfectly with this great community. I really feel welcome here and like I belong. With all the sports and clubs here, I have made so many new friends and really feel connected with this community. The teachers here are all so kind and really care about every student. I was really looking forward to spending all of my middle school years here at Pueblo. We have this program called WEB. It stands for Where Everyone Belongs. The 8th graders get to

014help the 6th graders get around and feel welcome here. I would really like to be a WEB leader myself, but with this new plan, I wouldn't even get to be here for my 8th grade year. I would only get to spend one more year here right after I just started. I would like you to consider keeping Pueblo open, even if it is only for a year longer. Thank you for listening. Good job Isla. Our next speaker is Danica Palayo who will be followed by Talia Burkell. Hi, my name is Danica Palayo and I am a student at Mariposa. I do not think you should shut down Mariposa because my school is at 75% capacity and I know it's not empty. There are 27 kids in my classroom. Also, a lot of kids walk to school

015or scooter or bike to school. I walk to school every day, too. If you close my school, you will need more buses. Thank you. Good job, Danica. Our next speaker is Talia Burkell, who will be followed by Grace Daviau. My name is Talia Burkell. Why would you close a school if it was a great school? Good job, Talia. Well done. Our next speaker is Grace Daviau, who will follow by Salva Masua. My name is Grace Daviau, and I'm in second grade at Murata Leadership Academy. We learned about Epimetheus and Prometheus. Epimetheus means think after you do. Don't be epimetheus. Prometheus means think before you do. Be prometheus and think what will happen to Kyrene if you close all these schools. Kyrene needs people who think like Prometheus. Thank you. Well done, Grace. Our next speaker

016is Savia Masua, who will be followed by Serafina Nole. Hi, my name is Laura. I am in third grade. I go to Kyrene de la Mirada. Thank you for being flexible in your plans for elementary schools. I was happy to hear that I could probably stay with my teachers and friends through fifth grade. Having different programs makes kids want to come to school and do their best. I really enjoy music and art. I'm teaching myself Spanish, piano, and want to play violin. Please keep open middle schools that have a special program for kids like me. Thank you. Good job. Well done. Our next speaker is Serafina Nole, who will be followed by Finn Roek. Hello everyone, I'm Serafina Nala. I'm a fifth grade student at Kyrene de la Mirada and I was planning to go

017to Pueblo for middle school. Instead of enjoying my fifth grade year, I'm spending my time at all these meetings with my mom and brother. It's my turn to say not to shut down Pueblo. Some of my friends go here right now and they're in the band program. I went to one of their concerts and they played so well. In only two months they learned a lot of songs. It was amazing. Pueblo, in my opinion, has the best band program. When I first heard this school had a culinary class, I was thrilled. I've always loved cooking. I also heard there is a theater program. I've always loved acting in theater, and I thought this was a good opportunity to do more musicals and plays. This school also has a beautiful campus. Not only is it beautiful,

018but it's also small, so new people won't get lost or behind when they're trying to get to their classes. When you see the inside of Pueblo, it's so artistic. Outside they have trash cans decorated for Pueblo. On the walls you can see so many awards and accomplishments. That just shows you how great this school is. If you shut down Pueblo, then students... Parents and teachers will get upset. Students will be heartbroken because they will get split up from their friends. All my fifth grade friends are planning to go to Pueblo. For parents, they might want their kids to go to Pueblo and have a great education. Teachers will get upset and lose their jobs. Not to mention how sad the nice principal would be. This decision doesn't help the community. Please don't shut down Pueblo.

019Thanks for listening. Good job, Serafina. Our next speaker is Finn Roek, who will be followed by Henry. It's just Henry. Pueblo, my current school, has a really good band program. Also, did you watch our concert? And that is why Corona's Marching Band is so good. So we should keep these open and running. If we do, people can stay in their preferred school they choose. Thank you for your time. Our next speaker will be Henry, followed by Rita Moulter. Hi, my name is Henry. I'm a fifth grader at Murata in the self-contained gifted program. And it is awesome that I get to go to school with not just my gifted friends, but all my friends. And it would be frustrating and sad if that changed. And I know it would be the same for my sisters.

020So please, keep the Murata self-contained gifted program as is. Thank you. Good job, Henry. I have been told that if folks do want to use the overflow space in the gym, it's up and running, the sound's on. You're welcome to stay here. Just keep the exits clear. But if you'd like to go into the overflow room, it's there. Our next speaker will be Rita Moulter, who will be followed by Maya Montgomery. I'm a first grade student at Murata. I'm happy that you were thinking about keeping Murata open. I'm sad because my sister is in fifth grade and won't be able to go to Pueblo if you close it. I'm asking you if you can keep Pueblo open for my sister and me. If you need help deciding, I will be there. I'm full of ideas.

021My mom said she is proud of me for speaking up, and I'm proud of all of you for doing this hard work. Please keep Pueblo open. Thank you. Well done, Rita. Our next speaker is Maya Montgomery, who will be followed by Madison Ludwick. I'm a seventh grader at Kyrendale Pueblo Middle School. And I don't think you should close this school because, think about it, all the fifth graders trying to come here and all the sixth graders that just came, that would be terrible if you closed the school right after they just came. And all of the seventh graders that have eighth grade year next, that would be terrible if you closed the school. Thank you for listening. Good job, Maya. Our next speaker will be Madison Ludwick, who will be followed by Sabrina Pratt. Hello.

022My name is Madison Ludwick, and I'm an eighth grader at Pueblo Middle School. I've gone to Pueblo for all three years of middle school, and all those three years, I've continued to thrive because of the amazing community that Pueblo is. Pueblo has offered me so many opportunities to learn, lead, and grow. Currently, I'm a part of the web community. If you didn't know, web stands for where everyone belongs. And in my opinion, Pueblo is one of the few schools that actually represents that. As a gifted child, classes were always quite challenging for me. Not because they were too easy, or not because they were too hard or confusing, because they were too slow and too easy. Because I'm gifted, my brain works differently than others. Classes were not fast enough for me, and they were

023too easy for me to do the work. When I got to Pueblo, the classes with the GAKE program gave me... classes that fit my criteria. The teachers there understood what my brain needed and they made sure that I got what I needed. I want other kids in the gifted community to have the same opportunities that I did so they could thrive in their classes. Thank you. Thank you, Madison. Our next speaker is Sabrina Pratt, who will be followed by Sophie Rodham. Hello, my name is Sabrina Pratt and I am a seventh grader at Pueblo Middle School and a former Mariposa student. Pueblo was currently set to close in the 27-28 school year and therefore the main reason I am here tonight is to ask you to keep Pueblo open for one more year. This would

024have Pueblo closing in the 28-29 school year. By no means do I want my middle school Pueblo to close and if for some reason it was able to stay open I would be jumping for joy. But with the current options given revolving school closures that just isn't going to happen. Although I still think that we need to make the best out of this horrible situation. Now what I'm asking does not have a reason that benefits me What I'm asking is for the sixth graders that just started here this year to be able to complete their eighth grade year at the same middle school that they started at Now I have a few reasons for this First, Pueblo is a middle school So it is much easier for you to let all the students currently attending

025Pueblo to finish than it would be if it was an elementary school Next moving students to a new school right before they graduate can cause a real disruption in their education Lastly, I ask this not because the sixth graders are COVID children, simply because they are students who we all once were at some point and should be able to finish their middle school years at the same middle school they started at. I would also like to tell you a quick story regarding my elementary school, Mariposa. On Halloween just a few days ago, my friends and I that live in the Mariposa neighborhood went out trick-or-treating. All the friends I went trick-or-treating with are friends that I made years ago at Mariposa and still continue to be lasting friendships to this day. along the way we

026saw many yard signs supporting our former school all of this once again showed me that Mariposa is a community that is not easily replaced in conclusion both of these schools have been such an important part of my life and I know that you will make the best decision for the district with the data available thank you for your time thank you Sabrina our next speaker will be Sophie Rotem who will be followed by Kira Lee My parents and I moved to Warner Ranch in 2018. My parents were looking for an area with an excellent school that had parent involvement and great teachers, so we moved. I spent my kindergarten through fifth grade years at Mariposa, and now my brother's going there. He's in NEHS, which is a program provided at very few Kyrene Elementary schools.

027In my experience, Mariposa teachers respect... adjust me with respect and treated me with kindness. I understand that adjustments within the Kyrene School District need to be made, but I ask for you to keep in mind the lives Mariposa has changed and how many more could continue to change. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you, Sophie. Our next speaker will be a follow-up, Kira Lee, who will be followed by Josh Garcia. Hello. My name is Kira Lee and I'm going to tell you my story here at Pueblo. It actually started when I was in kindergarten. My student teacher's graduation was held here at Pueblo and I remember sitting on the bleachers and just thinking, this is such a big place. And I knew that it would be so cool to go here. And last year that...

028came true. At Pueblo, the curriculum, it's super easy to follow. The teachers make learning super fun, and I'm going to be honest with you, before middle school, I did not really like school. But Pueblo, the learning programs that they have here, the GATE programs, have not only... Help me learn and grow but also to make lasting relationships that I would not have made if Pueblo was not here The teachers, again, they're amazing. They were so helpful in my first sixth grade year. I actually got moved up to a different math class. I think it was a couple weeks into the school year. And it was hard adjusting because I was leaving one of my friends behind in another class. I didn't know if I was going to fail this class. But the teachers there, they

029helped me adapt and learn. to middle school which is a hard transition for everyone so please I this is these have been some of my favorite years here at Pueblo please don't take away this opportunity for many thank you thank you Kira our next speaker is Josh Garcia who will be followed by Senia Jarvis Hello, my name is Josh Garcia. I am very proud to be a Pueblo kid. I've made many friends here. It's an amazing community. I am currently part of the Pueblo Band Program. If any of you were here earlier, you'd probably see me with euphonium. But yeah, I'm twice exceptional. I've really found a home here. I already liked school before, but now I really like it. I am sad to go home from school after. I am... Words. Always leave me

030when I'm nervous. I want you to consider... some reasons why Pueblo should stay open. We have an amazing band program. We are already close to another elementary school. We have an amazing community here, not just band. We have great theater community as well. Oh God, running out of time. Okay. I just want you to consider that even if you still close Pueblo, just keep it open for one more year. Let the sixth graders finish out their school year. Thank you. Josh, great job. Thank you. Our next speaker is Sena Jarvis, who will be followed by Sable Garcia. Hello, my name is Simran Jarvis, sorry, hard name. And I'm a seventh grader who attends Pueblo, and I play the trombone. I'm also in the band program. And I am the youngest of four children who have

031all gone through the gate program and the band program at Pueblo, and we've stayed at Pueblo for pretty much our entire family. Me and my family have all learned to thrive in this school. I was, I chose to talk about the mental health of families and students in my Pueblo Protectors Club and I would just like to talk on that. So sixth grade was a super challenging transition for me going from fifth to sixth, but the team here at Pueblo, the principal, the counselor, and all of the teachers have really helped me thrive in this school and to be successful. And my second reason is that Apprendi, which will be the... big school that most of the other schools that are getting closed down is going into is already a really big school and it

032would be so hard for so many of the children including me to go from a smaller community to such a big place with a bigger campus and harder to negotiate places I would just, I just think that this school has really helped me and my family and it just has such a great community. The band program has really helped me to find my voice in middle school and all of the teachers, I've never had a bad teacher at Pueblo. All of them have been so nice and they all have easy to read. and I really hope that Pueblo can stay open because kids in the community need a safe place. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Simra. Our next speaker will be Sable Garcia, who will be followed by Alice Furman. Hi everyone, I'm

033Sable Garcia. I went here for all three years of middle school and now I'm a freshman at Corona. Pueblo has prepared me for high school more than anything else could. It helped me learn all the things I needed to know and also showed me how important it is to be dedicated and organized. If you go to Pueblo, you know that you need dedication to do anything. Okay, maybe you can get through without failing, but... So if you participate in a sport or if you're in theater or band, love you, Miss DuPlessis, you know how much work it takes to be a kid here, especially if you're in NJHS or student council. And it's such a wonderful place because you find community and you learn everything you need to know for high school and for later

034on in life. Also, have you looked at these ceiling tiles? That's the creativity that happens here at Pueblo Middle School. If we close this school, those ceiling tiles would be painted over. What about the mural over by the band room? It would be gone. How about Webb? It's just, it's more important to keep the school open because of all these things. especially the Calm Room. The Calm Room is my personal project, which I worked on with Emma Carmody, and it was our Girl Scout Silver Award, which meant we had to spend 50 hours to create that. And it is the only school that has a Calm Room here at Pueblo, and all those 50 hours of work would be gone if we just gave up now. So please keep Pueblo open to keep our dedication

035alive. Thank you. Thank you Sable. Our next speaker is Alice Furman who will be followed by Brooke Beerling. I think Mariposa should stay open. It is an A plus school five times in a row. I have been at this school since kindergarten. It is a loving school full of great teachers and students. They have all been there for me like a family. It is my hope that one day I'd get to go to fifth grade at Mariposa. It might not be the biggest school you have ever seen, but it is a welcoming one and very special to me. Thank you very much for your time. Good job, Alice. Our next speaker is Brooke Beerling, who will be followed by Nyla Whalen. I'm Brooke from Kyrendale Norte in fourth grade and I'm making sure Norte doesn't

036close down. Here's a couple of reasons why. One, there's only eight dual language schools and most of them are not true dual language academies. Two, we have a gifted program that I love. In fact, it's my favorite subject. Three, our community is super strong and very special to me. we all play a big role in helping each other in the school. Bye. Great job, Brooke. Thank you. Our next speaker is Nyla Whalen, who will be followed by Zachary Zengraff. We can come back to Nyla if she'd like. All right, we're going to go up to Zachary Zengraff, who will be followed by Madeline Haskovic. I am Zachary Thomas Zengraff. I am in Ms. Williams' second grade class. Oh, wait. Hello, I am Zachary Thomas Zengraff. I am in Ms. Williams' World Changers second grade class.

037I go to Kyrene De La Mirado. I really want to be a gifted teacher at Murata when I grow up, but if Murata closes or you get rid of self-contained gifted classes, I could not work at my favorite school. I really want to be a teacher because all of the teachers I've had have been really nice and make education fun. My teacher this year lets us go to the maker's face. It is one of my favorite places in the school, and that's where we build and solve problems creatively. Gifted really stretches my brain's learning things like Greek mythology and reading things like junior grade books. I want to share that with other future monarchs by being a teacher. Please say Murata and the other self-contained gifted. Thank you for listening. Nice job, Zachary. Thank you.

038Our next speaker is Madeline Haskovic, who will be followed by Delia Jarvis. Hi, my name is Madeline Haskovic, and I'm a fourth grader at Kyrene De La Mirada. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you how amazing Mirada is. I've been at Mirada since as long as I can remember. Thank you for reconsidering not to close my school. The teachers at Mirada truly care about every single student. They do everything they can to help every single student learn. Ms. Anderson is the most amazing principal. She greets me every single morning along with every other Monarch student and gives them a hug and a warm welcome. Some of the best things I love about Murata is that we model leadership skills that will help us in our future lives. My favorite habit is habit number eight.

039Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs. This is one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you tonight. Please know that if you keep Murata open, we will welcome every new student that comes to our school with open arms and make them feel that they are part of our community from day one. Thank you for listening to me and giving me a chance to share with you just how wonderful Murata is. Please consider keeping Murata open and help us remain Murata strong. Thank you. Thank you, Madeline. Well done. Our next speaker is Delia Jarvis, who will be followed by Lillian Bassett. Hi, I'm Delia Jarvis and I'm a current Corona senior. I attended Pueblo from 2019 to 2022. I participated in the choir, band, theater, web, and JHS student council and gate

040programs here at Pueblo Middle School. I found a community that helped me feel seen and loved through the teachers and office staff supporting me. Especially even as I went into high school, I came back and I helped with a lot of... theater and band programs just during the school day or when I got out of high school. And so I was able to work with the office staff to be able to come after school and help out with those programs. I really value the community that has been built here at Pueblo and community cannot be built just in a day. The community here has taken years and years to slowly build up, especially the band program here has been built over many many years and being having the school close will have that community dissipate

041and I think that I would like you guys to consider the amount of time and effort that so many people have put in to the communities here at Pueblo Middle School. Thank you. Thank you Delia. Our next speaker is Lillian Bassett who will be followed by William Bassett. Hi, I would just like to say, please save Pueblo. Oh my gosh, this is an amazing school. It has shaped me as a person. I have grown so much from this school. I used to be a crazy kid bouncing off the walls, and now I've turned that energy into doing all these things that I love through Pueblo, like band and theater and, oh my gosh, literally like so many things. NJ Jess. everything. Band is an amazing program. Credits to Miss Duplessis, she's amazing. Miss R is

042an amazing teacher. She's so sweet. I love her so much. And some of my other teachers, too, are just really amazing people, and they would, they lose their jobs. Like, they deserve this. They deserve this school. We all deserve this school, because this school is something that is really special and really just, amazing and if it closes we'll lose that and we'll lose that opportunity for the next generation to learn and to grow and to become better people so i just please listen and i hope that this school doesn't close it is amazing thank you for your time thank you lillian our next speaker is william bassett who'll be followed by finley toastburn Hi, my name is William. I am a fifth grader in the GATE program at Murata. I am here for Pueblo. I

043want to say that if you close Pueblo, I will be scrambling for other schools. I'll be crowded by students looking for other schools. I really want to go to Pueblo because of theater and band. My sister goes there and she had a great time. I have seen how special Pueblo is. With less kids, everyone gets a chance to experience everything. No one gets lost in the crowd. Please keep Pueblo open and thank you for your time. Thank you, William. Our next speaker is Finley Tospern, who will be followed by Morgan Hessea. Top 10 reasons I love Mariposa. Number 10, walking to school. Because Mariposa is at the heart of our community, more than half of my peers can walk or bike to school each day. Number 9, inclusivity. This means accepting kids from any background.

044My classmates don't all look like me, and I'm better for the opportunity to work with each of them. Number 8, technology. From code.org. Scratch and Adobe Express to dot dash Ozobots and Indycars. We are techie kids and we lean into these avenues to grow our creativity and problem-solving. Number seven, transformation days. Learning is fun and comes to life. My teacher has set up our classroom like a pizza shop, operating room, and even a safari. Number six, day of awesomeness. After our fundraisers, we enjoy treats and inflatables together. This is one example of celebrating as a school after our hard work. Number five, World's Fair. Each year, we participate in the World's Fair, where families set up booths about countries all over the world to celebrate the diverse heritage of our students. Number four, clubs. We

045have opportunities to lead, learn, and serve in clubs, like LEGO League, No Place for Hate, and National Elementary Honor Society. Number three, Merritt Potsdam College. For two days at the end of the year, we learn interesting topics from teachers other than our own. This gives us a chance to connect with a variety of ages of students and meet... teachers before we find ourselves in their classes, making us feel more like family. Number two, traditions. The end of the year kickball game between fifth and graders and staff is something I've been looking forward to for years. We are going to win this year, by the way. And the number one reason I love Mariposa is the teachers and staff. They are not here for the paychecks or just for the learning, but they are dedicated to

046connecting with us. They know our strengths, struggles, and dreams. They know each student by name and model integrity for us. Thank you, Mariposa teachers, and thank you, Governing Board, for your attention tonight. Thank you, Finley. Well done. Good job. Our next speaker is Morgan Hessea. Hello, Board. My name is Morgan Shea, and as of last year, I am a Pueblo alumni. My sister is in fifth grade at Paloma over here, and I was looking forward to her going to this school. It has proved as a home for me and also helped me find all of my friends with their amazing brand program. Thank you, Ms. DuPlessis. Who have had almost all of the first chairs All-State here as of last year, eighth grade, and they feed into Corona, which has had almost all of the

047first chairs All-State, freshman, maybe sophomore, junior, senior. and that's just band. Theater, the program is awesome too. There were so many musicals last year and I loved going to support my friends. Also the dance program here, choir, orchestra, lots of clubs and different ways that I could just try something new which prepared me for high school, which is all about new opportunities. Speaking of, we have an art school right across from us. This is supposed to be a leadership school. but it already encompasses both community and creativity, so it would be a huge waste. The turf also has been redone, and the gym twice, not to mention all the new computers and new teachers. Some of these teachers have been teaching for 20 years here. Others are like one, two years here. So when looking

048at these schools, I hope that you'll make a choice that allows people... to keep the memories that they've made and also have opportunities for new ones at the Pueblo. Thank you. Thank you, Morgan. Well done. Would Nyla like to speak? You can do it. Hi, my name is... I'm in third grade at Murata. Murata is a very special school with many teachers and staff who have been very helpful to me with learning new things and how to be kind at a Murata Monarch. Some of my favorite things about Murata are Ms. Nalsinger, Ms. Anderson, Ms. Casillas, Ms. Mahan, Ms. Garbetti, Ms. Williams, and Ms. Hugas, just to name a few. I really hope my little brother, Ash, will get to have Miss Williams in kindergarten just like I did. I can't wait for new students

049to come to our school in the future. I know they will love Murata just as much as I did. Good job, Nyla. That was well done. Well done. Do any other students wish to speak tonight to the board? Any other students? Yeah, do we have one? All right. I learned so much today. Bye bye. I was trying to get a parasol frame for Finley. Bye bye. Whatever. Thank you. Well, John, do any other students wish to speak today? I'm going away. And why will you want to close Mariposa? Well, you can just save Mariposa. Bye bye. Good job, Mr. Inouye. Nicely done. Any other students wish to speak? My name is Louie. I am a third grader at Murata, and I really do not want you to close Murata because all the teachers, staff, and

050everywhere, they're just so nice, and I wish that everybody can have a chance to be here and do all the fun things here. And I just don't want you guys to close the school because it's amazing and all the teachers make math and reading and science and stuff fun and it's just the best school I've been to yet. Thank you. Any other student speakers this evening? Yes, please. Come right ahead. My name is Alana. I'm here to represent Menidas. Why close down a school that is really good? My brother goes to that school and he's learning so much. And I love it when he tells me about what he's learned. All the teachers are very nice and they help him grow and he gets to just have fun with his friends. And I wouldn't want

051to be hearing him cry because his school's closing. Thank you. Hello, my name is Savannah Casada and I'm here to represent Publip. One of the main things I really... Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much. My name is Savannah Quesada, and I'm here to represent Pueblo. One of the main things I want to talk about today here are the teachers. All the teachers here have been, like, so encouraging to my learning, and they have, like, really, like, thrived me, thrived, helped me thrive here in this school. Like, the band program is, like, so, like, amazing and wonderful. The theater program is probably, like, Miss R. She actually inspired me to start doing theater, and she was, like, one of, like, my main... She was one of my main focusing points. And her classroom, it makes me

052so happy just to be in there. And even in social studies or science, they make me. I used to feel like school was like, ah, it was OK. But now I'm like, I actually really enjoy going to school. And I feel like school is such a happy place for me. And I would not want to go to any other school. Because I feel like Pueblo, take a look around. It is so unique in all of its ways. It literally has like an outdoor campus, and I've never seen another school like that. And, yeah, I feel like all the teachers here, they'd be very sad if, like, their jobs were just, like, taken away from them. And, like, they'd probably go home crying. So, yeah, I feel like for, like, all the teachers here, they love

053this school. And I feel like that's why you should keep it. Yes, please go right ahead. Hello. I am Lotus Darren, and I am in third grade at Kyrene Della Mariposa. I don't want to leave this school because it is very amazing and all the teachers are so welcoming and the principal, Mr. Fogutter, is just incredible. I just can't explain and all the kids there are very nice and no place for hate. I think I'm going to be joining there if this school doesn't close and it's just... an amazing school. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Lotus. Good job. Hi, my name is Emma West. I'm a current sixth grader at Apprende, and I'm here to represent Murata. My brother, Louie, is a third grader at Murata, and I would hate to not see

054him graduate in fifth grade. My experience at Murata is, it was my second home. thrived and shined in it and the theater program really opened me up as a person. I was so shy when I joined in kindergarten and when I graduated in third grade I was a whole new person. Fifth Fest is a great way to meet new people and communicate with friends and the teachers there are amazing. They're so kind. They would do anything for you. And there's really no reason to close Murata. The stats are amazing. And I just think it's a great school that doesn't deserve to be closed. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Emma. Good job. Hello, I am Darren Teptalaniolu, and I'm here on behalf of... On behalf of Pueblo, I really don't want Pueblo to close

055because I'm looking forward to my eighth grade year to be a web leader and to go to the California field trip for band. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Darren. Good job. Hello, my name is Vivi Foreman, and I am a sixth grader at Pueblo Middle School. And I think that Pueblo shouldn't close down because there are amazing programs like the theater program and also, sorry, I completely forgot what I was going to say. Thank you. Good job. Thank you. Hi, my name is Sophie Harmon. I am part of Web and Cheer. So, Pueblo is a really good place. My dad went here in like 19-something. Okay, so... The sports here are really enjoyable. I did cheer and cross country. I really benefited from it and learned new things. I also take GATE science

056and math and I was really scared going into it because I'm not like the most really involved in like school, like learning and stuff, but I really enjoyed it. Webb, where everyone belongs, is a really, really good community and I loved helping out the sixth graders and I would love it to keep going. But the teachers are really nice here. I really, I don't know, they're just really fun and kind and I have many friends here and like sixth and seventh graders will... if they go to different schools, like maybe lose their friends because going to different schools. But thank you for letting me talk. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good job. And now your dad probably feels very old. Mariposa. I'm in fifth grade. Mariposa is a great school, and I've met a

057lot of teachers there. And when I see them in the hallway, I always wave at them, and they're so kind. And I agree with Finley Tosburn. We're going to win this year in the kickball game. Thank you. Thank you, Jillian. Good job. Do we have any other students who would like to speak? Let's give one. Oh, Mr. Inouye? Yes, come on up. Ride my bike to school every day. Please don't shut the mariposa down. I love riding my bike to school by myself. Bye. Thank you. Well done. Any other student speakers? All right. Let's give one big round of applause to all of our students. I have to tell you, I am so impressed with each of you. You were so articulate. You were passionate. You demonstrated courage. You demonstrated leadership. You guys rocked it.

058Thank you for being here. Thank you for speaking. You guys are awesome. All right, we're going to take a quick break, and then we're going to start back up with our public comment with adults. So we'll see you back in a few minutes. Starting our hearing back up here in a moment. All right, we'll be back. Welcome back to our public hearing. If you could take your seat, thank you. All right, it is 7-16. We are back at the public hearing. We're going to start off with the first of our adults. Just a heads up, given the number of cards here, we'll probably take another break in about an hour's time, so we'll just do a quick break then, but we'll get through as many cards as we can, and we are here tonight until

059all the cards are gone. Our first speaker is going to be Ms. Lindsay Holt, followed by Renee Angiolaro. Hi my name is Lindsay Holt and I'm actually here to speak for two schools. The first is probably Menides that's the school that where the neighborhood I live in and the couple things I wanted to mention there were just the location. I feel like it's a prime location. It's equidistant between the three middle schools in this area and it's right off the 10. So anybody who wants to come up you know from Casa Grande or from Maricopa that might want their kid to come to one of the Kyrene schools it's a really convenient location. So My plug for Menides, my plug for Pablo is probably more personal. I went here, class of 1999. So I'm one

060of those 1900 people too. But there are teachers that are here tonight that I had. And that should say something about the longevity of this school and the passion that these teachers have for this school. I mean, that's happened more than once. where my kids, my kids have both been here. My daughter's in eighth grade. The first thing that my son said, he's in junior at Corona. The first thing my son said was, what's going to happen for my senior clap out, mom? Where am I going to go? And I said, I don't know. And my daughter said, I'm not going to get one either. And I said, no, no, you're not. So I just think that there's valuable programs here that can't be replicated anywhere else. Theater, band, I know you've heard about both

061those. Staff retention I've talked about. The other thing that I haven't talked about and I don't know that many people have talked about is the special education program that they have here. My son was in the special education program in one of the self-contained classrooms and Miss Milton and the staff is just miracle workers. he thrived even through COVID here and he made friends that he still has here. And I can't say that for any of the other schools that he attended, just this one. So please consider saving Pueblo. Thank you, Ms. Holt. Our next speaker is Renee Angeliara, who will be followed by Teresa Lindstrom. Hi, everybody. My name is Renee Anglaro, hard G. I know, it's very tricky. It looks like Angelo. And I'm a Kyrene parent of a fifth grader who was

062slated to attend Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School. I'm here tonight to share what makes Pueblo special to the Kyrene community. I feel like I don't need to say as much because all of you have come together to say it already for me. Kyrene Del Pueblo is more than a school. It's a vibrant community, very apparent, where students discover their strengths and learn to lead with heart. Pueblo offers one of the most diverse elective and club programs in the district from art, dance, culinary arts, and theater to computer science. You've heard all about it tonight from the students as well themselves. And students can explore passions through clubs like Jazz Band, Art Buddies, Game Design, and Student Council, experiences that build confidence, creativity, and connection. But what truly sets Pueblo apart is its leadership and inclusion.

063Through a $6,000 national grant, Pueblo's web student mentors led a powerful campaign to raise autism awareness, creating a campus where empathy and understanding thrive. It's become a model of what connection before correction looks like in action. And Pueblo's excellence is recognized statewide. Its symphonic band was selected to perform at the 2026 Arizona Music Educators Conference, a rare honor, reflecting the talent and dedication of its students and teachers. Pueblo is not just succeeding, it's setting the standard for what middle school education should be, creative, inclusive, and inspiring, just like the students we heard from today. For the good of our students, our community, and the future of Kyrene, Kyrene Del Pueblo must remain open. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Anguero. Our next speaker is Teresa Lindstrom, who will be followed by Ana Cordova. Hi, I'm Teresa

064Lindstrom. My boys both went through Pueblo almost 10 years ago now, so I'm a community member. I also am a part owner of Step-by-Step Pediatrics that is just about a mile away from here, and so I take care of lots of kids that have gone through these communities, and I'm forever grateful for this Paloma and Pueblo community and how it's been a village that kind of helped my boys become the men they are now and also how it has been such a pillar for our whole community. really appreciate the board and this difficult decision you're making my sister is a school board member in the Phoenix School District and I understand that you really care you're volunteering and you're doing the best you can to keep Kyrene schools strong and we really appreciate that but

065you know we do want you to consider that you know there are longer-term consequences than just you know the kids and this year and next year you know this is more than just a building it's part of this neighborhood part of this community and a lot of students and future families will choose a charter school or something else if there isn't a local community school that they can walk to. And I do talk to families on a daily basis about when they're having good experiences at schools and bad experiences at schools. And I'm always a Kyrene advocate because it's been great for my children. But a lot of families want a smaller school, want a school who has... you know sports and music programs and things like that available and when we combine schools there's

066that many less ability for kids to learn an instrument or be on the basketball team or things that were um you know kind of pivotal to my children so please be thoughtful about how you know that can affect families choices down the line and affect you know the the strength of our community um schools down the line thank you very much thank you miss lindstrom our next speaker is anna cordova who will be followed by noel our spun in here Hello, I'm Anna Cordova, and I'm a parent of a seventh grader here at Pueblo. And I know that you have some difficult decisions, but a couple of things I'd like to speak about are the fact that my son had difficulties at another Kyrene school, elementary school, and transferred midway through fifth grade to Paloma.

067And there's been a lot of talk, especially from the students, about the culture here. It is exceptional. Something needs to be done to keep this community spot of it open and have you thought about could doing a combined kindergarten through eighth grade here so this location can stay open and mirroring what she said our last speaker excuse me you know people will choose charter schools and It's it's so important to keep supporting our public schools. It's where equity is developed. It's where, I'm sorry, I get so nervous, kids learn that we are all the same. And in addition, I'd like to thank Principal Joukowsky and Dr. Leak for creating this amazing community. Lastly, to the parents, please realize that we need to fight the un... abated expansion of charter schools and vouchers to private schools.

068It's unacceptable. Please contact your legislators and let them know and join Save Our Schools. If you can't personally do the work, please support Save Our Schools because they're doing the work. And again, let your legislators know that we should not use our public funds for private education. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Noel Erspanier, who will be followed by James Rivera. Hello. My name is Noel Erspanier. My son is a sixth grade student here at Pueblo. I served on the PTA board for three years when he was next door at Paloma. During that time, two of which were as president. And during that time, I saw firsthand the creative, vibrant, diverse, generous, and close-knit Kyrene community we have here between Pueblo and Paloma. When he made the transition to middle school, it was

069seamless, smooth, and anxiety-free. And he is in the GATE program and adjusted well to middle school life. He recently joined the cross-country team this fall. All of this success is largely due to the wonderful teachers and supportive staff. The campus itself is beautiful. It's both open and smaller than some of the other middle schools. The teachers are fantastic and it's already a very special place to our family. It's within walking distance for my son, so he has the privilege of being able to ride his bike. Unfortunately, with the boundary changes, he'll be losing that privilege and have to take the bus. I know many other families will sadly have that same choice to make. I have strong concerns about overcrowding, safety, student-teacher ratio, and the impact of students and enrichment activities that will be available

070if the students are merged with Apprendi. How will we be able to accommodate all of the kids who want to be involved in programs, clubs, band, theater, and sports? I'm also worried about what developers can or will try to use this building for after closure. This is in the heart of our community, right next door to Paloma Elementary School, where my daughter will be starting kindergarten next fall. I hope that the gifted program will not be separated out into a singular campus. I can't see how this option will work for families with children in mixed curriculum, or how this best serves our Kyrene families better than our current way of managing the gifted program. I want to ask you as a parent, involved community member, and resident of this neighborhood to please try to seek

071an option that can keep Pueblo open. The future Kyrene students deserve to have this unique campus. Our next speaker is James Rivera, who will be followed by Ben Weinbreich. Good evening. I want to first clarify, President Walsh, that this current plan was not recommended by the planning committee. It was changed by you guys. The U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection Office shows Manita serves a diverse community. 30% Latino students, 14% African American students, 7.5% Asian students, and 14% students that identify as multiracial. This is one of the most diverse schools in the district, and closing it will disproportionately disrupt students of color. The district communication plan has been unclear. flip-flopping and pitting communities against each other. Manitas matters. We are now spending our own money, giving up time, even on Halloween night, canvassing neighborhoods, holding meetings,

072raising awareness about the possible closure of our school. Your very own school board handbook that I found today says effective boards must engage and communicate with diverse community members, use data to drive decisions, be transparent and build trust. collaborate and honor community voice. Right now families do not feel heard, informed or supported. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires school districts to ensure their decisions do not discriminate intentionally or unintentionally against students based on race, color or national origin. and that families who speak languages other than English have equal access to information and participation. When a district considers school closures, it must show that the plan does not disproportionately harm students of color and that all families are included through clear, multilingual outreach and equitable engagement. If a closure plan places a heavy burden

073on students of color, the district risks violating federal civil rights laws. So I have some questions for you. What data are you collecting from these listening sessions? I don't see very many notes being taken. Will you show us how you're using that feedback in your decision making or is this just a formality? What equity analysis was done to understand the impact on students of color? Were all communications offered in Spanish and other languages so every family could participate? Manita matters. I urge you to pause this plan. Thank you, Mr. Rivera. Our next speaker is Ben Weinbrink, who will be followed by Katie Sturvans. Good evening. My name is Ben Weinbrink. I'm the academic and behavior specialist here at Pueblo. Two years ago, I left my position as a dean of students at a charter school

074to join Pueblo. I left the charter world because I felt compelled to work in a public school where we do not cherry pick our students and we serve our entire community. Arizona is in an education crisis. We're consistently ranked 47th to 49th in the nation in education. Yet despite this darkness, Pueblo is shining. Last year, Pueblo had the second highest academic progress metric of our six middle schools in the district at 61%. This is a 10% increase from last year. My experiences in charter school leadership are experiences of overselling and under delivering. They include experience like sending recruiters door-to-door through neighborhoods to register our families, over-hyping unproven programs. At Pueblo, I see us underselling while over delivering. We have incredible teachers and we have two incredible administrators in Mr. Banasch and Ms. Schatowski. We arguably

075have the best middle school band in the whole state. We have an incredible theater program. We have great athletics. We have great facilities. If you watch the 49ers game on Sunday, you're going to see a Pueblo alum catch a pass. So I just urge you to expand the scope of this decision beyond Kyrene's borders. Within 10 miles of the district office, I looked this up today, there are 51 schools rated C, D, or F. Closing Pueblo hurts this education landscape and it hurts our community. A 2024 Brown University study analyzed 470 Texas school closures and they saw that by age 26, 4.8% of students were less likely to have attended college than their peers. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Weinberg. Our next speaker is Katie Sturvins, who will be followed by Alicia Perez. Good evening.

076My name is Katie Sturbins, and I'm a Kyrene parent with kids at Murata and Pueblo. Back in the day, most families went to their neighborhood Kyrene school. You made it work. There were a few open enrollment spots, but those were the exception. But times have changed. We live in a state shaped by school choice and even public education loving families are now making school choice decisions within the Kyrene district. Not because one school is better than the other but because different families have different values and even families with the same values have kids with different needs. Some choose dual language, some want a strong sports program and some families like mine chose a smaller setting because that was what was best for my kids. The in-district choice keeps families in Kyrene and out of charters.

077Pueblo has been that choice for us, and unfortunately, we love it. Last month, my sixth grader couldn't fall asleep because he had an idea for a club, a video game design and theory club. The next morning, he told the principal. She connected him with a teacher willing to sponsor it. My son made a presentation, flyers, permission slips, and three weeks later, it was an actual club. That kind of responsiveness, it's rare. And I don't think it would have happened at a larger middle school, not because the principal isn't equally as amazing, but because the scale makes it hard to pull off. Kyrene might solve a budget problem by closing schools like Pueblo, but in doing so, it risks creating a new one. Because when you take away the in-district options that have kept families here,

078families will still make choices. We just hope they can keep making them within this district. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sturmans. Our next speaker is Alicia Perez, who will be followed by Nikki Wojcik. Hi, good evening. I'm here today to share with you the results from a survey that we administered in the Pueblo community. We asked participants to select the main characteristics they are looking for when selecting the middle school of choice. The responses from 133 people show that the top three components are, number one, the arts program, number two, the gay program, and number three, school size. You will read in this report that one of the main concerns is the anticipation of limited spaces for kids to participate in the art programs with so many students competing for those opportunities if schools consolidate.

079You will read about the characteristics of the GATE program in a request to learn more about the gifted models, not just for elementary schools, but also for middle schools before you make the decision to remove them. And you will read about why a small school environment is so important for so many families here in the district. Respondents selected these three options for a list presented in alphabetical order, which is a practice to help avoid bias. The list included things offered at all schools, like academic performance, the art programs, or diversity, but also school-specific characteristics like the school size or the signature programs. And the respondents could select as many options as they wanted, and they were prompted to expand on the options selected. The results, you can filter them by grade, since we know parents

080with students with fifth grade, or students currently enrolled in middle school are facing different challenges with this consolidation plan. Service can be a great tool. to collect feedback and organize data in an organized way and for decision making. And you have received hundreds of comments through these hearings and I really appreciate the opportunity, but I also would like to know how are you processing all this information and including it into your proposal. So I would like to please consider creating a district-wide survey, not just for the schools that are going to be closed, but also all the schools involved. You can do that in Spanish as well, so other participants can also participate. provide their comments. So here's the report. Thank you, Ms. Perez. Our next speaker is Nikki Wojcik, who will be followed by

081Amy Davio. Good evening. My nearly 20-year career has been spent working for and with Fortune 500 companies, specifically in marketing and advertising. And in a world, in that world, when something does not work, we don't say that we tried. We ask why. What targeting did we use? What networks reach those audiences? How did we identify the families we wanted to attract? And most importantly, how do we differentiate ourselves from our competitors? That level of accountability is what drives results, and it's what's missing within the Kyrene District. Right now our marketing approach does not reflect the full quality and depth of what Kyrene has to offer There are incredible programs and campuses across this district that deserve attention Yet not enough people outside of their walls know that they exist that is not a quality issue.

082That is a marketing issue In a corporate setting, if you can't answer for the why, you lose your job. And as a community, we've got to hold ourselves and our leadership to that same standard. Families trust that someone is steering the strategy, but when marketing fails, enrollment falls. And when enrollment falls, schools close. My own family lived this. We've been in district for years. We sent our child to a charter school for three years before realizing that it wasn't the right fit for us. And only after hours of personal research did we find Murata, and it changed everything. My son's an incoming kindergartner. We've received nothing from the district, only competing districts and charter schools. That shouldn't be left to luck or persistence. We should be reaching families like mine before they look anywhere else.

083We have experts right here in our community. Marketers, advertisers, enrollment strategists. Let's create a marketing and enrollment committee to partner with the district team. We can help audit what's working, pivot where it's not, and be accountable for the results. Kyrene has too many hidden gems to stay hidden. So let's stop saying that we tried and let's start saying here's what we learned and here's how we can win. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Wojcik. Our next speaker is Amy Daviau, who will be followed by Phillip Miller. Good evening. I have been in fundraising and volunteer management for my entire career. The first decade of my career, I spent my time in voluntary health nonprofits. So I understand needing to accomplish a lot on a small budget. But I also understand what innovative organizations do when they

084have a worthy mission but limited resources. Now I know this is different. and not only based on tax code, but on the situation. I do, however, think that there's a lot that could be learned from our nonprofit counterparts. Last year, I had the good fortune to be on the superintendent's advisory board or council. I loved this opportunity to get a broader sense of what was happening in the district. But I was never once asked to do anything. We were not tasked with outcomes or outputs. and this made me wonder, as a whole, is the district under utilizing the skills and talents of the volunteers available to them? In my volunteer management days, I was tasked with expanding the impact of my organization beyond what paid staff alone could do. So along with the calls to

085slow down and the concerns that this is not the best path forward, both of which I echo, I would like to call on the district to better utilize the volunteers who are clearly readily available to you. Beyond these walls, we are located near universities where we could engage students from various programs into meaningful internships. In this room, I guarantee you have a subset of skills and willing partners that will greatly increase your impact. So please, slow down. engage us we can meet this moment in ways that allow the district to remain strong to build not a road trust and to move forward toward a better future together thank you thank you thank you mr aviao our next speaker is philip miller who will be followed by stacy travers is mr miller here all right our

086next speaker will be stacy travers who will be followed by kellen johnson good evening I'm here tonight to speak for the students and families who depend on KTA, and I must begin by respectfully taking umbrage at the continuous lack of acknowledgement that KTA is also a middle school. It is an elementary school and a middle school, and to continually marginalize the contributions of the staff and educators, as well as the students of the middle school, does them a disservice. I find it hurtful. But I want to give you facts, not feelings. The middle school comprises of more than a third of the total student population. 67% of the middle school population is in boundary or in district. Unfortunately, clearly not enough people know because we've just had a very kind parent say, wouldn't it be

087great to have a K-8 option? Guess what? We have one, we have two. 76, 70... .6% OF THE BOUNDARY AND IN-DISTRICT POPULATION COMPRISES THE K-8 POPULATION AND HAS ROOM FOR GROWTH IF NECESSARY AS THE REDISTRICTING AND DUST OF OUR DECISIONS SETTLE. KEEPING KTA OPEN WOULD NOT ONLY GIVE THE DISTRICT A TRADITIONAL OPTION IT WANTS AS A CHOICE, BUT WOULD SERVE AS A CUSHION FOR AN EXISTING 6-8 OPTION SHOULD THE POPULATION OF THE DISTRICT NOT PERFORM TO THE DEMOGRAPHER OR THE DISTRICT'S EXPECTATIONS. WHAT IS OUR CONTINGENCY PLAN IF THE CHOICES WE MAKE ARE WRONG? A survey sent asking parents at KTA whether they want a K-8 option resulted in a 96.2% yes vote of parents surveyed. 75% said they would move their children to a district with a traditional model, a charter or a private school,

088or to another school district altogether. I personally don't want to send my child to a middle school that will have more than 1,000 students. I'm sure other parents feel as I do as we've heard today. In an ecosystem where parental choice is everything, to dismiss a K-8 option which offers convenience for parents with children of multiple ages in a traditional option would be short-sighted. It is the only school adjacent to nine apartment complexes. For many families, especially those living in apartments and working hard to make ends meet, I would like to use my privilege, please. It provides access. Access to a closer campus, manageable class sizes, the logistics of parents with multiple children, and after-school programs. Closing the school wouldn't just shut doors, it would take away a lifetime and a lifeline for families who

089have few other options. It's been voted most diverse middle school and most diverse elementary school, mainly due to the broad economic makeup of these neighborhoods. Additionally, in a time when finding bus drivers is a challenge, it would be prudent to have the ability. for parents and students to have children to be able to walk or bike to school. It's estimated that approximately nine to 10 would be required to accommodate the redistricting, adding to traffic and climate impact. Thank you, Ms. Travers. Thank you. As the voice of the voiceless and the only one here to support KTA, thank you for your time. Community members, I believe Ms. Travers was referring to her privilege as an elected official. I'm going to expect that everybody abide by the two-minute mark. Our next speaker will be Ms. Kellen Johnson,

090who will be followed by Allison Christian. Hello. Thank you for providing this forum and your care throughout this process. My question, and one I think many parents share, I've heard it a couple times, what is the full set of criteria the board will use to determine school closures? At the last board meeting, the superintendent suggested the initial parameters given to the Long Range Planning Committee fulfill this request, but they do not. They are guidelines developed to establish a viable geographic option which, while helpful as a starting point, is limited in scope and reduces our schools to dots on a map. Our schools and the qualities that parents value that bring them to and keep them in Kyrene are much more than this. How are you ensuring the decisions you're making are serving our goals if

091the evaluative criteria is not clearly defined? This becomes further vexing as it seems the criteria we are considering is shifting at each meeting. Sometimes we're looking at building capacity, sometimes programs, sometimes in boundary service rates, and sometimes none of these. In the August presentation of options, a Westside school, it was mentioned, was maintained because of a projected new enrollment due to new housing development. When this was brought up at a recent meeting for the Eastside for a new 229 unit apartment complex, it was determined statistically insignificant. What matters in this process and what is actually important to the district and our future? I chose Kyrene because academic excellence, inclusion, and community-based public education are important to me and my family. At Mariposa, I found a thriving community committed to the success of all students and

092the engagement of all families. It is exceptional and based on the inboundary rate of service, the family enrollment of people who are within the boundary choosing to attend Mariposa, I am not the only one who thinks so. As one of our students mentioned at the start of tonight, why would you close a school if it's a great school? Through this process, you have repeatedly emphasized the importance of community input. Help us to help you by providing clear, transparent criteria that will guide your decision, that does not reduce our schools to dots on a map, and retains the qualities and schools that makes Kyrene great. Thank you all so much. Thank you, Ms. Johnson. Our next speaker is Allison Christian, who will be followed by Michael Templeton. Good evening members of the board. I'm here tonight

093to speak from three perspectives first as a Kyrene employee I'm a proud member of the incredible Pueblo math team Second as a Kyrene parent who can't imagine how Kyrene can exist without Murata Leadership Academy and Third as an out of district family who chooses to come back to Kyrene My 19 years of teaching experience in Arizona public schools has been in three different school districts And I can say with confidence, Kyrene is not just another school district. It truly is a family, or at least it felt that way. One thing that both insiders and outsiders can agree on is this. The heart of Team Kyrene is currently broken. Our hearts first broke on August 27th when we listened to the demographer describe how fun it was to decide which schools to close as part of

094the redesign. Personally, I spent that evening hiding from my kids, sobbing in my bedroom as I watched five different East plans go by and Pueblo never had a chance. The next morning, the Pueblo staff gathered before students arrived. We shared some tears, then lifted our heads high and chose to make this year a fantastic experience for our students, despite the feeling of impending doom. To quote the wise Taylor Swift, you know you're good when you can do it with a broken heart. My request tonight is simple. Please press pause. We are not ready to make a decision of this magnitude. Team Kyrene is falling apart and we do not have our ducks in a row. How will you accommodate the need for more students to ride the bus when current walkers won't have a school

095to walk to next year and we already have a bus driver shortage? How will you create an additional band room at Apprende to make space for all of our talented Pueblo musicians and our phenomenal band director? How will you merge multiple campuses in a way that doesn't put high quality veteran teachers at the bottom of the barrel to be scattered about the district to fill in any old classroom? Pressing pause will give us time. Thank you, Ms. Christian. Our next speaker is Michael Templeton, who will be followed by Cady Burkle. Is Mr. Templeton here? All right, our next speaker will be Cady Burkle, followed by Elizabeth Asante. Thanks everyone for continuing to listen. Thanks to all the students. I have so much hope for you guys for our future and to Pueblo for their generous

096hospitality. This morning was an amazing morning. I woke up and read the headline, Kyrene Override, Coasting to Victory. With a 20-point lead it was so great to read this and celebrate the Arizona voters still prioritize public education despite the lack of support from many public publicly elected officials Not everyone is celebrating today. Initiatives failed in many other districts and even in places where they had passed in previous years. My friend who is a band teacher and a mom said, I am devastated. I don't have any hope left. We should have left Arizona years ago, but stubbornly we thought it couldn't get worse. We're about to see worse. What made the difference for us? The article also said voters here in Kyrene did not take their anger about the proposed plan to close schools out on

097the override request. No, because at Mariposa, our primary sentiment is still hope, not anger. We are an army with hope pounding the pavement to bring awareness about these issues to the larger community. As I was out canvassing, I got to talk to many residents who have been connected to Mariposa for generations and were concerned but confused by the intentional misinformation circulating around. In the nearly two decades that I've been a parent at Mariposa, this PTO has been a force for good, filling in gaps in funding, building community, and making sure these initiatives pass. What will happen in the next election if our army is sent packing? I can assure you at that point, the hope will turn to anger for real and disengagement. Will Kyrene be able to survive? Thank you, Ms. Burkle. Our next

098speaker is Elizabeth Asante, who will be followed by Michelle Ferber. Hi, my name is Elizabeth Asante and I am a first and second grade teacher at Menides. I have been a part of their teaming model for three years, one as an IA, two as a teacher, and I also student taught at Menides. The way Menides team teaches is like no other and allows newer teachers like me to learn and receive real time in the moment feedback every single day. Every day I go to work thinking about how lucky I am to be a part of this model and to work at Menides. I have other teachers in the same room as me who I can depend on. I am able to form relationships with students and families in both grade levels. Being in the same

099room as students who may not be on my roster but are still in my learning studio gives me the opportunity to interact with them and be a part of their education journey on a daily basis. It prepares me to know what they need in order to be successful. The soft start Manitas has in the mornings gives studios up to 30 minutes every day to build relationships outside of academic discourse. Manitas is a one-of-a-kind learning environment that encourages flexibility and opens up more possibilities for creativity. The teaming model allows teachers to parallel teach based on the students and the supports they need during both whole group core instruction and small group intervention time. I recognize that this is a tough decision, but one that has to be made. Please keep the team teaching model in your

100minds throughout this process. Thank you for considering everyone's opinions and listening. Thank you, Ms. Asante. Our next speaker is Michelle Ferber, who will follow by Tennille Burton. Good evening. My name is Michelle Ferber and I've been part of this Kyrene community for 26 years as a special education teacher. 25 have been here at Pueblo. One year was at Murata. I'm here tonight to share my perspective on the potential closure of neighborhood schools and the impact that these decisions may have on students, teachers, and our community. First, let me say I'm truly overwhelmed by the love and support shown for Kyrene community during these public hearings. This is amazing. With this renewed sense of passion and dedication I believe that we have an opportunity to channel all this energy into a new kind of discussion. One

101that explores creative community driven ways to keep our neighborhood public schools open. And after hearing some of the people talk tonight I'm even more passionate and can believe that people can make a difference that are here. They have ideas. Before moving forward we need to ask. Will closing schools truly save money in the long run? We have fully considered the cost of moving specialized programs like our CCD program and our CCDS programs onto other campuses that aren't set up for them, that aren't ready for these kiddos and their special needs. And most importantly, will these changes give our students and teachers the support that we need? Supports like the math and reading interventions, the academic coaches, the full-time administrators, and the elementary librarians back? Resources that are already stretched thin or have been eliminated altogether?

102If these needs can be met, then maybe we are on the right track. But I fear the opposite is true, that closing schools won't solve our financial challenges, but instead create divisions within our district and erode a community that I've been proud to be a part of all these years. So no matter what happens, I hope that this incredible community involvement continues. Let's keep showing up, speaking out, supporting each other, and working together, because it's that shared commitment that keeps Kyrene strong. Thank you, Ms. Ferber. Our next speaker is Tenille Burton, who will be followed by Kate Blinnick. Good evening, members of the board and the Kyrene de la Monitas community. My name is Tenille Burton, and I'm a proud parent of a student thriving under the outstanding leadership of Principal Melissa Taylor at Kyrene

103de la Monitas Elementary. I'm here tonight to strongly oppose the proposed closure of Monitas for the 2026-2027 school year. This decision is premature and lacks the data to justify such a move. Monitas is not just a school. It's a community where students flourish academically, socially, and emotionally. Excellence is not only expected, it's nurtured. Menidus should be celebrated as a model of success, not targeted for closure. What makes Menidus special is its deep commitment to the whole child and whole family. Staff do not just teach. They partner, they listen, they uplift. Every child is seen, heard, protected, and valued. For my family, Menidus has been life-changing. My son finally found a place where he feels respected, supported, and proud of who he is as a young black. man growing up in America. That's important to me.

104That sense of belonging cannot be replicated. It's built through trust and love. Menides also serves many families who rely on school choice. They chose Menides. Families from historically marginalized and economically disadvantaged communities who themselves chose Menides because that school represents an opportunity and hope. Menides, Mariposa, and KTA have the highest rates of minority students, black and brown students. I don't see a lot of me in the audience. I'm being super transparent of all the Eastside schools. And all these schools are slated for closure. That's going to change this community, period. That raises serious equity concerns under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. It's not just about budgets or buildings. It's about community fairness and civil rights. Thank you. Thank You Miss Burton our next speaker is Kate Blinnick who will be followed by Angela

105Fautenola Dear Kyrene board members I am the proud parent of a ninth grader at Corona del Sol High School who attended Pueblo Middle School and a fifth grader at Kyrene de la Mariposa who is hoping to attend Pueblo in the future My children have thrived under the wonderful teachers of both of these Kyrene schools. The computer science focus at Mariposa has provided both my children with a strong background in coding and STEM. And all the teachers and classes, including the gifted program, NEHS, and Lego Robotics, have prepared my children well for middle school and beyond. My daughter has also enjoyed many of the wonderful class offerings at Pueblo, including an amazing band program and jazz program under the leadership of Mrs. Arlie DuPlessis. My daughter was selected for the EMEA All-State Band in both seventh

106and eighth grade due to the teaching and guidance she received at Pueblo. Pueblo also had the most students accepted into the EMEA Middle School All-State Band out of any Kyrene school last year. She also enjoyed the art classes, culinary arts, gait classes, web, NJHS, other classes, and advanced math classes Pueblo offered, taking geometry in person in her last year at Pueblo, which is not even offered as an in-person class at all Kyrene middle schools. Closing Pueblo would have a terrible effect on the band opportunities within Kyrene and also greatly affect the band program at Corona since about half the band students at Corona come from Pueblo's band program. And it is not clear the two remaining middle schools would have enough band capacity for all of the displaced students. Closing Pueblo along with 638 and

107Menides and KTA would effectively close three middle school options within Kyrene East even though Kyrene East has more students than Kyrene West. The proposed new middle school zoning would also split Pueblo's boundaries in two, separating students. Additionally, the proposed new zoning does not even allow many students in the southwestern portion of Pueblo's boundary to attend their next closest middle school. So it seems like closing Pueblo would not provide enough capacity for the Pueblo middle school students nearest their homes. Please reconsider the decision to close Pueblo and Mariposa. Thank you, Ms. Blinnick. Our next speaker is Angela Fautnola, who will be followed by Lindsay Iren. Good evening. One in 31 children today is diagnosed with autism, about a third of them. Small schools like Pueblo aren't a preference for our mainstreamed autistic kids. They're the definition

108of equitable access to education. It's nearly impossible for a child with an IEP to open enroll anywhere. They're bound to their boundary school. A friend of mine tried to enroll her gifted child who needed only minimum IEP resource support with another Kyrene middle school just last year and was denied. With middle school consolidation pushing capacity above 90%, it will be impossible for kids to open enroll altogether. So no, we can't just choose another Kyrene school. We don't have that option. Pueblo is leading and was set to be the model for Kyrene in autism. It has two CCD classrooms and a CCD sensory program. It has in-house services for assisted tech, occupational therapy, speech, and behavioral support. That means when a student needs help, those supports don't have to be called in from afar. They're already

109here. Pueblo is also redefining student leadership. Supported by a $6,000 grant from the Organization for Autism Research, students are teaching one another about autism through peer-led instruction. and meaningful dialogue. But to sustain programs like this, money must follow the child. And this, Kyrene, is why you are losing your kids with heavily weighted funding to ESA. Equitable access demands that when a student with an IEP needs specific environment, like a smaller autism-trained campus with Kyrene, that you want to close. Some portion of their weighted funding should move with them to the receiving school so that that school may appropriately staff and support that child in a choice program. Otherwise, the student remains trapped by their boundaries instead of supported by the opportunity Kyrene has to offer. Pueblo is the perfect place to build a twice exceptional

110autism specific program that combines the supports of CCD with gifted programming and interest-led learning for our special interest subject matter experts. With weighted funding this is absolutely achievable. By allowing open enrollment, Pueblo could be the home to children like one of mine who is currently homeschooling not by choice but out of necessity. Thank you, Ms. Fountainola. Build it, fund it, market it, keep Pueblo open. Thank you, Ms. Fountainola. Our next speaker will be Lindsay Arendt, who will be followed by Sarah Rogan. Thank you board members for volunteering your time and taking on this impossible task I've been so impressed by all the school communities we've heard from it's very clear that Kyrene families are passionate and many are very much hurting right now after each hearing I find myself thinking about the wonderful experiences families

111and students have at every Kyrene school it makes me genuinely sad to imagine any of them closing It also makes me ask again, will the fiscal gains truly be what's being projected? We keep hearing about estimates. Can the district share site-specific plans that would reassure us there's a clear path forward? Something other than a gifted academy that appears to be really unpopular with current Kyrene families? Can the district assure us that this isn't just a gamble, especially when leakage models show significant losses after school closures? Ultimately, is the district confident that displacing thousands of students will truly be worth it? On the other side of this, I also worry that if enrollment loss miraculously doesn't occur, our schools will be filled to capacity. The thought of middle schools with 1,300 kids is concerning, not only

112because of the social-emotional challenges that come with this age group, but also because it limits true open enrollment and the ability to market and grow. This feels like painting ourselves into a corner. As a mom of a current fifth grader, I have to make a decision in February. Pueblo would be our homeschool, and we are excited about what it offers. Keeping another middle school open makes sense and it allows for true open enrollment and the chance to grow and have middle schools that aren't bursting at the seams with a well over a thousand kids. And finally, to all the parents, I urge you to speak up and be loud at the state legislature. their failure to properly fund public schools is why we are here today this is a direct attack on public education and

113we need to keep pushing beyond the district level to protect our schools and our students we need to demand appropriate funding and hold our legislators accountable thank you thank you miss errant our next speaker is sarah rogan who will be followed by jennifer pratt Thank you for this opportunity. I just want to recognize the difficult decisions that you're faced with making, and I appreciate you giving us all this time to contribute to the conversation. I am a mother of five Pueblo students, not currently, but I did have three at once. And they all have a variety of needs and interests, and to be able to have their education supported and their personal exploration is really important and has been a vital part of their growth. During my own educational years, I went to eight different

114schools. schools. I know firsthand that while change may be scary, it can also give opportunities for growth. That said, given my own personal educational experience, I have loved having roots and a home for my own children. We chose to switch to Paloma from Breesus when we moved into this neighborhood. There's something truly beautiful about this neighborhood and community with Paloma and Pueblo at the heart. Many families have chosen this neighborhood specifically with these schools in mind, losing Pueblo would be a huge loss for our community. The district as a whole may be losing students, but our neighborhood is still bringing in new young families. Pueblo has a history of a variety of thriving programs. Apprende is also a wonderful school with many thriving programs. With more students, there will naturally be less opportunities to explore

115extracurriculars and have their needs met in the classrooms. Many more children will fall through the cracks. While I recognize the difficulties we face with budgeting, I am not sure the closure of this magnitude solves this problem. It will hurt the longstanding reputation that Kyrene has had for decades. When I was a student, student in Mesa as a high schooler, I knew that Kyrene was a great school. That's weird. Why did I know that? Some families will choose to send their students out of districts. Some families will choose to settle in other parts of the valley. Then we have the problem of what happens to the buildings. If we sell these buildings, then we have competitors in our neighborhoods. That's a problem. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Miss Jennifer

116Pratt, who will be followed by Corey Muldrew. Good evening, members of the board. I'm Jennifer Pratt. It's taken me a few months to address you, and it's not because public speaking can be daunting. It's because I've been here before. You see, four years ago, we moved our older daughter into the Kyrene School District after the school year had already started. When she began kindergarten, we lived in Ahwatukee and enrolled her in a charter school. But during the pandemic that school's administration and board lacked the leadership to take care of its students. After many attempts to engage our concerns fell on deaf ears. By then we had moved to Warner Ranch. We chose to move our daughter to our now home school of Mariposa because of the leadership both at the school and at the district

117level. Today we have two daughters in Kyrene the younger at Mariposa and the older here at Pueblo. Both are thriving. You heard Sabrina's third speech tonight and we couldn't be prouder. I know that making tough choices is part of keeping our district strong and sustainable. And I've seen firsthand how resilient kids can be. But while some closure decision criteria has been shared, when we look at the maps and the outcomes, the impact doesn't feel equitable or consistent. Without that clarity, it's hard for families to have confidence in the district's future. So I implore you, as leaders who earned the trust that brought families like mine here, to take a look at the whole picture. You have all the data at your fingertips. Please use it. And lastly, as my seven-year-old reminds me, Chip the Challenger

118is counting on us all to do the best we can. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Pratt. Our next speaker is Corey Muldrew, who will be followed by Greg Lindsay. How are you all doing today? Naturally, I don't normally do this type of stuff, but I first want to congratulate everybody here for speaking up, your kids, everybody, because, quite frankly, I'm more of a blunt person to say your guys' solution will not fix nothing. It will not solve nothing. And for me to be up here as a father of one child, for me, this is one of the greatest schools that my family has sent not just my nephew and my cousins to. This is a school that I will literally fight for and truly will say that you guys closing any of these schools is

119one of your biggest mistakes. And I really hope you guys can consider a different option, which let's just face it, after the information that I got from these lovely people, I think you guys do have another solution and you're afraid to do so. and not just Mimita's, but I am also a former Pueblo attendant here, so to all the Pueblo people, thank you for welcoming me home. It's been a while, but I'm gonna just be very sure and frankly that you guys need to do better. This is unacceptable, and I refuse to allow any of these schools, but most importantly, one that I consider as a family. to be shut down and i expect you guys to truly honor and respect not just me but everybody here with the right information and the right data

120that clearly shows that you all have that power you all have that weapon to fix this and i strongly suggest that you guys do it with the utmost not just for the children here but for their future because without that honestly i don't see my daughter going to any other school but the one right here standing in front of you thank you Thank you, Mr. Muldrew. Our next speaker is Greg Lindsay, who will be followed by Carolyn Morris. Good evening. I'm a Murata parent, and I work in enrollment marketing. First with schools and nonprofits at the start of my career, now in health tech, helping huge companies get their people excited about our program. And I'm not the only one. We have a lot of very talented marketers who are parents here in the district.

121However, my perception is that whenever marketing is brought up in the midst of our current situation, It's whole-handedly dismissed, saying that this is not a marketing issue. The posture from the district level has felt defensive, not collaborative. I've witnessed this myself, and I've heard it from other parents who have reached out directly to offer help and felt dismissed. Let me state this clearly. Marketing is a part of our problem. I'm not saying all, and I'm not trying to call out any individuals or teams at the district level, but at my job, if I launched a large client but their enrollment was lackluster, I would not be able to go to my leadership and say, well, I don't know. I tried everything. The enrollments just aren't there. If I did, I wouldn't last long in my

122role. I would need to get creative and collaborate to try and find new creative solutions with the restraints I was given. To dismiss marketing as being a part of the problem and continue with the status quo will lead us right back here. This posture coupled with the status quo is also confusing. For example, in earlier board meetings, the AEF A plus rating was downplayed, saying, paraphrasing, that it was easy for any teacher or principal to quickly write up an application. But this leaves us as parents confused why it's so prominently displayed all over the websites promoting the schools and district. If it's easy to get and truly doesn't matter, why lead with it in your marketing? It makes it feel like smoke and mirrors and it erodes trust. We're not here with pitchforks on this

123issue. We're busy families who adore Kyrene and want seats filled. I would recommend embracing the offer to collaborate as long-range planning efforts continue, form a genuine marketing subcommittee that is set up as a working group, not a one-way lecture hall. Let's dive into the data, and my bet is that between district staff and parent volunteers, we'll uncover fresh angles to recruit better, optimize marketing efforts, and shine a light on how wonderful this district is. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lindsay. Our next speaker is Carolyn Morris, who will be followed by Andrea Will. First, I want to thank the board for adapting the boundaries in the East. My children went from being split across six different schools to now one filter middle and one elementary. Secondly, it was brought to my attention that district leadership is

124discouraged from marketing across their own district. Limiting marketing to only filters limits our knowledge of successful programming. I know resources are limited, but saying our marketing is great dismisses major concerns with accessibility, enrollment, retention, and reach. I've toured 18 schools within 25 minutes of my home. I started my tours by being rejected from a Kyrene showcase because our school was not a filter. We live in a choice state. Many are choosing charters and private schools over public education. I've been part of Kyrene for 30 years. A Sierra Alta Dania graduate, I've worked with East and West Kyrene schools, marketed curriculum across the valley, and became an educator at a preschool, seeing firsthand the schools that incoming kindergarten families are choosing. I want public school to thrive. We are limited by our legislators, but even when

125our hands are tied, we have the ability to gain knowledge. Teachers and principals know what's working. They have ranked electives, full clubs, 38 kids in gate math classes. Some offer outdoor lunch, agriculture, fitness, a zero hour, Spanish as core curriculum. These programs all differ across your district, and students are scared to lose them. Find what's working, expand it. Know what we're cutting before we cut it. You need to inform your community where these choice programs will be moved before enrollment deadlines hit. Walk each middle school campus during school hours. Capacity also needs to be felt. Chandler has a choice public school with no filters that has the highest enrollment at 930 students as parents we are looking for quality programs especially at the competitive middle school level and we also want long-term success thank you

126thank you miss Morris our next speaker is Andrea Will who will be followed by Jennifer Lawhead Hello, I'm Dr. Andrea Will, and I'm a Kyrene alum, Pueblo parent, and now a professor of voice and music theater at ASU. My own career began here in Kyrene with my performing arts teacher, Julie Hackman, who later became the district's fine arts coordinator. That early exposure to the arts shaped not only my profession, but my entire life. I chose Pueblo for my boys because middle school can be overwhelming. A strong GATE program was paramount and we found that. The Leader in Me program helps students collaborate, lead, and most importantly, find your voice and help others to find theirs. That last phrase is more than symbolic. It's embodied every day in Pueblo's theater program. As a voice professor and

127parent, I see how transformative arts education can be when there are enough opportunities for students to participate. One of my sons is on the Shire side and found his voice through theater. My other son, more outgoing by nature, learned leadership and teamwork in addition to his onstage skills. This program is an essential social-emotional anchor for so many, and it works because of its reasonable size. Last year, Pueblo's Spring Musical involved over 65 students in cast and crew. Apprende, according to social media, already has over 80 in its theater club, and KTA and KMS have strong theater programs as well. If schools consolidate, that's more than 150 to 200 students competing for limited roles. How many plays can feasibly be produced in one school year? The math doesn't work, and fewer opportunities in Kyrene's means students

128finding another place to let their lights shine. At the heart of Pueblo's program specifically is its teacher, Ms. R, a remarkable educator who builds confidence, empathy, and community through her classroom. What she does changes lives. I urge the board to pause the consolidation process. Kyrene's strength lies in its diverse, distinctive schools, and consolidating so drastically has the potential to homogenize schools in a way that is detrimental to students. Let's take time to preserve the programs and communities that make Kyrene exceptional. Thank you. All right. Our next speaker will be Ms. Jennifer Lawhead. Hi, my name is Jennifer Lawhead and I'm the parent of a Pueblo eighth grader and a Paloma fifth grader. I grew up as a Kyrene student and the district has positively impacted me so much so that I made a conscious choice

129to have Kyrene be the home for my children's education. My husband and I moved into this neighborhood in 2010, even before we had children, with one of the primary reasons becoming part of the community of Pueblo and Paloma. These schools and the district's reputation for excellence, connection, and care was what drew us here and what has kept us here for nearly 15 years. I understand the need to take the numbers seriously and take action, but I also know that behind every financial statement are people, families, and communities who are directly impacted by these decisions. Closing schools has widespread impacts far beyond balancing a budget. You are changing the fabric of a neighborhood. Pueblo brings families together and provides stability for our children during some of the most formative years of their lives. I urge you

130to take the long view to consider not only the financial impact, but the community and the emotional impact as well. Surely we can come up with more creative ideas than simply closing schools. Please protect Pueblo and what makes it special for the next generation of families and students. Thank you. Thank you. We are at the hour mark, so we're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back in a few minutes. All right, we are going to reconvene our public hearing. If you could please take your seat. We're going to begin with our next speaker. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Ms. Laura Flores, who will be followed by Catherine Peters. Good evening President Walsh and Governing Board. My name is Laura Flores and I have three Kyrene kids. One at Pueblo

131and two at Paloma. We love this district and these schools. We bought our home here because we wanted to live in a neighborhood with excellent public schools. We value public education and this is a pivotal moment for it here in Arizona. We've heard that closures may be necessary to avoid other levers that would lead to other cuts. but what levers have been pulled to bring in more funding? Mesa Public Schools, for example, is opening smaller specialized high schools on its middle school campuses and offering electives to homeschoolers to bring ESA dollars back into the district. This kind of innovation is what is needed today. What has Kyrene tried? Closing schools should be the absolute last resort. And if closure does... If closure does become necessary, please do it mindfully. Let current students finish the school

132they start at. For example, next year could be the last class of a kindergarten class or a sixth grade class at selected schools. That approach would minimize disruption and allow teachers and families to plan ahead. Lastly, Kyrene voters overwhelmingly supported the district in last night's election. Please support us in return. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Flores. Ms. Peters, before you come up, I actually had a student who was at practice during the student speakers, and she's hoping she can speak now. So I'd like, if that's okay, I'd like to have this student come up and speak. Oh, can we help? You can just pull that down. There you go. Thank you. Hi, my name is Lillian and I'm a fifth grade student at Kyrene De La Mirada. I'm here to celebrate how great Mirada is.

133Just today, as a student ambassador, I had the honor of leading a tour for prospective families interested in Mirada. I felt amazed to represent my school and share what makes it special. I've been at Murata for five years, and I've loved every second of it. This school has given me many opportunities to grow as a leader and make friends with kids in all grades through leadership clubs. As I stated before, this year I'm a student ambassador, and I get to help with tours and leading with heart drawings slips. I'm also a news anchor on Monarch News where I spread news and reminders for the day and future. In past years, I've also been in Lighthouse where we write and conduct the MML award ceremonies by ourselves and help put together events. These experiments... These experiences

134have helped me become confident in acting and public speaking. Murata is a place where everyone feels cared for and encouraged to lead. I'm so proud to be a Murata student. Please keep Murata open and keep the self-contained gifted class too. I would like to say thank you for trying to make a better community. Thank you. Good job, Lillian. All right, Ms. Peters will be our next speaker, who will be followed by Ann Masuda. Hello, friends, and good evening once again. My name is Catherine Peters. I'm here representing the high-flying Falcons of Kyrene D'Amelino on the west side. So I first want to say thank you to Pueblo Middle School for hosting the hearing this evening and allowing families across the district to have their voices be heard. Just know that as a fellow west side

135parent, we stand with you just as you have stood with us. So thank you so much. Tonight I'm going to make some statements because you guys, the board, know my story. I want to make some statements that will hopefully get some thoughts going and have some questions to ask. So again, you guys have done awesome because you guys kind of did my speech for me. One of my questions was what happens if the gifted academy doesn't pan out? What if we open millennial as a gifted school in the 27-28 school year and the enrollment is lower than as a standard elementary school? Are we going to close the newest biggest school completely down and possibly waste one of the nicest elementary buildings within Kyrene? It's a huge risk and my fellow families here have said

136you know it's not very popular opinion so there's that. I've heard from families in our community as well and again You guys have echoed us as well. The families in our community feel like there is a sense of privilege as a deciding factor in closing the schools and they don't think their little voice will be heard or make a difference. So I'm here as their voice and to show that we can make a difference as we stand up and speak out. And to my fellow millennial family members I may be watching. I just want you to know that. Our school is collaborating with our potential school. The inevitable does happen. So just know that that is there. And for my last few seconds, I just want to invite the board members that maybe haven't had

137a chance to visit Millennial and see our wonderful falcons nest. So please, I invite you guys to come see that. Also, there's a few events happening on Friday the 21st. We have our fall festival where food trucks, face painting and movies and more. And on Tuesday, November 25th, we have our turkey trot. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Peters. Our next speaker is Anne Masuda, who will be followed by Liz Bolton. Oh, okay. Thank you for letting me know. I hope she feels better. Our next speaker will be Liz Bolton, who will be followed by Mariah Monson. While Kyrene's local birth rate has declined, Maricopa County's has continued to rise, signaling that family formation across our region is accelerating. That means more young families are choosing to raise their children here. This creates an opportunity

138for Kyrene to capture future growth by positioning itself as a district of choice, one that families seek out for stability, inclusion, and excellence as these higher birth cohorts enter school over the next three to five years. This is an opportunity we can't afford to ignore. When I received this data from Maricopa County, it reminded me how easily we can rely on blanket talking points instead of stepping back to see the bigger picture. When I hear statements suggesting we can simply lift and shift a community from one school to another, I know that while every school strives to be welcoming, lived experience tells a different story. A school that fits one family may not meet the needs of another. And for families like mine, that difference can mean everything. I have a child on an IEP

139for emotional support. We moved to Kyrene De La Mirada so she could receive the love and support she needed. And this year, she is thriving, truly thriving. It has been a breakthrough for us. So the idea of another disruption, another move is terrifying. I know firsthand that not every educator or administrator will understand or embrace my child for who they are, and that uncertainty keeps me up at night. As I explored potential backup schools, I asked each one about IEP support. Every time the tone shifted. In some cases, we were told resources were limited. In others, we were denied altogether. That is the reality so many Kyrene families face. This is what happens when business decisions overshadow human ones. We are not data points on a chart. We are families, families who deserve transparency and

140understanding. Please keep our schools open. Thank you, Ms. Bolton. Our next speaker is Mariah Monson, who will be followed by Susanna Bradley. Good evening, Kyrene Board. My name is Mariah Munson, and I am the KEA Vice President. This statement has been made in collaboration with our officer and exec board teams. KEA leadership has had conversations with you about how our teachers are doing through all of this. No one wants to see their school have to go through consolidation. But many of us understand the reality of our situation in Kyrene and are ready for the next step. What is becoming more and more impossible for educators to deal with are the ever increasing responsibilities that fall on us when we have to operate at the same high level of expectation with less resources. We are being

141stretched to our limit. When our schools operate at less than full capacity, more is put on the staff to run that school. This means more duty, more meetings, less time to plan and prepare for the diverse needs of our students, and less collaboration. That is not a recipe for success. We would like to remind you of the lever that gets pulled should the choice be made to keep schools open. When you have to cut $7 million from the budget, then people get cut. We will have to have a RIF, which will result in higher class sizes, affect our special area programs, our assistant principals, our academic interventionists, full-day kindergarten, etc. This would lessen the Kyrene experience for all students and make teaching for our educators even harder. We regard each of you with so much

142respect. We ask that you keep our educators in mind when making the decision to consolidate our sites. It is not fair that this is the decision you are being tasked to make, but we need you to have the facts, void of emotion, when making a decision for all of Kyrene. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Bonson. Our next speaker is Susanna Bradley, who will be followed by Lisa Sackett. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Susanna Bradley, and I'm the parent of a current Mariposa third grader and an incoming kindergartner. I'm a former public school teacher and a Kyrene kid, an alumna of Mariposa and Pueblo. I completely understand that Kyrene has to close schools. It's the reality we're in. I understand that hard decisions have to be made and many

143people are going to be saddened by whatever difficult decision you have to make. What I don't understand is why certain schools are being chosen. In the beginning, I thought I did. But after the changes, made without clear reasoning, I'm not as confident that I understand the logic anymore. For me, this is about trust. I've studied the long range planning website, the FAQs, the frequently requested information. I've been to meetings in person or watched live recordings when I couldn't attend. I even found the answer that was given to how schools were chosen. And still I can't answer my neighbor's questions of why Mariposa. I respectfully request that this information be given in plain language with clear data proving that closing specific schools will help us reach the financial goals that will keep Kyrene strong for future

144generations. Without that transparency, you will lose the trust of the current and prospective families, community, teachers, and support staff. Losing trust means losing enrollment. which in turn means losing dollars, which will definitely not help Kyrene's future. I believe this board can rebuild trust through transparency and collaboration. Please consider data. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Bradley. Our next speaker is Lisa Sackett, who will be followed by Connie Allen. Good evening. Again, my name is Lisa Sackett. I'm here to strongly advocate to keep Pueblo open. My son attended Pueblo for three years. We had a lot of school choices. We chose Pueblo for their small size and excellent rating. I literally purchased my home in this neighborhood because of Pueblo, so it's pretty important. I've had three kids attend middle schools in different states, and Pueblo has

145been the best experience. The quality of the entire staff is amazing and their cohesion is outstanding and their dedication to our kids. I remember my first day at Pueblo. I was nervous, but Ms. Ferber came over and put my mind at ease. She said, we take care of our kids at Pueblo. And she was right. My son participated in special ed services and their nurturing and patience empowered me as a parent. Vic, Pueblo's awesome maintenance guru, was supportive of a student volunteer program and his mentorship meant the world to my son. The front office staff is efficient, runs like a well-oiled machine, and their smiling faces represent what a school should be. Principal Chetowski and Assistant Principal Binoche show a level of kindness not seen in any educational system I've been a part of. Their

146compassion and common sense approach build character instead of shame. As you have heard from many students and parents here tonight, I could not have chosen a more accomplished and talented music teacher than Arlie Duplessis. Her high standards, exemplary patience, and total dedication to her students was something to behold. Mrs. Duplassus teaches music with her whole heart, and I encourage you to keep our school open. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Sackett. Our next speaker is Connie Allen, who will be followed by Jeremiah Gutierrez-Jensen. Hello, my name is Connie Allen, and I... I am now retired, but I worked in Kyrene School District as a physical education specialist for 36 years. As a Kyrene PE teacher, I had the opportunity to travel to many different schools in Kyrene, to be exact, 13 different Kyrene schools, but none

147stood out like Mariposa. I was fortunate to be the home-based teacher at Mariposa for 12 years, so I am very aware of Mariposa's climate and dynamics. First, how the school is nestled between two beautiful parks, the amazing and committed teachers and staff, high academics and standards, A++++++, and amazing students. Although there is something more crucial in making Mariposa spectacular and unique, it is the Mariposa parents and Warner Ranch community. I saw this firsthand when I would organize my big events like the Turkey Trot, the Water Days, and the Survivor Field Days. Big events take a lot of work, physical labor, and set up and take down. I never had to worry about that. They had my back and they rallied to make it all come together. Now for a true story about my own son,

148Charlie, that showcased how amazing Mariposa is. Charlie always had a hard time struggling in reading. My husband and I actively tried to help, but reading to him nightly, doing his homework. talking to teachers, but it just wasn't making a difference in his reading level. Then I got a call from Dr. Lesher, and she wanted to hire me as a home-based PE teacher at Mariposa. Of course, I said yes. Next, I thought about my son. Would he come to Mariposa with me? Changing schools would be asking a lot of a fourth grade to say goodbye to a school and some friends. But the dilemma, I asked Charlie to try out Mariposa for just one week and see if he would I go back. He loved Mariposa. Mariposa changed him. Thank you, Ms. Allen. I just wanted

149to say that he was a success in his academics because of Mariposa. Our next speaker is Jeremiah Gutierrez-Jensen, who will be followed by Mike Gobster. Hi, my name is Jeremy. My son goes to Manitas, Carinela Manitas. We drive by, I think, five elementary schools to take him to Manitas. And the reason is because the school admin staff and teachers are all wonderful. One of the things about Manitas is at the start time, the bell schedule is for the late 9 a.m. It supports families with working parents and especially parents that have to take their kids to four or more therapy appointments per week. This is because my son is an IEP. The support throughout the school is incredible. Every day he is supported. Every parent meeting the teachers go the extra mile and ensure that

150all of our concerns are met. We have had unparalleled support in each and every IEP review. At Minitas, teachers have a lot of experience with IEP students and as a result my son is thriving there. There's an innovative approach through the studio model for the students that helps students like my son but also Excuse me, but also has included getting my son to pass through grade level math by incentivizing him by pushing his teacher in a wheelchair through the hallways. The excellence in education at Menidos means that all are welcome and receive the best education there. My wife and I take our son to all of his therapies and then drop him off on time and that's only possible because of the centralized location and a late bell start that only Manitas can provide. Please

151reconsider the current plan to close Manitas. Closing Manitas means that this opportunity is closed for my son. The options that Kyrene are proposing do not work for us and we picked Manitas because of the location and the time supported our son's needs. The seven months of study of objective data was thrown away, and I think that this is a huge mistake for Kyrene, and please reconsider. Thank you, Mr. Gutierrez-Jensen. Our next speaker is Mike Gobster, who will be followed by Jennifer Guzzi. Hi, I'm here in support of Monita's spins up, and I'd like to... Request that the board please reconsider the closure of Minitas and the elimination of the unique K through eight learning studio educational approach, which I feel is a huge loss for the Kyrene school district. Minitas gives Kyrene parents a choice

152outside of a traditional educational model. Closing Minitas and losing this unique learning environment forces parents to look outside of the public school system for non-traditional educational options. which I'm a huge supporter of public schools, so I want to make sure parents have the choices that they want. Additionally, this long-range planning feels very sudden. We heard about the proposed changes earlier this year and recently had the massive revision. If this plan is finalized in December, it will only be a few short months for parents to prepare for the upcoming changes. Large-scale changes like this should be communicated further in advance and implemented more gradually, especially given that the declining enrollment is not a new or sudden issue. So once again, just please reconsider, and thanks again for working through this. I know it's not an easy

153choice for anyone. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gobster. Our next speaker is Jennifer Guzzi, who will be followed by Mark Wolf. Some of us are speaking tonight with our words and others have spoken through music. How many of you got to enjoy the band playing outside? Those were current Pueblo students playing with former students who are now in Corona's marching band. The students ran their own rehearsal and they were conducted by a former Pueblo student. This is just one example of the many programs that are at risk of being lost should the school close. Pueblo has an expansive fine arts program. Band, orchestra, choir, theater, dance, culinary arts, visual arts, digital arts, and then lots of clubs to choose from. Theater club, jazz band, art club, art buddies, choir club, guitar club, and even a

154poetry club coming soon. Pueblo has a strong gate program. I'm impressed by the number of students who are taking advanced math classes and earning high school credit while they're still in middle school. And Pueblo helps students become leaders with their Leader in Me program and the Web Leader programs. Web stands for where everybody belongs, and it's made of eighth grade students who mentor and lead their peers. Finally, Pueblo is inclusive and supports all students. They have a school-wide initiative aimed at fostering awareness and acceptance of autism among students. Web leaders were trained and then taught their peers all across campus about autism. Staff and students signed a banner pledging to be radically inclusive on their campus, and the school's long-term vision is to become a model campus for autism awareness with hopes of expanding the

155program to other schools in the Kyrene District. So this is Pueblo, a strong art school with gifted and talented classes, student leadership development, and amazing special ed program that is leading the way in autism awareness and helping our 2E students thrive. Pueblo has the ability to attract families from all over. Instead of closing this school, how about the district help us market this gem in the East Valley? Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Guzzi. Our next speaker is Mark Wolf, who will be followed by Richard Olorsaba. I would like to thank the board for investing the time and effort needed to make an informed decision and a special thanks to those who are visiting communities of each school firsthand. I'd also like to thank everyone who canvassed and thanks to Angela for supporting us by handing

156out signs to pass the override. It is not hard to understand why there is so much confusion around the criteria that we use to select schools for closure. Not one seeks to address the reason for the decreasing budget, declining enrollment. Here's the list of criteria from the Kyrene long-range planning page. The demographer was asked to develop models that increase school utilization, maintain a balance of schools across the district, examine proximity of schools, minimize boundary changes, advance equity, consider potential for facility repurposing, sale, or lease, reduce the distance students must travel within a school boundary, account for shared infrastructure dependencies, and balance any of these competing priorities. Oddly, balancing the budget seems to be an afterthought and not considered until after a school is closed. The fiscal efficiency of each school, for example, was not considered.

157All were treated equally. And not a single criterion addresses declining enrollment. The district made it clear at the last study session that it's irresponsible to operate schools at 40 to 50% capacity. Increasing the boundary of schools that are failing to attract students will make the problem declining enrollment. worse and force the board to close more schools in the future. And this is how equity fails under the current plan. Those who are mobile and able to select a school will go to the great lengths to get their children into the remaining schools that are attracting students. These schools will have waiting lists. Those who are not mobile or are most vulnerable families who rely on the school bus to get to school will have no choice but to attend their inboundary school. Schools that have low

158utilization rates will see a temporary boost that will decrease over time as families adapt. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Wolf. Our next speaker is Richard Olorzaba, who will be followed by Catherine Parker. Good evening, every member of the board. Thank you for having us, and thank you for every one of the community members, students, teachers, and parents for making your voice heard. My name is Richard Oriosaba and though my partner and I are not parents, we have a vested interest in the friends and families who have students enrolled in Kyrene, not to mention what the closures would have an effect on our own immediate communities. I've made a career as a musician, as a performing artist, specifically an opera singer. My career has taken me to performing title and leading roles from companies like Lyric

159Opera of Chicago, one of our nation's leading opera companies, to Opera Hong Kong. I have performed all over the U.S. as well as worldwide. I have participated in one of our country's leading operatic competitions hosted by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. For those of you that are fans of the Gilded Age. that Metropolitan Opera. It has also allowed me to have the privilege and honor of representing the United States in one of the international community's largest competitions that is represented by every country in this world, the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. And it was my honor to do so. Please know that this would not have been possible without the encouragement and fortification of my interest in the arts when I was in elementary school, as well as when I was in

160middle school, being an alum of Mariposa and Pueblo. So I please ask that you reconsider the consolidation and closures of Kyrene schools for the benefit of future students and the future talent of this world. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Oyarzaba. Our next speaker is Catherine Parker, who will be followed by Diane Heilstead. Thank you. My name is Catherine. I'm here as a Marauder parent, but I would also like to speak for hopefully all of Kyrene. I want to acknowledge something that kind of weighs heavily on most of us here, and I'm sorry to get a little bit political, but this problem we are in right now is political. Regardless of where you stand on either side of the aisle, our country is currently kind of on fire. Our neighbors are struggling. Parents in

161Kyrene are facing food insecurity, housing insecurity. and job changes or losses that we haven't seen probably since 2008. The weight of these challenges is falling heavily on the parents, on the shoulders of parents who are still trying every single day to give their kids the best education and the best possible future. And many of those parents are the same people who have been showing up here, not just tonight, but for months. All of you. have been spending countless hours researching, organizing, canvassing, emailing, calling your representatives, and it's been unpaid and for the most part unseen on top of your normal jobs and your other obligations and in addition to everything else going on. We all want nothing more than to shelter our children and to give them as much of a carefree child as they

162can have before they're aware of the reality of the world. And I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm exhausted. And I really hate public speaking. But I'm not as exhausted as the families that aren't here tonight because they are in survival mode. And if they can't be here tonight, then it's our job to try to speak for them. I want to make it very clear, all of you, is that that camera? And you at home. Our seeing what you're doing matters and it is important. Representatives who have consistently made decisions that brought our district to this crossroads are not in this room right now and they will not hear us unless we continue to be loud, unless we continue to show up and vote in the protest. I know you're all tired,

163but parenthood doesn't end the second our kids turn 18 and then move out of the house and our civic duty is not going to end as soon as this board. passes their vote. If we don't want to be back in the same room in three years fighting over the same scraps, we need to keep fighting. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Parker. Our next speaker is Diane Hylstad, who will be followed by Russell Parker. Good evening. I am Diane Hylstad, and I am a teacher here at Pueblo Middle School. This is actually my 30th year at Pueblo, all at Pueblo. And that was by choice. I could have gone to any other districts early on. I could have gone and possibly made more money somewhere else, but I chose to stay here because of Pueblo, because

164of the opportunities that students are given, a chance to find themselves, but also a chance to thrive. So as we're considering what is going to happen in the future in Kyrene, The idea of closing middle schools like Pueblo, unfortunately, is going to create other schools to be beyond capacity. It's been said that 70% capacity is ideal for the middle schools. And if we close Pueblo and then Apprende or some of the other middle schools are going to be 90% or higher, this is going to lead to larger class sizes, lack of opportunities, and not only the arts and athletics, which are essential. And it will also make it difficult to help, as we say, ready them for their future in high school, college, career, and life. The implementation timeline is also. very going very quickly

165closing four schools at the end of this school year and then only having six weeks in the summer to be able to transfer people supplies instructional materials etc is going to be impossible families will choose to leave Kyrene and I believe that we are underestimating the number of families that are going to choose other options that are available around these neighborhoods. So I'm just asking that you pause and not go forward with this implementation and please keep Hubla open. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Holstead. Our next speaker is Russell Parker, who will be followed by Veronica Juarez. Hello, I'm Russell Parker. I'm a parent of three Marada children. I just want to say thank you to the board for all the work that you've done and all the investment that you've put into this. I

166know this is not an easy decision, and I do not envy you in all the work that you've done on this. I'd also like to thank all the parents and everybody here who are sitting on benches not made for people from the 1900s. I know it's a lot of work, but your voices are mattering. They're helping everybody, and everybody I know appreciates it. One thing I'd like to offer for consideration is that with this schedule of closures, we have identified schools that are going to be closed. I would humbly suggest that maybe we pick a few of those two or three schools that we close first. Give... two or three years to actually see the impact of those. There are several different reasons why this may be very beneficial. We don't know the full impact

167of closing the schools, how much money we will or won't save, how much bleed the students are going to go away from our schools, or if it's not going to be as bad as we think. We may save more money or less money. We don't know. And by giving a sample set of what we expect to save and then measuring that, we have the ability to... run with that. That also helps the natural attrition of our student body kind of shrink down so we don't overpopulate the schools. Another consideration is that we can engage in some of the things that many of the parents have been talking about tonight and on other nights of reaching out to students, education on tax credits, advertisements, membership outreach, all these different factors can help prevent us from needing

168to close more schools further down the road. I know it's not fun to drag this out, but by having more information and a better and more fuller idea of what we're working with, it may be also beneficial. Another final consideration is if there's any economic downturn, a lot of charter schools do close in that time and they dump their students into our public schools, not always unanimously. So it's something to consider that by keeping a little bit more flexibility, it may help us in the overall. Once again, thank you and I appreciate all your work. Thank you, Mr. Parker. Oh, I need the kid's size. Hi everybody, Veronica, Pueblo mom. I just, everybody said, oh, the Pueblo band's so great, so great. Yeah, I just want to zoom that out. Just a little bit for

169you, if you don't mind. I'm not only a Pueblo mom, I am a proud, active, active member of the Corona del Sol Marching Band Boosters or something. All of the bands, actually. Thank you. So I'm not really speaking on their behalf, but I'd like for you to just take a peek at it through that lens. In a week and a half, the Corona del Sol Marching Band is competing at the state level. We are Division I and in second place. The whole state is watching. It's a big deal. How does that apply to us right now? If Pueblo closes, I'm very nervous, concerned about what that means for our corona program. It's a big a big part of our success is definitely the strong feeder programs Please don't infer anybody that I'm meaning any disrespect

170to any other school music programs. I promise I'm not all I'm saying is this program is Amazing. So the expectation that oh well band students can just kind of blend into other schools At like a print a KMS I don't think it's that simple at all the two largest pipelines feeding Corona or a print day Which is large and wonderful in Pueblo though. It's small it can true to about 40% of Corona's bands. That's significant. I kind of hope you consider not taking that away. It's not just numbers, it's quality. Like you've heard, all state bands, 16 were Pueblo students the most from any other middle school band in Arizona. I'm just afraid, thank you. I'm just afraid that... If we just think kids are just going to join band at another school, it's not

171like that. At Pueblo, it's part of the culture. Almost a quarter of this school joined band. I don't know that that can be easily replicated in another environment. So as you make decisions about these closures, just know in this moment, it's at a statewide level that this impact can be felt. I feel like, ooh, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Juarez. Our next speaker is Nick Indoma, who will be followed by Stephan Zantello. Good evening. I'm Nick Indoma, a special education teacher. I'm here because Pueblo Middle School would mean losing a model of equity and inclusion that actually works. I see that impact every single day. My small class size allow me and my colleagues to truly know our students. We understand their learning styles, their triggers, and their breakthroughs. Meeting students where they are and

172giving them what they need to succeed is equity in action. Pueblo Middle School is where my neurodivergent students, particularly those with autism, truly thrive. Our work has been recognized nationally by the Organization for Autism Research. OER awarded us their Autism Awareness Grant two years in a row. Here in Pueblo, inclusion isn't just a checkbox. It's in every lesson, every interaction, every success we celebrate. Parents share with me their joy and positive feedback that their children for the first time actually want to come to school. The sense of belonging here is transformative. I've watched students who felt invisible elsewhere become confident learners. That belonging translates directly into engagement, attendance, and real academic growth. We built something here in Pueblo so exceptional it can serve as a model that other schools across our district and beyond could

173learn from. Closing this school doesn't redistribute resources. It eliminates a proven pathway to success and dismantles a program at the very moment it should be replicated. What message does it send when we close Pueblo Middle School where students finally thrive? Where equity isn't theoretical, but something I witness in my classroom every single day. Please don't close the door on these students' futures. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Ndoma. Our next speaker is Stefan Zantello, who will be followed by Paul Moulter. Hi, everybody. I go by Mr. Z. I'm the counselor here at Pueblo. And I wanted to say that Pueblo has an amazing community of people that not just value inclusion, but radical inclusion and belonging. We foster an environment where students can thrive. that might struggle on a larger campus. We have a continual strength

174of increasing our social-emotional learning results school-wide since spring of 2024 with staggering results of increases between 6 and 16 percent. That's huge. I believe it would be a grave mistake to close Pueblo where we have innovators that drive passion in students and see success in the students of all ability levels. Here at Pueblo, We normalize and celebrate differences like autism to live and envision a world where everybody belongs and thrives. Pueblo is the essence of equity in this district. And as a social worker, that means something to me. I invite you to look to see Pueblo is stuffed full of many of the district's most ingenious creative minds that crave to partner with you to save this school. Doing the right thing is rarely comfortable but always includes looking out for and defending those who

175need us to stand in the gap for them. While money is important, people are more important. Students with disabilities belonging to a campus they can thrive in is more important. Students with disabilities, excuse me, students with autism belonging and being allowed to thrive where their environmental and learning needs are being met. It's more important. It's time that true leadership is not simply measured by numbers and data, but by the trust it has in its people and the mobilization of those people. Thank you very much for your time and your consideration. Thank you, Mr. Zantello. Our next speaker is Paul Moulter, who will be followed by Mike Daviau. Good evening, members of the board and Kyrene families. I'm a current Murata Monarch parent and a future Pueblo Bulldog parent. I would like to speak to you

176today about the remarkable community that is the Pueblo Middle School. Pueblo is more than just a place where students attend classes. It is a supportive, inspiring environment where every student is encouraged to achieve their best personal best. The dedicated teachers are the foundation of Pueblo's success. They bring learning to life every day, fostering curiosity, confidence, and a genuine love for knowledge. Their commitment ensures that each student feels seen, valued, and capable of reaching their goals. Equally important is the strong sense of community. Pueblo promotes respect, inclusivity, and leadership, helping students develop not only academically, but also as responsible and compassionate citizens. Beyond the classroom, the clubs and enrichment programs provide opportunities for each student to explore their interests and build lifelong skills and friendships. Pueblo Middle School truly exemplifies excellence in education, a place where

177learning thrives and students are empowered to succeed. Please consider keeping Pueblo open. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Moulter. Our next speaker is Mike Daviau, who will be followed by Corrine Inouye. Hi, I'm Mike Daviau, a parent of two students at Kyrene De La Mirada. Thank you to the board and to the community for all the time, energy, and late nights that you've invested in this process thus far. While I don't argue that some closures, consolidations, or changes are needed to responsibly utilize the resources of the district, there is value in taking a step back and reevaluating the situation. The long-term planning committee was tasked with reviewing cost-cutting measures, be that programs or school closures, and providing recommendations for saving district resources. With these options considered, let's now create a community committee to evaluate potential revenue

178channels. This process has shown that our community has many talented individuals with various backgrounds who are willing and eager to help. Engaging the community to the extent that they've dedicated to attending board meetings, community hearings, organizing and developing alternate options would no doubt yield innovative solutions to growing revenue. Before you pull the lever of closures or program cuts, pull the lever of improved district marketing and communications, pull the lever of innovative school programming, and pull the lever of retention efforts. While that study is underway, let's utilize a portion of the reserve funds and carry forward funding. to fill the gaps. It's been said several times that it is not responsible to utilize these funds for annual budget gaps and I entirely agree. However, if this situation doesn't warrant the use of these emergency funds, what

179does? If too many students or too many schools are closed or the closure plan is flawed by basing it too heavily on one metric, the outcome may lead to a more rapid decline of the district. We all want a strong Kyrene. Let's take time to consider all potential solutions before we take action. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Daviau. Our next speaker is Corinne Inouye, who will be followed by Denica Quesada. Is Laura okay? Yeah, Laura had to leave for a personal matter. Okay. Thank you. All right. I'm going to stick to my speech. Okay, so this week something really big happened in our household. I have three kids. You saw two of them today. They rode their bikes to and from school without us for the first time. Now any parent today knows how much pressure

180there is to be perfect, the gentle parenting trends, the constant worry about judgment and the what ifs. So before they left, we texted their teachers. Just to let them know and honestly we were just a little nervous about how that might be received but of course what we got back was support and actual excitement and the teachers one of them actually said she left already because it's past my bedtime too but she said she'll keep an eye out as they passed her by her area to make sure that they were safe and on their way. I'm just telling you that right now like that moment continues to push me to show up to these meetings because our assets in this district I'm talking about our teachers We're able to give the kids independence because of

181school culture that makes families feel connected, seen, and valued. The culture is built on diversity. Families from different backgrounds, cultures, and walks of life coming together to create a school that feels alive, welcoming, and real. And this is why I urge you to stop saying capacity doesn't matter. Capacity tells a story, a story of trust, choice, and culture that takes years to build. And then I'm just going to take the last few seconds to pivot. I just want to make sure, like, once again, we're hearing things in the community. And I'll say it again. There's a principal today that was telling a few parents in a group that Mariposa is coming to Wagner and it's almost done. So I'm telling you right now, like, this is late. I got a family at home who are

182here because we believe this truly isn't the final state and that you guys really are taking this seriously. But the change management that's happening right now is disheartening. You have people feeling safe that maybe shouldn't feel safe after all this data is done. So just recheck your change management. It's really hard to hear that continues to happen. Thank you, Ms. Inouye. Our next speaker is Denica Quesada, who will be followed by Carol Burrell. Hello, good evening. I am a mom of two former Pueblo students and a mom of a current Pueblo student that is involved in all the things and never wants to leave this place. I also have a student at Paloma that I hope will be a future Pueblo student. Several months ago in a meeting, I had heard that Kyrene enrollment is

183decreasing and currently there are double the amount of students in eighth grade compared to the amount of kindergartners enrolled. While this is an issue, it doesn't seem to currently be an issue for middle schools. So why the rush to close them? I know that Apprendi is a great school, but I worry that Apprendi will suffer due to overcrowding. I have personally seen how large Apprendi's band program is. Pueblo also has a large and thriving band and a theater program with many kids invested and who admire their teachers. There is no way these schools can merge together without students and staff having to make sacrifices. Students will miss out on extracurriculars and programs due to lack of space and availability. Plus space availability and resources. Pueblo also has a huge community of kids that walk to

184school that will now have to bus in during a time when Kyrene has a bus driver shortage. Pueblo has not let my kids down and I want the same future for my fifth grader. I am a former Kyrene student and not once have I thought my kids would not be Kyrene kids. This is the first time I have thought, what are my options for my future middle schooler? You are worried about declining enrollment, but you might be pushing away families with these changes. You are exchanging one problem for another. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Quezada. Our next speaker is Carol Burrell, who will be followed by Yesenia Foreman. Good evening. I'm a parent of sixth grade twins here at Pueblo, and I'm here tonight to ask the board to please keep Pueblo open. Pueblo has

185amazing arts and music programs with very talented, dedicated, and passionate electives teachers. So far, the sixth grade gate program and teachers have challenged and encouraged our kids to be on top of their work and to put first things first. We hear amazing things about the 7th and 8th grade course offerings and teachers and are very worried that a proposed closure in their last year at Pueblo would negatively impact all that they have worked towards the first two years at this school. They would not get the chance to be the 8th grade web leaders and mentor those who are new to the school and show them that this school is a place where everybody belongs. Not only that, but they will become the newcomers all over again. This is a year that they will already be

186feeling the stress of starting to register for high school and will need to have a place that is familiar and where they feel secure to continue learning and thriving during an upcoming transition. They need a place where the teachers and staff know their faces and know their names, their strengths, and their challenges to help them navigate the upcoming year. They'll need support from Pueblo. Here's a little story about having kids with a long last name. When your last name has 15 letters and 7 syllables like Tepedelenliolu, it's not an easy intro for any kid. But at Pueblo, Aaron Gray in the front office did not shy away and took the initiative to learn how to pronounce their names in the very first week of school. The impression this made on me was so welcoming and

187encouraging that I knew my kids were in the right place. We have to celebrate and support these smaller schools and encourage names to be learned, faces to be recognized, and feelings to be heard and accepted. Pueblo is this place, and taking that away from these current sixth graders in their last year with Kyrene would be a mistake. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Ms. Burrell. Our next speaker is Yesenia Foreman, who will be followed by Kathy Gallagher. Oh, Ms. Foreman had to leave? Thank you. Our next speaker will then be Kathy Gallagher, who will be followed by Lucas Gordon. Is Ms. Gallagher here? Okay, thank you. Is Lucas Gordon here? All right. Our next speaker will be Lucas Gordon, who will be followed by Daniel Paleo. Hello, everyone. My name is Lucas Gordon. I stand

188before you tonight as someone who cares about education, but also deeply, thank you, yes, deeply cares about Mariposa Elementary School. Mariposa is very special to me because I grew up in Warner Ranch and attended Mariposa from 99 to 05. My love for that school can't really be described. I made friends that I still have today. There are teachers that my family still communicates. I actually loved it so much that me and my wife moved into Warner Ranch last year and planning on sending our two girls in 2027. It really is the heart of Warner Ranch and taking that away would hurt the neighborhood and the community beyond repair. Having a four-year-old and a two-year-old, we go to the park a lot. And I speak to a lot of young families, and they are going to

189be very devastated at Mariposa that closes. Mariposa has a very high enrollment rate and is an A-plus school, so it just really makes zero sense to me why this is even considered. Mariposa is not just where our kids go to learn, but it's where they learn to care about their neighbors, where they feel seen and supported, and where they learn what community truly means. And that's something worth protecting. So please, I urge you to slow down and get creative. And just don't give up. Thanks. Thank you, Mr. Gordon. Our next speaker is Daniel Paleo, who will be followed by Melanie O'Brien. Hello. Good evening. Thank you for your time. It's pretty late. And I appreciate you guys staying here and listening to all of our parents, all of us parents speak. During last board meeting,

190I was very disappointed to hear that the current year's utilization rate was not a factor in deciding school closures. It seems logical to me to consider which schools are being utilized in this process. Mariposa is at 75% capacity. Our school is already the right size for the community it is serving. With the latest changed... with the new plan or the latest change to the plan, Mariposa is being closed and moved to a new campus. And from that campus, the previous school that was there, which is an open enrollment school with enrollment requirements is moving back to its own campus. To me, this seems like we're keeping open a charter school in favor of closing a community school. I've heard many times tonight and over many meetings how the state doesn't support our public schools and

191is creating tax benefits and other opportunities for families to go to private or charter schools. But this, to me, seems like we're doing the same thing, closing a well-attended, well-liked community school while we're keeping open or moving what essentially looks like to me a charter school. I believe when faced with these consolidations, we need to make sure we have campuses that can serve the general community. A public school is for everyone. Mariposa is a high performing neighborhood school that serves a diverse student population. Closing Mariposa goes against the goal of maintaining strong public schools. Please keep this in consideration as you guys make your final decisions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Palau. Our next speaker is Melanie O'Brien, who will be followed by Joanna Torla. Good evening. It's late, so I'll try and be quick.

192I am a proud Pueblo mum, a sixth grader Pueblo mum, the same sixth grader who was a COVID kindergartner who didn't get to finish kindergarten and who had a very disrupted first year. I also want to point out, I wish these meetings happened before the long-range meetings happened because you're learning so much. that probably isn't represented well on paper. I also will second the opinion that I had to do most of the research for Kyrene schools myself. You do not advertise very well. Point, this card came to me. Two meetings had already occurred before I got this card in the mail. You're missing your marketing options here, okay? The other thing, if we hadn't done any surveys before the long-range committee, I chose Pueblo for its school size. I am not interested in sending an

19311-year-old child into a school with 1,200 kids. I'm sorry. It's not what I want to do. He will not thrive there. No kid, I think, can thrive there. The other thing I want to talk about with your gifted program, our child was in gifted program. We took him out after third grade for social issues, emotional issues. If we were in a stand-alone gifted school, I would have had to move schools. I was so grateful I got to stay in our school, our community. He tested back into gifted. He finished with all As here at Pueblo in his first quarter. Do not underestimate this school. This is your art school. I keep hearing that same echo. Every parent, this is your art school. Rebrand. Advertise. Be proud of who we are. Thank you. Thank you, Ms.

194O'Brien. Our next speaker is Joanna Torla, who will be followed by Jackie Wallace. Hello, my name is Joanna Torla. I am a parent of three former students with Kyrene. My kids went to Murata, Pueblo, and KMS. Thank you for your time here. I know it's very late. Thank you for your attention because I can tell you're listening. Thank you also for taking Murata off the chopping block. That school has an excellent gifted program, autistic program. It's very diverse, and it has parents who are very involved, and they're as involved as when I had kids there. I also want to speak for Pueblo, since it's one of those that's going to be closed. I don't doubt that you're going to need to close some schools. The numbers have been going down, even when my kids were

195at school. I just question closing a third of the schools. That just seems quite a few. And I would point out that when you're busing kids, you cannot put three kids on a seat. They've got backpacks, instruments, and gym bags, and some of them are adult size. When my daughter was at Pueblo, it was bursting at the seams, same when she was at Murata. There were four teams, and there were 115 kids on her team. My graduating class was 105. So it was really, really busy, a lot of kids, and it was very stressful. So when you're combining, if you're making really big schools, it's going to be very difficult on a lot of the students. You also have kids that have been struggling with COVID. I know that that was a few years ago,

196but these kids are barely back on their feet. So we really need to be giving them as much as possible, and we don't need to be adding competition to charter schools by leasing out the schools that we are closing. So thank you very much again for your time. Thank you, Ms. Torla. Our next speaker is Jackie Wallace, who will be followed by Tiffany Cartwright. i'm going to talk really fast because i'm pretty sure i'm going to go over my two minutes um thank you for your time i'm the parent of a fifth and second grader since our top two middle school options are proposed to close my family has been touring every middle school within 25 minutes of our home I've been genuinely impressed by what I've learned about Kyrene's middle schools. Before this, I'd

197heard plenty of negative things from parents and on social media. If it weren't for the proposed closures, I never would have seen firsthand the great programs and unique communities that make these schools special. Now that I'm going through this process, I understand why Kyrene's biggest student loss occurs between fifth and sixth grade. As a parent of a fifth grader, I should be receiving clear information about every Kyrene Middle School, their programs, electives, sports, clubs, and gifted options. Instead, I've had to search for every detail myself. Researching middle schools has become a part-time job. The biggest takeaway from my experience is that Kyrene has a marketing problem. Other districts and charter schools are targeting me with social media and email advertising, but I haven't seen anything from Kyrene. In today's world of school choice, reputation alone

198isn't enough. The district must actively promote its strength to retain and attract families. Additionally, the process to tour schools also needs improvement. It's currently a tedious process calling each individual school and waiting for someone to call you back to schedule a tour. Some schools didn't even have tours available until the spring after open enrollment. Other districts let families schedule tours online in minutes at their convenience. Kyrene's process is not welcoming or competitive. Finally, Kyrene's leadership must shift its mindset. Too often during this process, we have heard, we can't do that, or we've seen leadership shaking their heads no. Public education today requires creativity, optimism, and innovation. Kyrene cannot afford to say, we can't anymore. It must start asking, how can we? Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Wallace. Our next speaker is Tiffany Cartwright, who will

199be followed by Bailey Tamarin. Good evening. My name is Tiffany Cartwright. Our family has been a proud part of the Kyrene community for the past nine years, first at Murata and now at Pueblo, where my children are in sixth and eighth grades. Pueblo is a school where my children are flourishing, participating in band and theater programs, but I want to talk about a concern with a plan that is bigger than our beloved school. The current plan affects middle schools and K-8 programs in a way that puts an unnecessary burden on a vulnerable group of students. My sixth grader was in kindergarten during the spring of 2020 when schools abruptly closed for COVID. His cohort's first experience of school involved their community dissolving, and even when school resumed, traditions were lost. it took time to recover

200to restore a sense of belonging that is necessary before academic growth is possible the short timeline of this plan means these students who have already experienced significant disruption face losing community and traditions with no time to recover before high school additionally when schools are combined opportunities are lost as all students face more competition for athletic teams band ensembles theater productions and leadership roles we know that disruptions in childhood lead to lifelong risk of harm and that this risk accumulates as disruptions increase so I urge the board and staff to make thoughtful student-centered choices about timelines and any middle school consolidation recognizing that these choices have greater impact on this covet affected cohort thank you thank you miss cartwright our next speaker is bailey tamarin who will be followed by katie garcia Good evening. As mentioned

201already tonight, it's important to remember why we are all here, and that is because public education in Arizona has not been properly funded for decades. As Senator Epstein and many others have stated, this is a legislative problem, and people are actively putting measures into place that will eventually eliminate public education altogether. We keep talking about declining enrollment and declining birth rates, but we are not mentioning some of the key contributing factors. like the financial responsibility that comes with having a child, the cost of healthcare, childcare, groceries, and the general cost of living, the number of parents and teachers working multiple jobs and still barely getting by, the workload and expectations of teachers increase yearly. It was mentioned that the delay of the vote would cause teachers and staff some uneasiness, but at the rate school

202districts are closing schools, I fear that they will continue to feel that until true changes are made from the top. So today I ask you that in December you announced that because of the incredible efforts and work put in by the community the board needs more time to thoroughly review the ideas suggestions proposals and community feedback before a final decision can be made and that due to the current climate of our government and country that you will not vote to add additional hardships to the families that choose Kyrene. You are being presented with this unique opportunity to show all these young students that their voices made a difference and to serve as a reminder to us all that when we work together, amazing things can happen. Change can happen, even if it costs us $116

203a student. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Tamron. Our next speaker is Katie Garcia, who will be followed by Herb Garcia. Hi, I'm Katie Garcia, and I have a seventh grader here at Pueblo and a freshman at Corona who was a bulldog for three years. I'm here to share about the positive impact of Pueblo's smaller, nurturing environment on the mental health of students. My oldest child faced some serious mental health struggles in her seventh and eighth grade years at Pueblo. And while this could have been a lonely, isolating experience for her and for me, Instead, we found Pueblo to be a safe space of support and resources. My daughter was well known by both teachers and staff. She was seen and sought out in some of her darkest moments, and she was heard and supported in

204ways that lifted her out of her struggles. She was so moved and empowered by the support she was given that she and her fellow Girl Scouts set out to create a calm room here at Pueblo. They built a space full of resources and safe adults that students can retreat to when they are feeling overwhelmed, emotional, or in need of a break. This project was fully supported and celebrated, not only by the Pueblo staff, but also by the entire school district. The Tempe Coalition recognized the Calm Room as an example of students creating beautiful things to help their peers through dark emotions. When my daughter moved on to high school, Mr. Z and Ms. Schakowsky were both extremely passionate about the good of this project for all students and worked with the girls to find ways

205for their vision to be sustained. The thought of tearing down the school that houses this student-led space born out of my daughter's struggles but also overcoming is heartbreaking. We should be seeking ways as a community to support mental health and adolescents and small caring school environments have proven to be a powerful means of support for the good of all students but especially those who face fierce challenges of adolescence. Please consider keeping the nurturing school space at Pueblo open. Thank you, Ms. Garcia. Our next speaker is Irv Garcia, who will be followed by Kevin Bird. Thank you. I plan to talk about how awesome Pueblo's band is tonight, but that's been covered very well by my own kids and by my wife, and I'm going to let others keep talking about how awesome the band is.

206I've been listening tonight, and there are messages I heard that I want to echo. All the parents in this room are serious, and the Menides parents are serious. And if you don't have answers to the questions they asked earlier on, that needs to be the first thing you do tomorrow morning because those are some serious questions. Don't close Menides. Don't close Pueblo. Don't close any of these schools. Pause, reset, and listen to what people have been saying about volunteers and marketing. Look at this room. This room was way more full hours ago. But there's a lot of 1900s butts sitting on these uncomfortable chairs because we want to be heard. We want you to listen. Activate us. We can volunteer. We're ready. Point us in the right direction. And then see what we can do

207before you decide to start closing schools. Because there's a lot of us, and we're ready to work. IEP is an autism. And that's part of my story, too. My son, earlier today, told you he's twice exceptional. That's a term apart. That means that he has special needs and that he's gifted. And he went to a special school for autism for two years. and then he wanted to come to Pueblo to play in the band, and that's what he did. He's going to be playing at that special convention later this year. We were lucky that they had good IEP programs here, but that's not universal in Kyrie, and that needs to be done better because charter schools aren't doing anything for kids who need IEPs, and the private schools just won't even let them in. So

208something you have to do at Kyrene is continue to do the IEP stuff, the autism stuff. Fund it, make it better. Give these people the resources they need to do the jobs they want to do. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Garcia. Our next speaker is Kevin Bird, who's going to be followed by Eric Furman. I thought you guys had maybe put it through the shredder so you didn't have to hear me again. Thank you, everybody. First, I want to take a moment to recognize the incredible community gathered here tonight to support education. Just this week, I was present with one of the state's highest elected officials, who was touted as valuing public education. They have failed us, and we should vote accordingly. But I am proud to say that in Kyrene, we don't just talk

209about it, we act. Sixty percent of those who voted said yes to continuing investment in our children. That's real commitment. So to everyone who voted, volunteered, and advocated, thank you. I also want to thank the board for your service and listening. The comments from Kevin Walsh and other board members recently that reflected out loud some of the suggestions that were made through these forums helped me to feel heard, and I know that many of the community communicates that you are, in fact, listening. Tonight I want to share three thoughts. First, as a parent, I wish to... I wish I had time to tell you everything about our family's love for Pueblo and Mariposa. I have talked previously about my three students at Mariposa because I felt like there was no hope for Pueblo as it

210was not represented in any of the options. But today I would like to highlight my oldest daughter's experience at this wonderful school. My sixth grader began middle school nervous and full of anxiety. Thanks to Pueblo's web program and being able to visit the school early, she walked in confident on day one. Just a few weeks later, she was invited to move up from the seventh grade gate math to eighth grade gate math. This opportunity would shift several of her classes and her schedule, and though she was anxious, we consulted with her and the staff, and she took a leap and is thriving in the support of the staff here. That's what Wright School communities do. It gives kids courage to grow and take risks. I want to shift gears here, as I'm not going to

211get through everything, and talk specifically about the gifted school. It's an unproven model, and it's fiscally irresponsible. but also misaligned with the school concept of diversity, equity, inclusion that Bunny Davis gratefully talked about the other day. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bird. Our next speaker is Eric Furman, who will be followed by Kelsey Wolfe-Denay. Good evening. My name is Eric Furman. I'm a South Tempe resident, former Kyrene kid, and most importantly a father to two daughters who attend Mariposa. First, a thank you to the members of the board for holding these hearings and allowing the community to provide its feedback. I understand that the decision you are facing is difficult and its impacts will be extremely consequential. I'm here today to speak in favor of keeping Mariposa open. Mariposa is not only an excellent school,

212a five-time A-plus School of Excellence recipient, but also an anchor to our community. When my wife and I were looking for a place to raise our family, we did not just seek out the Kyrene area. We specifically chose the neighborhood around Mariposa. The excellence that has been established and carried forward year after year at Mariposa is not something that can be easily transferred or replicated. This excellence is also not something that happens all on its own. It is our amazing faculty and staff that make this happen. As we evaluate the closures, what considerations are being made to preserve our high performing faculty and staff? They are valued members of our community and I have heard or seen very little on what will happen to them. The proposed staggered closure timeline seems to impair the ability

213of those in the latter phase of closures from finding opportunities to continue teaching. Not only are we at risk of driving families and students out of our district with these closures, we are also at risk of driving out the professionals who have made this an award-winning district. I understand that tough decisions have to be made, but are we absolutely certain that these closures will achieve what we need in order to balance the district's budget? What will become of the closed schools? What are the additional costs of busing and building modifications to enhance consolidated capacities? Before we run headlong into irreversible decisions, I would ask the board to provide more transparency into each of these areas. Mariposa is more than just a building to my family and my community. It's our center. Until we have greater

214certainty and assurances that these decisions being made are the right ones, I ask you to consider this potential school closure. Reconsider this potential school closure. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Furman. Our next speaker is Kelsey Wolf-Dame, who will be followed by Jennifer Horn. Good evening. Thank you to the Pueblo community for welcoming us tonight. Thank you to you online. It may look a little bare, but there's still plenty of people here in support at 949. And I enjoyed hearing the band as we drove in as well. I wanted to thank every voter who expressed their vote and expressed their voice and demonstrated to our children the impact of democracy. Thank you to all the volunteers who canvassed, went out of their comfort zone, talked to neighbors, put up yard signs, all in support of public

215education here in Kyrene. I don't need to talk about Mariposa tonight. We've had a lot of families do that. Also wanting to thank all of the other, our sister communities here in Kyrene. We're all working together. What I want to do is take the time tonight to encourage those here and those watching at home to support our Kyrene community members that are in need, especially with the loss of SNAP benefits. So if you are wanting to help, I am encouraging in two ways. One, if you want to donate online, we have the amazing Kyrene Community Foundation that is accepting donations. And then if you want to donate items, the Kyrene Family Resource Center is a wonderful place. It's open tomorrow. I'd recommend going on their Facebook page. They have a list of the items that

216they really need. We're doing a kindness fundraiser at Mariposa, if I am remiss in saying that. And so that's an act of kindness that we can encourage our children and families to do to, again, support our families in need. And then for our community members, encourage you to seek out the resources if needed at the Kutner Family Resource Center. Thank you. Have a good night. Thank you, Ms. Wolf-Dane. Our next speaker is Jennifer Horn, who will be followed by Maria Laforet. Good evening. My name is Jennifer Horn. I have two boys at Menides, one in fifth grade and one in kindergarten. I am also an educator. When Kyrene's long-range planning process began, I was hopeful for smart, thoughtful decision-making based on objective criteria and wide input from the community and stakeholders. I understood that it

217was possible my children would have to change schools if closing theirs was best for Kyrene's future. I trusted the long-range planning committee's decision. After your sudden changes to the plan, I lost faith in this process. My husband and I chose Menides for our oldest when returning to in-person school during the pandemic. The learning model was exciting to us and made sense for our son. We loved the team teaching, multi-age interactions, and the chance for him to be challenged at an appropriate level. We were excited for project-based learning given its ability to make concepts stick and engage learners that otherwise could struggle to find relevance in school. My son formed strong connections to his school. and the people in Menides and his younger brother is thriving. My oldest, just the other day, was excited to design

218a candy store to 3D print, applying math learning in a real-world project. Like so many kids, he thrives with a hands-on approach. My youngest is making leaps in his literacy and numeracy skills. He shares what he learns in school, such as explaining that pumpkins float, and is excited that his prediction was correct. His teachers are energetic, communicative, and engage young minds. They are a team, and I can't imagine having only one of them. It is a mistake for the district to abandon experiential learning and team teaching. The Minidist model... is a strength of Kyrene and should be supported and further developed, especially for students who struggle or lose interest in school. The revised plan that now threatens to close Mnitas seems arbitrary and conflicts with the planning committee's recommendations and the district's best interests. Restore

219our faith, communicate objective criteria, and do what is best for Kyrene's future. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Horne. Our next speaker is Maria LaFleurette. Good evening. Maria Laforet for many of the parents that I don't know. I work as an attorney, so seeing two minutes on the clock is really not that hard for me to make with most judges. So I will try to be as brief as I can. It was said at the beginning of this meeting that the planning committee had seven months. And it was said with such gusto that you guys had seven months that's going to affect my daughter's next six years or more of her life. For the rest of the middle schoolers here, it's going to lead into their high school lives. I cannot stress this enough. Saying that

220you had seven months. is not enough time. And I think I can echo what every single parent and teacher has said here. I have worked in a field where I actively advocate for children with judges, with social workers, with teachers. No one has ever made a split decision in seven months. If you say that with so much confidence in your voice, not only do I as a parent and second as an attorney have a serious lack of faith in this committee, But it makes me question what choices or what actions have I not taken or what have I not said to persuade you otherwise. My daughter was here and she asked, she said, Mom, I really want to see what you do for work. This is what I do for work. I persuade people when

221I talk too much. I'm not everybody's best friend, unfortunately. My husband's also a salesman, so we're everybody's worst enemy. This is all I'm going to say. Please take the time to consider what it is that you're doing. Don't say seven months is enough. Don't say eight months is enough. It's not enough. If it's money, I guarantee you, I work as an attorney, I will find you money. And I am sure that with the wave of PTO moms and dads that have knocked on my door asking me to come here, I would not be here at 10 o'clock at night knowing that I have a court hearing at 8.30 in the morning. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. LaFleurette. All right, I know it's getting close to 10, so we're going to take a very

222quick break and then come right back here so that we can finish up our last batch of blue cards. Thank you. All right, we're going to bring our back to our public hearing. It is 10.07 p.m. Our first speaker back up will be Mr. Mitch Jarvis, who will be followed by Arlie DuPlessis. I do not have a piece of paper or a phone. I'm just going to tell you what I think. I've been here. I moved here 23 years ago. My wife, Sheila Jarvis, anybody know that? Sheila is amazing. She was the PTA president at Paloma for five years and 10 years running the carnival before that. Like, we've been involved. We had a kid at Paloma for 17 years in a row. We've been at Pueblo for, jeez, I don't know, forever. But we

223love it here. And I kind of had this attitude when I saw the thing come out that... My daughter, who's in seventh grade, oh good, she's not going to be, she's going to be okay. She's going to get out before the whole change. And, you know, hey, it's going to be sad, but I've been sitting here tonight and I'm like, that would be really irresponsible of me. This school has done for my four kids, right? Mr. Blesses has done for my four kids, right? They're different people because they came here. Not like... I mean, I have brothers and sisters who take their kids to charter schools and they like drive them around. They think they're so great. They don't understand what a district school, not a public school, a district school will do for your

224kids. We take all the kids. So my daughter gets to go to school with all the kids, right? That's the difference here. So please, here's what I understand. I learned tonight several things. The biggest thing is... that there are resources in this community. I don't think we as a community understood how serious this was. So now we understand. We're really serious about being involved. Let's take a pause. You guys can do it. Like, you can stop this vote. You can stop it, and we can move forward together with all of our community. We can do this, but you have to choose to pause it. Thank you, Mr. Jarvis. Our next speaker is Arlie DuPlessis, who will be followed by Kate Zengraff. Thank you. Good evening, governing board members. Thank you for being here still. This

225is such a difficult and complex situation. I know you're having to choose the least awful option, and I certainly don't envy your position. Thank you for your time and holding so many town hall forums to gather community feedback. I wanted to begin by sharing how incredibly proud I am to be part of this community, both as a teacher and as a parent. Our son has been in Kyrene since kindergarten at Paloma and is now in eighth grade here at Pueblo. He grew up playing in my band room here at Pueblo when he was little and then continued playing in the band room on the euphonium when he joined the band in sixth grade. Raising him in this community with these wonderful families, teachers, and staff members at both schools has been such an important part

226of our lives, and we are so grateful to have had that opportunity. From our amazing teachers and administrators to our counselor who goes above and beyond to help students learn to cope with all the challenges middle school can present, our son's been surrounded by positive, caring, and impactful adults every year in Kyrene. I would also like to address the uncertainty regarding teacher movement should this plan be approved. The language has been very minimal and vague for electives and special area teachers in particular. I understand an official plan can't be finalized until a consolidation plan is approved, but I truly hope there'll be a specific, well-thought-out plan that will be communicated soon so we can plan our careers and lives. I'm very worried that we will lose some outstanding teachers. I also hope families will still

227be able to open enroll at their school of choice if the plan is approved. I'm very concerned about the number of families we could lose if they're not able to choose the school they feel is best for their child. I want to close by thanking all the parents, family members, friends, and most importantly the students out here and at home for their love, support, and courage throughout all of this. I'm so proud of each of you. It is an honor and privilege to make music with these students during their time with Me Pueblo, get to watch them grow as people, and get to watch them soar in high school. They are always my students, no matter how old they are and no matter what happens. As I say to my families at our final concert

228each year, it takes a village, and ours is pretty incredible. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. DuPlessis. Our next speaker is Kate Zengraff, who will be followed by Heidi Halverson. If somebody who has not spoken or isn't speaking would like to read her speech, they can do that. But otherwise, we can go to... Okay. We'll go to Ms. Halverson. Is Ms. Halverson here? All right. Ms. Halverson will be followed by Evan Tobias. Hello, I am back again tonight from the West Side to voice my support for Aki Mall AOL Middle School. I want to start by saying that I wouldn't keep showing up if I didn't truly believe that keeping Aki Mall open is in the best interest for all the West Side students and the district. I show up in hopes that you

229recognize that Aki Mall is a middle school solution that's ready to go. It's prepared to welcome new students into programs and a culture. that's already built and thriving enrollment has continued to rise and opportunities for those students have continued to expand and they're ready to expand for more kids i show up so we can hopefully avoid a future where we create a have and have not situation on the west side and instead welcome students into occemo's richly diverse community a community led by a principal who has hands-on experience building and leading in title one schools and a staff that knows how to support every child that walks through the door with clear expectations. I show up so we can see Aki's location as an asset, not a challenge. Aki Mall sits in the heart of

230Ahwatukee, conveniently off the freeway and right next to Desert Vista, and only a minute longer bus ride for the furthest students. I'm here because of what's already working, the highly successful dual language programs at Lagos and Akimol. And a side note, I know a guy who would love to do a marketing video. My kiddo would throw his Spanish out in a heartbeat. And I'm also here because I'm deeply concerned that this closure may be related to real estate value. Is it? That's the rumor. Akimol is a foundation to build on. Let's not dismantle that. Let's get on this momentum together. And also with the last couple seconds, part of what I keep hearing is that employees aren't able or scared to voice their opinion to the district. So please consider that and make sure that

231they are heard. Thank you, Ms. Halverson. Our next speaker is Evan Tobias, who will be followed by Sanghee Kim. Thank you. I'm a parent of two children who attend Kyrene de las Manitas who are thriving due to the school's excellent teachers, staff, and Principal Taylor. We sent our children to Minitas because of the innovative model where students work in diverse classrooms that teams of teachers and professionals can reconfigure as needed, for the project-based learning which supports young people in developing the critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration needed for functioning and thriving in a rapidly changing world, and for the experiential education that makes learning relevant, motivating, and meaningful to children's lives. So I'm in support of Dei Lams Minitas remaining open, as was part of the first plan shared with the public. Stakeholders at each...

232school will make a case for why their school should remain open, which is why it is critical that the board makes explicit the criteria, data, and analyses informing your decisions. The first plan was based on the long-term planning committee's recommendations and data and analysis from the third-party demographer. The lack of criteria or data informing the revised plan makes it seem arbitrary and based upon a response to loud complaints. I'd like to suggest two guiding principles and criteria to inform which schools remain open or are closed. One, ensuring diverse schools that reflect the spectrum of the demographic makeup of our communities. And two, accounting for ease of access from... in district and out of district families. So in terms of equity, the revised plan has Kyrene closing 60% of the most diverse schools and keeping open

233100% of the most white elementary schools. This reinforces systemic inequities and privileges whiteness conflicting with the committee's recommendations to keep open schools representative of the diversity of our communities and to retain a majority minority campus. The plan should demonstrate how it is addressing the diversity of Kyrene in relation to which schools remain open or are closed. Second, in terms of access, one reason Minitas was planned to remain open was its geographic location bordering Tempe, Chandler, and Phoenix, making it a prime location for folks both in-district and for drawing out-of-district families. The plan should demonstrate how schools remaining open are easily accessible to all families, both in and out of district. I urge you to make your criteria data analysis informing your decisions and their implications explicit. in all plans about which schools remain open or

234closed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tobias. Our next speaker is Songhee Kim, who will be followed by Kaitlin Whalen. Good evening. First, I want to share that I'm a public school educator, school administrator, and a parent at Monitas. I want to first make it known how Monitas reflects. the teaming approach that families want where students are supported by multiple educators who collaborate to meet their needs. That model works. I will share as a high school administrator, we do teaming approach with 1800 students on a comprehensive high school campus. And I can share statistics on how it made student growth both academically and social emotional growth. And it's what is future ready education that should look like in a school setting and it's what families especially those families at many intentionally choose I also know when

235change signals a serious misalignment between practice process and purpose and I feel that's what's happening right now I'm here tonight to ask what the questions that many families and educators across crying and our many families here are still asking which I don't think we have answers from How will the board evaluate the decisions after the feedback sessions? What metrics are you using to take the feedback when making a decision in December? The district website says there's revisions. We're guided by program needs, facility capacity, utilization, and equity. Yet the data tells a different story. Schools slated for closure, including many to serve a more diverse population of students and families than many that remain open. How does that advance equity? When the very communities that reflect Kyrene's growing diversity are the ones most affected, it raises

236real concerns about whose voices are valued in this process. This entire process has prioritized programming over people and left communities feeling divided and uncertain. Every Kyrene school is special. The fact that each one must now justify its worth only highlights how unclear and inconsistent this process has become. If you truly believe in the principles you stand on and speak to, then this process must pause, reexamine the data, rebuild the trust, and lead with integrity worthy of the people you serve. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Caitlin Whalen, who will be followed by Paul Booth. Hi, my name is Caitlin Whalen. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you tonight. I'm the mom of a current Murata third grader, and our son will start kindergarten there next year. I'd like to

237talk about the Adverse Childhood Experiences, or the ACE study, done by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest investigations into how early trauma affects long-term health and well-being. The findings of the ACE study show that adverse experiences in childhood are major risk factors for health and social problems in adulthood. Before joining our family in 2020, our daughter endured multiple adverse experiences. Because of that, her ACE score falls within the high-risk range. The researchers of the ACE study found that the negative outcomes of adverse childhood experiences can be counteracted through nurturing relationships with stable and caring adults. Stability and nurturing relationships are exactly what we found at our neighborhood school. Our daughter knows that she is safe and she is loved at Murata, thanks to numerous teachers and staff, both past and present, who

238have gone incredibly far out of their way to ensure my daughter knows she has value and worth exactly as she is. I have no doubt that the loving relationships she's developed with the staff at Murata are playing a major role in counteracting the effects of her previous adverse experiences and changing the entire trajectory of her life for the better. And tonight was a perfect example of this. Nyla was determined to speak to you tonight. But as you saw several hours ago, her fears got the better of her. Nothing I could say was going to change her mind. But then her first grade teacher started texting me an onslaught of positive affirmations for Nyla. With each new message that came through, I watched Nyla sit up a little taller and her confidence returned. A teacher from

239two years ago still loves Nyland and continues to have a positive impact on her wellbeing. I encourage you to postpone any decision making and take time to analyze alternative options that better serve more Kyrene neighborhoods like ours. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Whalen. Our next speaker is Mr. Paul Booth, who will be followed by Allison Gullick. I am not a Kyrene resident. My kids don't go here. They go to Phoenix Elementary and Encanto. Earlier this year, the reason why I'm here is we went through a school closing process as well. You may have seen in the news. They closed two of our schools, including our neighborhood school. The reason why I'm here is to warn you about the damage of closing schools, not just to the community, but to your future enrollment. We warned people,

240like there's a lot of people here that love their school. You close their school, you open up the risk. They could go elsewhere. They said that we were only gonna lose 200 students. We lost 500, 500. And that was their projection. The year before, we only lost 70. And our district is a third of your size. So you think you're going to save $7 million? You're not. And you can't control, like, where people go already. You see that. Like, it's open enrollment. You know, it's, you know, you try to remove emotions from it, but, like, you're a public school district, people. Like, you're not a charter school. You're not a private school. Like, this isn't all about finances. You know, this is not all about finances. I've gone off script at this point, but the

241main point is, you guys have never closed a school. You're going to close eight. You say you don't want to close schools. You're closing eight schools. You go from zero to eight. You have no idea what you're getting into. No idea. The damage is going to be irreversible. You can't let this happen. You can't. Start the process over. You can't do geography, capacity. That's not how it works in an open-end real estate. We all know that. Everybody knows it. They've lost confidence in the superintendent. They're all afraid to say it because they think you're going to retaliate. That's where we're at at this point. I'm just being honest from an outsider. I care about public education. That's why I stayed here three and a half hours with these two. Thank you, Mr. Booth. Our next

242speaker is Allison Gullick, who will be followed by Emily Yen. Good evening. My name is Allison Gullick. I'm not a Kyrene parent, as you know. I am actually a Phoenix Elementary parent, a district that Kevin knows very, very well. And last May, our neighborhood school, May Bartlett Heard, was closed. It was a B-rated school with stable enrollment and steady birth rates that served predominantly English language learners and students with disabilities. Yet it was shut down despite... strong community opposition. The impact has been devastating. My neighbor's children cry for her every single night. I'm not joking. They actually are watching this hearing right now at their homes. And some of these students now that have had to move schools, they're being bullied at their schools and they're not staying at their schools to the end of

243the semester. This is what's actually going to happen to these children in this district. You can't not stop things like that. That's what happens. and many families have left the district entirely. Like Paul said, our district lost 10% of enrollment. It's over, for 500 students, and we get 27,000 a student in Phoenix Elementary? Just do the math. It's devastating. From an outside perspective, this district is making a great, please stop, please stop. This district is making a grave error, one that will ripple generations. I'm an epidemiologist. understand population data deeply and I followed your hearing since August supporting this community with data analysis in my free time what's missing here is a clear path for students with disabilities as a parent with a child with a visual impairment Vance I know white closures at harm

244our most vulnerable learners it's not easy for children like mine to enroll places you must pause and connect and conduct an equity audit to ensure the process is fair for students with disabilities, gifted learners, English language learners, and our BIPOC communities. These children are not commodities to be moved for convenience. They are future leaders who will remember how you made them feel in this moment. If I were you, I would listen to the community, not the construction companies or outside influences. Schools belong to the community, a time in history where community is most important. Kyrene is on track to leave behind a legacy of dismantling public education, but you have a chance to change course. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Emily Yen, who will be followed by Matt Young. Just gonna have a

245string of Menides speakers here. So I'm Emily Yen, I'm a Menides parent, and I've listened to too many board meetings at this point, but I know that part of the rationale for Murata absorbing Menides was because there was a fewer number of home boundary students that would be affected. But in addition to the disparate impact that a lot of my fellow parents have brought up, I believe that this simple math also discounts how different the educational philosophies are between these schools. The innovation model is built upon the growth mindset and it's intended to support students where they are every single week. Because it's the belief that just because you're not testing into the advanced levels yet doesn't mean that you can't reach them. Just as importantly, the innovation model supports teachers by giving them a

246team and a community of peers to collaborate with instead of being left with the daunting task of being the only adult to support 20 to 30 children. Gifted programs serve a subset of students, but it doesn't have to be this way. At scale, you could expand the innovation model to include a more challenging subgrouping for students who fall within a gifted level in any given week, in any given subject. Because it's not about segregating those top performers early in their development and widening achievement gaps. It's about lifting all students up together. It's about recognizing that learning and teaching in a community is more connected and sustainable than doing it in isolation, and that all students are worthy of resources. The board is planning to conduct an in-depth assessment of the gifted model and the traditional

247model. Previously, there were no Eastside Elementary schools closing next year. I would implore that you wait at least a year to make any decisions on closing Menidas and conduct a similar assessment on the new education workforce model, a.k.a. the teaming model. So I do have some data from ASU because this is in partnership with them, but I wanted to close my comments tonight with a quote on their website. The impact on both teacher retention and student learning has been substantial. By surrounding students with teachers in dynamic and flexible environments, we are watching children grow in ways that might not have been possible in a traditional model. Just one year after the board voted to expand to a full-scale model, Kyrene Innovation Academy earned its first A performance rating from the state of Arizona. That quote

248was from Laura Tenius, superintendent of the Kyrene School District. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Matt Young, who will be followed by Olivia. No last name. So, Olivia, if you're here, you'll be after Mr. Young. Hello again. It's pretty surreal being back here at Pueblo after graduating in 1999. I only wish that it was under better circumstances. I'm a father of two Menida students, and we made the decision to send our kids there due to its diversity and learning model that prepares them for the real world. So, I want to return to a crucial point that I raised last week. The currently drawn closure and boundary map creates a disparate impact on black, brown, and economically disadvantaged communities in the Kyrene School District. This is not hyperbole. I will share enrollment statistics with the

249board later this week that demonstrates that both the initial and the revised closure maps disproportionately target these populations. And in fact, the revised map actually worsens this impact. Look, I recognize that the school closure driven by low enrollment, budget constraints, this is also a natural reality. However, this phenomenon has a known, well-documented consequence. It consistently and disproportionately affects minority and low-income students. This pattern is evident in school closures. across the country, places like Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia. And in a 2017 study from the Urban Institute, also found in suburban school districts, black students accounted for over 29% of the population in closed schools, despite only making up 14% of the total populations. So I ask you, who are you prioritizing in these closures? Please reconsider your decision to close Monita's and go back to basing

250your decision with equity in mind. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Young. Our next speaker is Olivia. Is Olivia here? Seeing no Olivia, we have Shana Estabrook, followed by David DuPlessis. Good evening, Governing Board and Kyrene families. Thank you for taking the time to allow us to communicate our facts and opinions with all of you. I'm a very proud parent of two kids in the Kyrene School District. Alana, my oldest, attends Pueblo Middle School, and she is in sixth grade. Sienna, my youngest, attends Mariposa Elementary School, and she is in third grade. Both of them would love to keep Mariposa and Pueblo open. Our family moved to the community where Mariposa is located because of the highly valued education and the outstanding teachers who pour their hearts into teaching our children. I'm worried about the Kyrene

251School District and losing Mariposa. Please take the time to look at all the facts and not only make the decision based on geographical locations. Please keep Mariposa. Keep Kyrene strong. Thank you very much for your time tonight. Thank you, Ms. Estervuk. Our next speaker is David DuPlessis, who will be followed by Lennox Seymour. Good evening, everyone. My name is David Duplessis. I'm the proud dad of a Pueblo student, husband of the amazing Pueblo band director Arlie Duplessis, whose name has been brought up a few times tonight. And I'm a product of the Kyrene School District. I grew up in this area, in this district. I teach down the road at Corona del Sol High School. I urge the Kyrene Governing Board to put the brakes on closing. Pueblo Middle School. It is one of your

252high performing schools in the district. Just, you know, speaking in my role as past president of the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association, I can objectively say, not just because she's my wife, Pueblo has one of the best band programs in the state of Arizona, if not the southwestern United States. People choose to come to this school because of programs like that and all the other programs you've heard elsewhere in these other amazing schools. It would be disastrous for our community to close these amazing schools. It would lower the home values in our area. It would move students to schools they don't want to attend. And it would send families running for charter schools or for other school districts in the area. If you go through with this plan, you'll create a self-fulfilling prophecy. or

253the enrollment will rapidly decline even more than some demographers report. What intelligent family would send their kids to a school knowing that it might close in a year or two and they can't even finish their time there? Kyrene has always been transparent about communications. I know I've gotten texts, emails, robocalls, all simultaneously asking me about my opinion of fall break changing by a day. Where was that with this school closure plan? There was no survey set out to the families, no data garnered from the community, and then we get blindsided by this insanely ill-conceived plan to close all these great schools. I don't recognize this version of Kyrene School District, making a sweeping plan to decimate itself from within without first seeking the input of all of its stakeholders. Thank you. Thank you. Our next

254speaker is Lennox Seymour, who will be followed by T. Hatch. Good evening, everyone. Appreciate the chance to speak here. I'm a father of a student at Monitas, and I raised my child here in this district, and I like the school. I'm not going to sit here and give reasons why we should and shouldn't close this school. I believe that all these schools should have a chance to remain open. I believe that you guys should exhaust any and every resource that you have in order to maintain some sort of balance between the district. Keep in mind everything that everyone has said here. Everyone's made some very valid points about these schools, and I believe that you should definitely consider the data and look at the statistics and look at some of the adverse effects that the

255families could have, the staff and everyone, in a holistic view. Gosh, two minutes, huh? With that being said, that was my main point, is that as parents, we put a lot of trust into different entities, and you guys being one of them. So when we put trust into someone, we kind of expect them to do the best that they can. All we can do is we can do our research. We can group together, and we can socialize and talk about a plan. But we definitely... We put our trust in you, so at the end of the day, we are expecting you guys to make the best and sound and just and balanced decision that you can that's gonna have an effect on our community and everyone in it. And with that being said, 17 seconds,

256I appreciate you guys. It's time for letting us come out here and speak. And I hope you definitely consider everything that everyone has said here, including the students. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Seymour. Our next speaker is T. Hatch, who will be followed by Carly Fleeg. Thank you. Special thanks to everyone here for the wonderful stories and inspirational things you've shared. It's really brought some good memories to my mind as I've come in here. Actually, I'm a byproduct of two of the schools that you will be closing. I went to Mariposa and I've gone to Pueblo, and so it's kind of interesting seeing this part of my childhood removed. But this isn't about me. This is about the children, particularly my children. I have two children that attend Mariposa right now. one that's a third

257grader, one that is in kindergarten. I'm an out-of-district parent. I go past many different districts, many different schools, both charter, both public and private, so my children can attend Mariposa. This is primarily based on three things. The leadership and the teachers and the administration has been fantastic for my children. The second thing, the rating of the school was a very highly sought after thing that my wife and I looked at for ourselves. And the big thing for me, the third one, was really the emphasis of computer science. I'm in a highly technical field, what I do for work, and I've seen the benefits that it can have on anyone that I work with if they've had that early... adoption of computer science or kind of that understanding there. And seeing what that can do for

258my children and how they are benefiting from that, seeing their excitement, their inspiration when it comes to working in kind of the coding and their excitement when they come home and explain to them the things that they've done. I not only see that as for my children, but I can look out to their peers and I can see that as well. This experience and understanding of technology can be the great... Kind of inspiration it can take us into the higher places that we are from any socio-economic standpoint So I view that as a very positive benefit for Mariposa and for the children that attend that It would be my hope that you reconsider the closure not only of Mariposa But some of these other fine schools with the arguments that have been given. Thank you

259Thank You mr. Hatch our next speaker is Carly Flea who we followed by Catherine Miller Smith's Lee here Okay. Thank you. Our next speaker is Catherine Miller who'll be followed by Sabrina Culver Is Ms. Miller here? Yes, fantastic. My son goes to Pueblo Middle School. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Catherine Miller. Thank you for listening to me. My son goes to Pueblo Middle School, which so far has been a phenomenal school with caring teachers and a supportive community. I moved to this side of town nine years ago, and I've met a lot of people that have gone to Pueblo, had a good experience, so much so that their kids now go here. As a city girl, this is astounding to me, to see so many people with generation of families going to the same school. Unless

260you live in a small town, you just don't see that in cities. I think this is evidence of quality teachers and having a trusting environment. In the plan, so we have seven elementary schools on the east side that are staying open. And in 2023 to 2024, which is the most recent enrollment numbers that I could find. there was a total of 3,586 students enrolled in those seven schools. Sorry. There are three middle schools closing on the east side, Pueblo being one of them, which leaves us with two middle schools. Those two middle schools served 1,565 students in 2023-2024. Now they're expected to cater to seven elementary schools. And I can't state how much of a value it is to have smaller class sizes in building relationships, trust, and improving the learning. And with these changes,

261the ratio of student to teacher will grow, which means a higher number of teacher burnout, which obviously affects learning, the student-teacher relationship, and student-to-student relationship. I understand that the trend you're seeing is a decrease in student enrollment. But what's the backup plan if you get an influx of students? Thank you, Ms. Miller. We can't crowd students in a small part. Our next speaker is Sabria Culver, who will be followed by Brooke Pullens. Is Ms. Culver here? Our next speaker will then be Brooke Pullens, who will be followed by Kristen Cox. All right, Ms. Pullens. Is Ms. Cox here? Yes. Our next speaker will be Kristen Cox. She'll be followed by Jenna Bassett. for hanging out so long guys and thanks for your continued dedication to hearing our stuff. I need to come closer. Thank you

262for hearing us out. This is gonna be repetitive, but it bears repeating. As it stands, the closure plan will likely do more harm than good, as you've heard. Families will leave, teachers and principals and staff will be laid off, communities will be fractured, and Kyrene's reputation built on the strength and the backs of all these schools will suffer and tarnish. Worse still the projected savings are questionable. A quick search reveals widespread skepticism about financial benefits of school closures. It's hard to believe this plan will deliver what's promised. I understand this is framed as a long term strategy but right now our families are the casualties. It feels like the old adage you want to make an omelet you've got to break some eggs. But these are not eggs they're children and it's unclear how their

263learning well-being and sense of belonging will be protected once their school disappears. Saying the details will be figured out after the vote is deeply concerning. I've heard this over and over, and it is just scary that all these details will be figured out later, and a goal without a plan is just a wish. This plan needs to be fully developed before any vote takes place. I know the board is trying to be fiscally responsible, but with the stakes this high and so many unknowns, this is not responsibility. This is a gamble. And it's not one Kyrene can afford. And as much as it pains me to say, please, I'm tired. You guys are tired. I already spent my 40th birthday here on one of the meetings. I've been to all the meetings except for one.

264Please continue these study sessions. Please continue this. researching, answering questions, getting this figured out. This is worth the time. It's scary to think this going on, but this is worth the time. Thank you guys, thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cox. Our next speaker is Jenna Bassett, who will be followed by Therese Thurkill. Hi. Oh, goodness. Thank you, Distinguished Board, for meeting with the Pueblo community tonight. I could talk about so many things, the awesome band program, the amazing GATE program, but I decided to discuss Ms. R's theater program tonight. You see, not only does Pueblo have an incredible band program led by the amazing Ms. Duplessis, but we also have an equally amazing theater department. Ms. R's commitment to her students and theater arts is another bright spot at Pueblo. Ms. R. Ms. R has

265created a program that is welcoming and inclusive. Students have found a safe space in Ms. R's theater department and I know for some children it has been a lifeline, a place where they... can feel safe being themselves while enjoying a craft they love. And in middle school, it is more about the experience of being in theater than anything else. Children discover who they are, what they're capable of, and how to overcome challenges, all while learning the value of teamwork and dependability. If Pueblo closes these theater kids, will find themselves competing in already overcrowded theater programs at Apprendi and KMS. When these programs combine, the directors will have to make difficult decisions about which kids to exclude. If you shut down Pueblo, all of our children in the eastern part of the district will have to

266compete with each other for more limited spots and extracurricular activities. They will have to compete for cast or crew spots in theater programs. They will have to compete for a chair in band or orchestra. They will have to compete to get into an art class, choir, culinary arts, or broadcasting. It's not just the arts. Sports, cheer will be affected too. KMS and Apprendi. are already large schools and this district is about to make them so big that many kids will get lost in the crowd and left behind they're going to get left out of all these wonderful extracurricular extracurricular programs that make the medical medical middle school experience better please slow down the process thank you thank you miss bassett our next speaker is therese thurkill who will be followed by michelle martin is miss

267thurkey here is miss martin here All right. Our next speaker will be Michelle Martin, who will be followed by Kathy Mindeman. Good evening. Thank you for staying so late to hear us. No, it's getting close to 11. My husband and I are Kyrene parents of Kyrene kids. We ourselves went to Ninos Norte and KMS, and we have three open enrollment children at Pueblo and Murata. We made an active choice to place our kids back in the Kyrene district where we had such a good experience and these specific schools. Thank you for teaching us to find our voice and to use our voices to inspire others and thank you for listening when we use what you have taught us. Kyrene has set expectations of exceptional transparency with the community with all of their published financials with

268the communication about calendar changes. All of these things have set community expectations very high for what we expect from you. So I pray that you understand our frustration with this process and some of the obfuscation of sources of data. Over the past few decades, Kyrene has invested time and resources into creating specialized schools with robust open enrollment policies that make it exponentially harder to choose which programs and schools to shutter because every school is unique and special and wildly different. So thank you for having given us so many years to train, but now we don't want to lose any. So thank you for understanding our heart for this and how much it hurts. Our diversity of our programming is our strength. And this evaluation process has resulted in pitting schools against each other instead of

269training our people to market ourselves and to prove to the community we are special and we are here and we have programs that the charters cannot compete with. They are not interested in our IEP kids. They are not interested in making enough spots for all of the sports and all of the arts. There's only so many speaking roles. You can only have so many trumpets in one band, I promise. And yet here we are and we stand together. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kathy Mindeman. Is Ms. Mindeman here? She said, could you do this for me? So I'm going to try. Thank you. Good evening, members of the board and community. I'm a Kyrene parent with a sixth grader at Ockyemaw Middle School. Mr. Collins, it's good to see you back at

270the table tonight. Thank you to Pueblo for hosting us this evening. This seems like a great community, much like our own. Over the past five years, ACUMAL has demonstrated its strength. not just through academic programs, but through its ability to navigate in-school challenges and conflict with professionalism, empathy, and success. A key part of that progress has been the strength of our SRO officer and his team, along with the partnership they've built with students, staff, and families. Their leadership and consistency have helped ACUMAL adapt gracefully to a changing student demographic while maintaining a safe, inclusive environment for learning. It's also important to remember that ACUMAL supports more than its own students. Our food service program provides meals for five other schools across the district, reflecting the capacity, efficiency, and teamwork that make this campus an anchor

271for Kyrene. If ACKIE mall were to close, how would that essential support be replaced? I urge the board to keep all of the middle schools open and instead focus on consolidating smaller elementary sites and investing in marketing what makes Kyrene strong. Last week, I heard several parents express concern about the disparate impact of potential boundary line changes. I hope this issue can be addressed publicly. Thank you to the board for keeping your commitment to those hearings and for continuing to listen to our voices. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Charles Seiler, who will be followed by Robbie Richards. Good evening. I want to thank President Walsh and the members of the board for giving us their time to engage the community. So as this board knows, I'm a longtime supporter of this district,

272volunteering at events and advocating for every Kyrene bond and override since I've moved here. I've also worked as a statewide and national level advocate for public education, so I really care about the schools here. There's clearly a lot of passion for Kyrene schools, and that's a credit to the great work that this board has done to cultivate a thriving school district. But we can't let passion, especially the highly visible passion of those who are privileged enough to be present at these hearings, guide closure decisions. That's what makes the original recommendations made by volunteers and neutral experts working over seven months so valuable, in that they were centered on the health of the district as a whole. I respect that this is a very difficult moment for the board, but the months of work already done

273in a transparent way is something that you can truly say wasn't done out of bias or personal politicking. I ask that you respect the work that the community has already put into those recommendations. I've also heard that the community is asking for clarity about what criteria is now being used to make closure decisions. Tragically, when I look at the demographic data of the schools slated to be closed under the change decision, it makes the board's decision look like an assault on our district's most diverse, most majority minority schools. The last time I came to speak to this board was to applaud you all for standing up to the state superintendent to protect your diversity and equity standards. Now I'm here to call you out on what looks like an attack on equity and diversity in

274our schools. We need to return to the original recommendations, the only recommendations that were truly data-driven and made not as a result of mobilization, intimidation, and bias. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Seiler. Our next speaker is Robbie Richards, who will be followed by Christy Wolford. Good evening. We're going on five hours now, so we'll keep it a little short. Community support has been absolutely amazing, so I appreciate everybody. Again, my name is Robert Richards. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. I grew up here in the Kyrene School District, so I went to Paloma and Pueblo. I had two brothers. We had an absolutely amazing time growing up in the neighborhood. Part of what makes this neighborhood great is these schools here in this very large neighborhood, two square miles. and

275ultimately the community's been shaped by the schools but i want to try to offer a different perspective just to give a whole view my wife and i chose to move back into this neighborhood when we bought our house a few years ago and it was because of the vibrant community and the first-hand knowledge of the great schools i had them here with me for about three and a half hours, but our baby needed to go to bed. But that's why it was important for us to be here. And we're not going to have a kid in school next year. You're just down the line at this point in time. But it was important enough for us to move here. So hey to my wife on the stream right now. But declining birth rates have been

276cited, and that's just not the case, at least I think in the long term in our opinion. Our son is actually one of three babies that were born on our street just within the last six months. So I do urge the board to get the most current population data. I'm sure it's up to date, but I think it needs to continue to be up to date. As far as the young families go in terms of unaffordable housing that's been cited, there's starter homes that are available. We all know the market goes up and it goes down, so I hope that the decision isn't being made. just solely based on real estate at this point in time. And as the aging population turns over, young families are moving back in. There's like five or six new

277families on our street right now. They're all going to have kids at some point in time. And I'd hate to see some of these schools getting closed now that would have to get reopened at some point in the future. Continuity is extremely important. Continuity, just to have stuff closed, to have it reopened in a few years, is going to have some impacts that are not going to be replaceable. And then better yet, what happened? when the school of voucher funding gets pulled as well. So, Steve's gonna come back and do it. Thank you guys. Our next speaker is Christy Wolford, who will be followed by Glenn Gray. Hello again. So, whoops, okay, I'll just take it off, sorry. So we as parents throughout all of these schools, we have meticulously gone through, combed through all

278of these board meetings, retreats, and study sessions, and we appreciate the questions that you guys have been answering. I absolutely love that. What is heartbreaking is that we've seen many responses given to you that directly contradict the very reasons for why we are redrawing boundaries and closing schools. That has provided inconsistencies that I think a lot of parents here have been demanding for transparency. transparency and just common sense. We are in a perplexing situation right now. It's... Certain criteria has been made to keep some schools open, such as Murata and Norte, and I'm in full favor of that. But that exact same criteria is being used against schools like Akimol when you guys are posing questions. It doesn't make sense. How is that even possible? So you've got Akimol. It's your largest school. It's your

279highest enrollment. I just said that. You're getting contradictory responses from... already saying that this is good to keep this school open, but it's not good to keep this school open. It's just, it puts you guys as a board in a very uncomfortable position, and I don't like that for you. I don't think anybody here likes that for you. It's not something that we need to be going through, because how are you supposed to make intelligent and fair decisions when you're getting inconsistent responses from the district in your study sessions? It's just not right. So let's get back again, just saying with Akimal. With Murata, you said their high enrollment and their high choice school were two of the reasons publicly stated for them to stay open. That's ACIMAL 2.0. That helps your kids in the

280district entirely. So let's get back to what benefits the kids alone. You want a high diversity school. You want a school with high enrollment. You want a school that shows parents and families are choosing this for their students. That's ACIMAL. That's what the kids need in this district altogether. Let's get back to that. I hope there's not anything underlying. Let's do this. for the kids thank you miss Wolford our next speaker is Glenn gray good evening my name is Glenn gray and I'm here as a parent of three bulldog alums excuse me the spouse of a Pueblo employee and as a property owner a neighbor in this community 29 years ago this past week my wife and I moved into this neighborhood And preparation for the family started a few years, months later with the

281birth of our now 28-year-old daughter, followed by our now 25- and 22-year-old sons. We've never regretted choosing this neighborhood and putting our kids in public schooling. It was the right decision for us and so many other parents in our neighborhood and should be an option for family like Robbie's that have moved here in recent months and years with that same future goal in mind. Our kids were set up for future success here at Pueblo thanks to the great teachers and programs that they were a part of, to include academic gifted programs, athletics, and the choir and band programs. As is noted at the welcome above the front door of this school, all three of our kids found their voice thanks to their Pueblo experience, and were here earlier tonight to show their support of the

282school, the teachers, the administrators, and the support staff like their mother. my amazing wife, who cared for these kids here as if they were their own. These staff now bear the daily burden of these discussions of closures and how to keep their students and their colleagues focused on the here and now of classwork and operational excellence, knowing that their futures are dependent on you, the members of this school board. I'd like to point out the mascot on the wall, our Pueblo Bulldog. A quick AA search on your phone would likely note that... Bulldogs can be very fierce and very loyal, and we can see that in those who have attended tonight. To not have that bulldog mindset active in this neighborhood for years to come is some hard for us to imagine, and I think

283many of us fear what that loss would do to the fabric of our neighborhood. To that end, I'd like to acknowledge with Veterans Day, I'm going to just skip by and say I'd like to thank you all for the time, but I'd like you to close by listening to our Pueblo mission and vision, which is Pueblo Bulldogs. are leaders, learners, engaged, achievers, diverse, empowered, respective, and supported, supported, supported. I'd ask you to be role models as leaders, support the children and the families in this neighborhood, and do the right thing for them in the future. Thank you. Thank you. That is the last blue card I have. Before we adjourn, does anybody else wish to speak to the board this evening? We are at 11 o'clock, five hours. We've made it. Thank you all for

284being here tonight. We appreciate the feedback. We'll continue to take it under consideration. Meeting's adjourned.