10-21--2025 Kyrene Long Range Planning Public Hearing

001We're going to be starting our public hearing momentarily. If you could please take your seat. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. We are calling to order our public hearing. If you could please take your seats, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. All right, item 1.1 is call to order our public hearing. Our public hearing is called to order. It's just after 6 p.m. Today is October 21st, 2025. First off, welcome. Welcome to our public hearing. We're glad to see you here. This is our second of seven public hearings that the board is having on the proposals from the Long Range Planning Committee. So there's six regional public hearings at each of our middle schools. This happens to be our second. And there's a seventh hearing that's going to be at the district office. So here

002today on the agenda, we're here to listen to you. We're going to have a very brief presentation just to refresh everybody on what the proposed school closures and boundary changes are. And then we are going to move right to the public comment. If you've ever been to a board meeting or seen a board meeting, the public hearing looks a lot like that. So it's an opportunity for you to come up. and share your feedback with the board. You'll have a chance to come up to the microphone here. I'll get into a little bit of that detail here. The main difference between tonight and the public hearing portion of a board meeting. So normally, if you come to do public comment during a board meeting, we will set a time limit based on the number of

003people that are speaking. And if there's over 30 people speaking, we'll usually let everybody have one minute. But due to the magnitude of what we're talking about tonight, At this hearing and at all of our public hearings, regardless of how many people have turned in a card to speak tonight, everybody's going to have two minutes to address the board. So you'll all have two minutes. We are going to start with our students first because it's a school night. So if students are okay with that, we'll do our students first. I'll get into the specifics of how that all works first. But first, what I want to do is allow any of our board members, if they want to make any opening statements or welcoming remarks, now's a good time to do it. I'll pass this

004down to Member Davis. Thank you. Welcome, everybody. Glad to see all of you. I'm going to take a point of personal privilege and take a couple of minutes to read again a welcoming statement that I made a number of meetings ago when we started this process, just to sort of share with you how I hope and know that this will go and what we're trying to do here. So it'll take about three minutes, a little more than two. I apologize. So, I want to start by saying that no one in our district wants anything but success for all our kids and our families. But circumstances of inadequate public school funding, declining birth rates, and a lack of affordable housing for young families are dictating that we have to make decisions that no one wants. And

005we need your help through this. So... With everything the Kyrene community is going to be dealing with in the coming weeks and months, I thought it might be helpful to take a few brief moments to look back at someone who many of us will remember for some guidance to help us through these difficult times. I'm speaking of Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers, to my daughter and I suspect to many of my age peers, as well as my daughter's age peers and some of my grandchildren's age peers. Mr. Rogers' neighborhood was daily viewing for many, many folks in this country. His make-believe neighborhood was very real to our families. He made thousands, if not millions of children feel seen, heard, and accepted as he worked to teach that each and every one of them mattered. As a

006blogger that I follow, her name is JoJo from Jers. Quote, Fred Rogers spent his life and career defending childhood itself, children's innocence, and their sense of safety, their belief in one another, their ability to feel deeply, to care boldly, to trust that kindness is not weakness, but power. He defended the world-changing idea that children matter. and that if we protect them, we protect all of our futures. Mr. Rogers also talked about kids being mad and what to do with that mad. The key was to stay connected to each other, to see ourselves in others, and let others see themselves in each of us, to keep that as a lodestar to fight being disoriented and angry and afraid. to remember to be kind, compassionate, and grounded in our shared humanity, end quote. And so, here's the

007real question we all are facing, in my opinion. How do we protect our children and our future as we embark on a cooperative venture to keep our public schools strong and successful in creating adults who contribute constructively to our greater American society? Well, my friend JoJo talks about what she saw as Mr. Rogers' answer to that question. There are two things that we need to do. Choose and remember. Quote, we need to choose connection over cruelty, presence over performance, and to be a neighbor in a time when everything seems to be telling us to look the other way. And we need to remember what Fred Rogers' mother told him. Quote, when I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, look for the helpers. You

008will always find people who are helping. I believe this is our community's opportunity to show ourselves and everyone else, and believe me, they are watching us, that we choose as individuals and as the Kyrene community to work together. to wrestle with hard problems together and that we remember to be helpers, that we are the helpers that we've been looking for. Thank you all for coming. Thank you, Member Davis. And just so everyone knows in terms of timing, as I mentioned, this is one of seven hearings. The board is going to have opportunities throughout the process to discuss. Our next regular meeting is scheduled for Tuesday of next week. There'll be discussion on the agenda on that, but there's going to be no decision at all. until December at the earliest. No changes to the maps,

009no anything until December at the earliest. We want to have the process to get everybody's feedback, and that's why this is so important that you are here tonight giving us your feedback. I have to tell you, everybody on this board cares deeply about the result of this process. It's a hard process, and we are so grateful that you are here to help us get to the right result. So thank you for that. With that, I'm going to turn it over to item 2.1, which is the presentation from our superintendent, Ms. Laura Tenius, and then we're going to move right into public comment. Thank you to everyone who made time to be here tonight, whether to speak or to hear from fellow community members regarding our proposed school closures and boundary changes in Kyrene Elementary School

010District. I am Kyrene Superintendent Laura Tenius, and I have just a short introduction this evening. A year 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 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 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

011and answers. This is an opportunity for board members to hear public comment both for and against proposed changes. Questions can be submitted on the Long Range Planning webpage and may be answered in future communications or in online FAQs. I want to take a moment and acknowledge how difficult this moment is for our community. No district wants to close schools. By consolidating resources, Kyrene aims to preserve the excellence that defines our schools and ensure fiscal responsibility for years to come. Also, as a reminder, on the maps you're going to see a QR code. If you aren't able to access the one on the screen here in just a minute, they are up all over the room. So if you want to see the map on your phone, as we're presenting, you can also pull it up

012on your phone. So tonight I'm just going to share the proposed changes and you're going to see two different boundary maps. We're going to start with the elementary boundary map that looks at what schools are being recommended for closure and what that means for the boundary changes in Kyrene. So in elementary, the elementary closures would be in 26-27 school year. Kalina, Estrella, Millennial, and Menides would close. In 27-28 school year, so a year after next year, Mariposa and Kyrene Traditional Academy would close. The elementary boundary changes that occur from those school closures include Lagos and Norte would have no boundaries. Beginning in 26-27, they will be open enrollment only dual language schools, meaning they will not have transportation and there is no boundary in that neighborhood. Kalina and Lomas would merge boundaries beginning in 26-27.

013Millenio and Esperanza would merge boundaries beginning in 26-27, which is next school year. The Estrella-Lago-Super boundary will be split between Monta Vista, east of 32nd, and Sierra, west of 32nd, beginning in 26-27. Menides and Murata will merge boundaries beginning in 26-27. Mariposa and Wagner will merge boundaries beginning in the 27-28 school year. And Kyrene Traditional will be split between Bresas and Paloma beginning in the 27-28 school year. For out of district... The Maricopa Region students will be offered transportation to Monta Vista beginning in the 26-27 school year. The Baseline Region students would be offered transportation to Ninos and Lomas also in the 26-27 school year, which really is no change for the students that were already attending Ninos and Lomas. The elementary schools that will have no boundary changes include Cerritos, Cielo, and Ninos. This

014next slide is really nothing no new information It's just shared in a more timeline view for the elementary's most of the elementary changes you can see occur in the 26-27 school year Including our out-of-district transportation changes and our dual language open enrollment no boundary changes For our middle school, there's also a QR code here to, again, but it will take you to both maps. Our middle school closures that are being recommended would close Occema and Pueblo in the 27-28 school year. And the middle school boundary changes by closing those two middle schools would include the centennial boundaries would change to include Lomas, Esperanza. parts of Monta Vista south of Chandler Boulevard and Lagos dual language open enrollment beginning in the 2728 school year so not next school year but the following the Altadena boundaries changed

015would include Cerritos Sierra parts of Monta Vista north of Chandler Boulevard beginning in the 2728 school year The Apprendi boundaries change would include Brises, Cielo, Paloma beginning in the 27-28 school year. And the Kyrene boundaries change would include Ninos, Wagner, Murata, and the Norte dual language open enrollment beginning in 27-28. For out of district, the Maricopa region students would be offered transportation to Centennial beginning in 27-28. And the baseline region students would continue to be offered transportation to Kyrene Middle School and Centennial. And that is in 26-27 because that is currently where they are being transported. And so they would have no change. And just like elementary, this middle school view is just looking at it from a timeline view. All of the middle school changes really occur in the 27-28 school year, so no

016middle school changes for next year. Everything stays as is, and those changes would begin in the 27-28 school year. So with that, I will hand it back to you, President Walsh, to begin our public comment portion. Thank you, Superintendent Tanyas. So that brings us to item 3.1, which is public comment and request to speak. So if you haven't done so already and you wish to speak to the board, please turn in your blue card. It looks like this. You should have seen it with the sign-in table. We're going to start with our students. It's a school night, so we want to make sure every student has an opportunity to speak. Students, there's going to be a timer up on the screen at two minutes. There's also going to be a little buzzer. If you're in

017the middle of a sentence and your buzzer goes off, don't worry, you can finish your sentence. We really do want to hear from you. Followed by our students, we're going to have adults. We're just going to ask that when you come up to the microphone, please just state your name for the record. And I want to tell everybody that's here tonight, we want to thank you for your feedback. This has been so instrumental in us considering the options in front of us. We know that you are all busy. We know you could have been anywhere tonight. The fact that you're here giving your time to provide this board with feedback to help us make an informed decision means a lot to us. So thank you for that. At this time, I'm gonna start off with

018our first students. Before I get into it, I wanna say to all of our students, I know we're gonna have a lot of middle school students here, but we're also gonna have some great elementary students too. First off, we're proud of you for coming out to speak. I know that it's intimidating to speak in public anywhere, and especially in front of a crowded room like this, but I want to tell all of our students that are here tonight, we're glad that you're here, we're proud of you for speaking, just speak your truth, and we're here for you for that, so thank you for that. Oh, yes. It looks like we have some standing room only. If you see some little space in the middle of your rows, can you all scooch in a little bit

019just so that if anybody does want to take a seat, they can. And try just not to block the exits. Everybody gets room. So if you could please just scooch in if there's room there. All right. Is everybody ready to begin our student speakers? All right. We're going to ask for quiet as we begin our student speakers. We're going to start with our first speaker of the night. That's going to be Avery Murphy. And Avery is going to be followed by Olivia Murphy. So Avery, you can come on up. Hold on one second, Avery. I just want to make sure everybody can hear you. I think the mic has to get turned on. Thank you, Avery. You can go ahead. Hello, I'm Avery Murphy. Also, the teachers are so nice. Good job, Avery. Thank you.

020Our next student speaker is Olivia Murphy, and Olivia is going to be followed by Ryan, I'm going to try to pronounce this, read it, Jolkowski? Yes. But Olivia, come on up. Good evening board members. My name is Olivia Murphy and I'm here to speak about the potential closure of my school, Aki Mall. While there are many concerns surrounding this decision, one important issue that hasn't received enough attention is the impact it will have on the CCD program and its students. Aki Mall is the only middle school on the west side of the 10 that offers this program and it's not just functioning, it's thriving. The CCD students benefit from a stable, supportive environment with structured routines, a class schedule, two electives, and the least restrictive setting possible. This is not something that can be easily

021replicated elsewhere. Relocating the program possesses a serious risk for these students' education and well-being. For many of them, consistency is key. They rely on familiar faces, staff members who have built trust over the years, and a routine that helps them feel safe and supported. In our ABD class, we have a program called Best Buddies. where AVID students and CCD students come together to do activities, build connections, and support one another. It's one of the many things that makes Occemo a truly unique place. It's a place where every student knows where they belong. Superintendent Tonus, I would love to... personally invite you to visit our Abbot class at Aki Mall on October 24th to see the firsthand what Best Buddies is all about. Thank you for your time and for considering the full impact of this

022decision on all students. Great job, Olivia. Thank you. All right, our next speaker is Ryan Jolkowski. Yes, Ryan, come on up. Go ahead, Ryan. Hello, my name is Ryan Joukowsky and I am a seventh grader at Ocumel. I would like to inform you that Ocumel is an A plus school and the population is one of the highest in the middle school enrollment by choice. Plus, the AVID program is amazing and we connect from that too. So many students have grown so much. The teachers have made such an impact on the school and me and the people around me. I love all my teachers. They are so welcoming, and they help me grow so much. I am a student that has required certain support, which I have gotten at my school, and I am not willing

023to give up that support. Thank you. Please reconsider the choice of closing all campus. Thank you. Great job, Ryan. Our next speaker is Leila Quell, and Leila will be followed by Ismail Aslam. Is Leila here? I'm here to talk about my experience at Occema. This school has made me realize that Understanding people and having sympathy for people are always a very useful tool for when you want to get yourself better mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is very hard where I was due to many traumatic issues I've gone through in my life. When I stepped into the school, I felt my whole life change. It was a very, very hard experience from wanting to heal from where I was, where I was having a hard time getting my feet onto the ground. I constantly struggled every

024day to even get up out of bed. The moment I realized that I can make friends here and I have met the people I genuinely love and will always cherish. I speak out to them. I'm very proud of myself for getting out of the situation where I was in. It was really, really hard to want to go to school. It was hard to want to get my grades up. It was hard to do everything I wanted to do. And I felt accomplished when I started realizing I don't have to go through this. I don't have to go through these things alone. I have my teachers. I have the principals. I have everybody here that works here. I've always had the... I've always had the help that I needed to get. I'm very happy that I

025met everybody here and I went to this school. I want to just say thank you for everybody who was here to help me and always understood what I was going through and never judged me. We're going to swap mics so that everybody can hear our amazing student speakers. All right. We want to make sure everybody hears our speakers. Thank you so much. That was wonderful. Our next student speaker is Ismael Aslam. Ismael, come on up. Ismael will be followed by Leela Chow. You can just hold the mic, too, if you want, whatever you want, buddy. You're doing a good job. Ismael, come look at us so we can hear you. Perfect. Thank you. Good evening, board members and students and staff that are coming to this meeting today. My name is Ismael Aslam. I'm a

026student at Akimol Eyal Middle School. There are many reasons why we should focus on keeping Akimol Eyal Middle School open. First of all, Akimau AL has thriving fine arts programs. A large amount of the student body auditions for plays and musicals every year and take theater as an elective. And a large amount of the student body participates in band and choir, all of which are taught by excellent teachers. Personally, as a band and theater student, I love and appreciate the programs here, and there are many students here that share the same sentiment. Our sports and dual language programs are also extremely beneficial to students. Second of all, Ocky Mall AL Middle School is a great big community where everyone supports and empowers each other. The staff, teachers, and students work together as a group to

027create a better environment for everyone else that enters the school. Ocky Mall AL Middle School builds future leaders through its sense of community and teamwork. So please focus on keeping the school open for future generations to benefit from the wonders that Ocky Mall AL Middle School has to offer. And just as a piece of advice... Everyone should try and attend the plays and musicals and concerts and also the sports games. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you, Ismael. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Well done. All right. Our next student speaker is Ms. Leila Chow, and she will be followed. She's going to be followed by Cadence Lind. Go ahead. We're going to get some new batteries. All right. We're going to soup these up. Can you do a little test one, two, one, two, Leela? We just

028want to make sure we hear you. Oh, I think that sounds good. Go ahead. Thank you. Hi, my name is Leila, and I'm in sixth grade representing Ocumal. This is my ninth year in the Kyrene District. Ocumal has become my second home ever since I started sixth grade. I was sad to hear in my first quarter of the school year that my school might close. So here I am to tell you reasons to keep my school open and active for many years to come. First, Occupy Mill has the highest enrollment numbers, which tells you our school is one of the best. Kids want to be here. Secondly, here at Occumel we have the special needs program just like any other Kyrene school. But I can tell you that students in the Best Buddies program succeed

029in anything they do. This is a school that brings courage, confidence, and perseverance. I already love my school along with the educators and students. Before you make your decision, I would like to invite you all to see our school musical, Guys and Dolls Junior. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Lila. Great job, Lila. Our next speaker is Cadence Lind. Cadence is going to be followed by Mackenzie Sherlock. My name is Cadence Lind, and I'm an 8th grader here at Ockey Mall All-Middle School. I'm here tonight to talk about why my school is so important to me, my peers, and staff members. Ocumal isn't just a school, it's a community. It's a place where kids from all over the valley choose to come. I have friends who get on the bus super early in the

030morning from Maricopa and others who drive all the way from Levine, as it is right off the freeway, making it more accessible. Also, some kids from here go to Desert Vista to get their level of education to meet their needs. Ocumal is the perfect distance to make that accessible as well. I'm a student in the dual language program. It's a program that I've been in for nine years now. Moving into another school would just not be a good idea considering it was just recently approved here at Aki. Along with our talented sports teams and theater program I'm also involved with, we're one of the only middle schools with lights on our fields, which lets teams play at night. So closing Aucumaw would mean these programs won't be able to thrive like they do now. Our

031teachers are also a huge reason Aucumaw is so great. They work so hard, and it shows. Aucumaw is such a special place to me, and I hope you choose to look at more than just demographics and consider the popularity of our community. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Cadence. Our next speaker is going to be Mackenzie Sherlock. Mackenzie is going to be followed by Elise Clucaris. Thank you. Hi, I'm Mackenzie Sherlock, and I would like to invite you. Sorry, Mackenzie, I want to make sure that we can hear you. One sec. Hi, I'm Mackenzie Sherlock, and I would like to invite you, Ms. Bunny Davids, to come see the amazing agriculture class at Aki Mall in room C4 on Wednesday, October 29th from 8.30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Did you know that all the

032things roan in the garden? are used all over the school and all over our community. The chickens, also the chickens here, were hatched and raised here at Aki Mall by the students. Losing our school hurts us and the chickens. RSVP, I hope you say yes because your decision affects my future. Thank you. Thank you, Mackenzie. Our next speaker is Alyssa Kouklaris. She'll be followed by Carson Stokes. Good evening Kyrene governing board members and Kyrene and community guests. My name is Elise Klusaritz and I'm an eighth grade student here at Ocky Mall Middle School. I'm here today because I believe that Ocky Mall is a special place and there is no other school like it. A demographer knows about the facts on paper, but what do they know about the community inside our school? It is

033not the building we want to save, although we do have an amazing campus, but the legacy that has been built here and the people and programs inside that make our school unique. We have a very diverse student body coming from right here in Ahwatukee and choosing to come to our school from all the way in Levine and Maricopa. But what makes people choose come to Aki Mall? The thing that drew my family to the Kyrene School District was the dual language program at Kyrene de los Lagos. I now continue on this path at Aki Mall and I'm so grateful to be able to learn in English and Spanish. This is something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Many of Aki Mall's programs have been in the making or improving

034over the past couple of years. Ms. McCarthy and our dedicated staff's hard work should not go to waste. These programs and many more are only offered at Aki Mall, and they give each and every student, no matter their background, opportunities to thrive and belong in an often difficult time like middle school. From my very first day at Hockey Mall, I instantly felt welcomed by the staff here. We have a truly special team that believes that every student can succeed. If this community was broken apart, it would never be the same. I believe that thanks to this amazing school, students become people who are safe, respectful, responsible, and kind. Who show up every day ready to learn and don't give up even when things get hard. People who advocate for what they think is right. People

035who lead others whether their actions are big or small. People who are good friends to everyone. People who can ask for help from a team who believes in them no matter what. And people who build a love for learning. Nos encanta nuestra escuela. Este es nuestro hogar. Ocky Mall para siempre. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Elise. Good job. Our next speaker is going to be Carson Stokes. Carson's going to be followed by Lincoln Monforte. My name is Carson Stokes, and I'm a sixth grader at Ocky Mall. My favorite thing about Aki Mall is all the staff and students and teachers. I am zoned for Centennial, but I chose to go to Aki Mall because of its education, staff, and students. My dad went to Aki Mall when he was a little kid, and I

036hope that maybe my children can go to Aki Mall when they're in middle school. I'm really grateful for the staff and students here. They're very encouraging, and they make me smile every day. Thank you for your time. Good job, Carson. Thank you. All right, our next speaker tonight is Lincoln Monforte. Lincoln's going to be followed by Tegan Schaefer. Go ahead, Lincoln. Hello. My name is Lincoln Monforte, and I'm speaking from the heart again and back for more business. Today I'm going to give you some reasons why you should not close Occamo. Number one is the students. I'm pretty sure, actually 100% sure, that everybody here loves Akimau. See, they all just told you. The students, the parents, the teachers, everybody. The parents and the teachers are also one of the reasons why Akimau should stay

037open. The community is one of the greatest parts of this school. It has a thriving community with devoted teachers and exceptional parents who are willing to put in work to fight for Akimau. There is also a dual language program that permits the kids to learn a second language. The power of two languages is the power of two worlds. And if Aki Mall closes, no other students would be able to get this wonderful opportunity. The Rattler shook its tail a while ago, so now we'll have to fight to save Aki Mall. Thank you, Lincoln. Our next speaker is Tegan Schaefer. Tegan's going to be followed by Aria Lee. My name is Tegan and I'm a sixth grader at Aukey Mall. Don't, I repeat, don't close my school, Aukey Mall. There's so many reasons why I love

038to come to Aukey Mall every day. And today I'm gonna tell you those reasons. The first reason is the dual language program. I'm in the dual language program and I love going to Spanish class every day knowing how many job opportunities it's gonna open up in my future. and I love my friends there, and it's fun. Another reason is the AVID program. The AVID program helps us with so many struggles in middle school. The Best Buddies program is another great one. It helps us get to know and learn about kids with mental struggles. Let's also give a shout out to agriculture. In agriculture, it teaches kids to grow their own food and animals. And those vegetables will also teach kids to eat healthy. The GAPE programs are another great one. For the kids that are

039academically talented, they get to learn more deeply about their subject. The after-school programs are also amazing. And probably one of my favorites are the paintings and artwork all over my school. It gives a little extra pop and joy. This list could go on forever, but I hope it shows you how great Aki Mall is and that you should absolutely not close my school, Aki Mall. Thank you, Tegan. Well done. Our next speaker is going to be Aria Lee. Aria is going to be followed by Aubrey Taylor. My name is Aria and I'm a sixth grader here at Aki. I understand that the board is making a very difficult decision, but please consider leaving Aki Mall open. I love this school and would be absolutely devastated if you close it. If you closed Aki Mall, me

040and my friends wouldn't be able to finish our eighth grade year together and we would all be separated. Also, I just got to know my way around. And if I had to leave Aki Mall, I would have to get to know my way around a completely different campus. And I would probably leave the district. By closing Aki Mall, you would be moving about 800 kids to Centennial, probably putting it past the capacity. Also, all of the staff and teachers at Aki are amazing. Throughout elementary school, I was so shy, but something about Aki Mall made me want to come out of my shell. What all of that is telling you is that Aki Mall is an amazing school and we are thriving. Don't close Aki. In closing, I would like to present this invitation to

041President Walsh, inviting you to come check out my awesome science class and see how amazing Aki Mall teachers really are. Aria, you did a great job. Thank you, Aria. All right. Our next speaker is Aubrey Taylor. Aubrey is going to be followed by, I think it says Ava, Ava Owens. Ava. Abby, sorry. Thank you. Hi, my name is Aubrey Taylor, and I'm an Aukimaw sixth grader. As someone who has been in the district since kindergarten, I have to say the first quarter was my favorite ever. That's not by accident. It's thanks to my amazing leadership, starting with our principal, and my dedicated teachers and coaches, and the sense of community I feel at Aukimaw. I do not attend my home school. My parents chose to drive me to Occamaw for many factors, including the excellent

042academics, the outstanding team sports, and the elective classes that are unmatched. There are many reasons why so many families drive to be a part of this environment, and although they are not all the same, we have all found a home here. The culture we have here cannot be duplicated by moving the students and some teachers to other middle schools. If the issue is enrollment, you cannot close the school. That makes families want to attend. We are continually trending in the right direction. Although... Allow us to welcome students from other middle schools to be a part of this culture. Reward the success of this campus by allowing Aki Mall to stay open. Thank you. Thank you, Aubrey. Good job. Our next speaker is Abby Owens. Abby's going to be followed by Stella Noel. Hi, my name

043is Abby and I'm a former student of Aki Mall. I'm here today to speak about the impact Aki had on me. I was a very troubled student when I came to Aki Mall my sixth grade year. But in my three years of being at Aki Mall, I have seen how they do care. And even though they didn't know me or anything about me, they still were always there when I needed someone or just a break from everyone. I don't think I would have became the person I am today without Aki Mall. I learned a lot of life lessons and made so many friendships. friendships and if i was at another school i don't think i would have made the relationships and i made and learned the everything i did the staff here are so amazing

044and they care so deeply about every single kid especially the administration they have cared for me as their own kid and i am so grateful for every single one alky mall is an amazing school and shouldn't be shut down thank you abby well done our next speaker is stella noel stella is going to be followed by parker barnhart Good evening everyone. My name is Stella and I'm a sixth grader here at Aukimau A.L. Middle School. I've been thinking, what would really happen if Aukimau closed tomorrow? The students would most likely scatter to different schools. Some teachers may stay, but some will go. But there's something that surely will be lost and missed. That is the Aukimau spirit. That bond that no school can replicate, a spirit that has made our school excel and our students

045thrive. In honor of Alchemal's spirit, I have written this poem. The music, the crowd, everything is so loud. The smiles, the joy from every grade, girl or boy. Alchemal rallies, I mean, sorry. From every grade, girl or boy, we slide, laugh, and run, and we have so much fun. In teams, we compete and turn on the heat. Come and see our rallies. They're the best of the valley. Go, Aki. We can do this. We Rattlers know how to hiss. Together, we are strong. It's an unbreakable bond. Not just you and me, not just me and you, but a magical brew. Turquoise, black, and white, Aki Mall Pride is dynamite. Please let us continue to thrive by keeping our Aki Mall alive. Thank you. Stella, nice job, and that was a great poem. Thank you. Our

046next speaker is Parker Barnhart. Parker is going to be followed by Matthew Schroeder. Welcome to Aki Mall. First, I'd like to thank you all for letting me speak here today. I am Parker Barnhart, an eighth grader here at Aki Mall. Yeah, just so we can hear you a little bit better, Parker. Go ahead. I find it concerning that we are closing down schools based off of money and maps. These students today will be our future doctors, teachers, scientists, writers, mathematicians, and this is where they learn and grow. Ocumel is an exceptional school with great enrollment programs and electives. We have Maricopa buses coming to our school, bringing many different students. We also have closed classrooms for students who need it in the Spanish program. to help students learn second language, which will count towards college

047credits. We also have the Boston trip, where students in the eighth grade get to go to Boston to learn and experience new things. I love the school, and we have an amazing education and classes and teachers. And going here has helped me through so much. I want the future kids that are going to Aki Mall to be able to do and experience what I did. I don't know if I'll be able to change the school board's mind or the decisions in the future, but I know that Aki Mall is an amazing school, and we should think more about the students and not the money. Thank you, Parker. So our next speaker tonight is going to be Matthew Schroeder. Matthew is going to be followed by McKenna Schroeder. Hi, good evening. I am Matthew Schroeder, and

048today I'm going to be talking about how the school closure will affect everybody. The teachers here are absolutely amazing. They understand all of the kids and have a great sense of humor and just are awesome. We have great exploratories here. We have STEM. We have agriculture with our beloved plants and chickens. Like, if we close this down, what are we going to do with those chickens? Deep fry them? Turn them into chicken nuggets? We also have our campus school news, CNM. It's really awesome. Six and, I mean not six, seventh and eighth graders work together each week to make news for the whole school to watch. And usually the funniest part is me running around in a T-Rex costume. But I really love this school and I can't have it closed down. Thank you so

049much and have a great day. Thank you, Matthew. Our next speaker tonight is McKenna Schroeder. McKenna is going to be followed by Molly Preflin. Hello everyone, my name is McKenna Schroeder and I'm a seventh grader here at Auckey. When I heard the news of our school potentially closing down, I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. This school is more than just classrooms and desks. It's where we learn, where we grow, and where we make friends who feel like family. Auckey Mall isn't just a building, it's a community, and it's a home to many students like me. So that's why I started a petition. In just one week, 900 people signed it. That's 900 voices saying this school matters and 900 people who care enough to stand up and say, don't take this away. and

050every day more people are still signing because they know the truth. Hockey Mall is worth saving. Our teachers here aren't just teachers, they're mentors, mentors, encouragers, and role models. They believe in us even when we doubt ourselves. They stay after school to help us understand lessons, cheer for us at games, and push us to be our best. They don't teach us subjects, they teach us kindness, confidence, and leadership. Every hallway in our school has a story. The science rooms where we do experiments that make us curious about the world. the art room where creativity comes to life, the gym where we learn teamwork and school spirit, and the classrooms where every student is given the chance to dream big and they feel like they belong. Closing Aki Mall wouldn't just take away a school. It

051would take away a safe place where kids are supported, challenged, and loved. It would take away the place where we laugh, learn, and grow into who we're meant to be. I may only be 12, but I believe that voices, no matter how small, can make a big difference. And I would like to formally invite Mr. Collins to come check out our amazing CNN program here at Aki Mall, ran by Ms. Monaco. Thank you for your time. Thank you, McKenna. Well done. Our next speaker is going to be Molly Preflin. Molly is going to be followed by Kira Lee. Hello, my name is Molly Preffling and I'm a junior at Desert Vista High School. I can't believe I attended Ocky Mall Middle School almost three years ago because as I walk in again it feels like

052last week but also ten years ago. Before Ocky Mall, I went to Kyrene de los Lagos to start the very first year of the Spanish Dual Language Program. Ocky Mall is the only school to continue this program so naturally it was the number one choice. I wouldn't have grown into the young woman I am today without Ocky Mall. I can't imagine my little brothers, the kids I babysit, and kids in this neighborhood not having the community, support, and success like I had. Thank you so much, and I hope that you will all keep Occamall open for the growth and benefit of these kids. God bless. Thank you very much. Our next speaker is going to be Kira Lee. Kira is going to be followed by Gwen Monfort. Hello, school board, family members, friends, and everyone

053who came to attend today. My name is Kiri Lee. I'm a former Murata Monarch and current Pueblo Bulldog. And yesterday I interviewed 23 Pueblo students on why they chose Pueblo as a school. While most kids chose Pueblo because it was the closest school, most of their friends were going there, or they had siblings that had went to Pueblo, a large number also came to Pueblo because of their performing arts, like band, orchestra, theater, and theater crew. One of the students that I interviewed said, quote, join band because you make friends, end quote. That shows that we have time to also make relationships and memories in addition to learning. Lots of people said that Pueblo was inviting and welcoming to everyone, especially the social outcasts. My friend said they, the other school, wanted me to fit

054inside a box. But I wasn't a box. I was a circle. Her grades went from C's and D's to A's. I'm not saying that the other schools aren't good. I'm saying that Pueblo has helped her learn and grow. There are two specific programs that really helped people adjusting to Pueblo. First was Spike Camp, which is a three-day camp before the school year for sixth graders so they can learn and adjust and find all their classes. And then the second was WEB, which stands for Where Everyone Belongs, which is where eighth graders help the sixth graders and they have presentations throughout the year in leadership class. A lot of people said the electives were both inclusive and learning. Well, they learned a lot, and then the classes had many different academic and advanced paths. When I

055asked them what they would do if Pueblo closed, they said 23% of them said they would go out of district. And then, because I have a little bit of time, someone said, quote, band is gooder. Yes, put that in the speech. I'm going to be in a speech, guys. End quote. Thank you. Thank you, Kira. So our next speaker tonight is Gwen Monfort. She's going to be followed by Sabrina Pratt. Go ahead, Gwen. Hi, my name is Gwen Monfort, and I really don't want you to close Akimel. They are an amazing school, and they serve great food, and they help you learn math like pi and square roots and many others. And if somebody is a rude person, they help them learn how to be kind, and they check on them every once in a

056while. and the teachers really support their students. That's why I don't want OccuModel clothes. And I would like to give a shout out to Lincoln Monfort for supporting me and Henry Malou for being my friend. Thank you for your time. Good job, Gwen. Our next speaker is going to be Sabrina Pratt. Sabrina is going to be followed by Ariane Madrid. Very good. Thank you. Go ahead. Hello, my name is Sabrina Pratt, and I am a current Pueblo 7th grader and a former Mariposa student. Can you speak a little bit closer? There, we can hear you. Great, thank you so much. I live in the Mariposa neighborhood. Let me tell you a story. During the first quarter before fall break, I would wake up in the early parts of the morning to go on a run

057and train for the cross-country season, which I have now just started. When I go running, it's some sort of tradition for me to look into the Mariposa parking lot and around the building to see my old school. But you know what I'd see? I would see our principal, vice principal, or school janitor, Ms. Bernice, at least a few times a week. Without fail, I would smile, being amazed by the hard work they put in every day and thinking of the memories that this place brought me. Although it's not just the Mariposa staff that I would see. I would see the people I ran past, seeing our former assistant librarian and parents of Mariposa children. Mariposa is not just a school. It is a community that 66% of Mariposa students live in, which is one of

058the highest on the east side. Regarding my middle school, Pueblo, with the current plan to close Pueblo, this year's sixth grade students will not be able to complete their eighth grade year. By moving Pueblo back to its original timeline, sixth grade students will be able to finish their eighth grade year without having to change middle schools. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Our next speaker is Ariane Madrid. who will be followed by Henley Wolford. Good evening, board members. Board members. Members. My name is Ariana Madrid. I am a seventh grader at Alkimole AL, and here are some facts that you should not close Alkimole AL down. One, it is a rated-A school, which attracts students like me to come into school every day. Two, Alexander Hamilton once said, legacy, what is a legacy? It's

059planting seeds in a garden you never get to see, which means we planted the seeds since 1997. If we see our school close down, we will never see the seed grow again. Three, the teachers that work here will lose their jobs. They will try so hard to find new jobs. They come here every day to teach us to get ready for high school. Four, this is also a dual language school. which convinces students like me to learn a second language. Thank you, Ariane. Well done. All right, our next speaker is going to be Henley Wolford, and I believe Henley is going to be followed by, I think it's Kenny Sargent, if there's a Kenny Sargent out there. Hello everybody, my name is Henley Wolford and I am a sixth grade student at Ockyemaw AL Middle

060School. I'm here today to ask you to please keep Ockyemaw Middle School open. Ockyemaw is the largest school in the Kyrene School District and has grown for five straight years. Families are choosing Ockyemaw more than ever, so why take away what's working? We offer incredible programs like dual language Spanish immersion theater, band STEM, agriculture, culinary, gate, avid, and really strong sports teams. These make Hockey Mall special and moving them won't make things better. Akimol is where I feel comfortable and accepted, just like so many others, especially our best buddies. This invitation is going to board member Satri. I invite you to come to Akimol AL and check out our Spanish class either tomorrow or Friday if you can't make it tomorrow. That is okay. And we would love if you could come at 9 a.m.

061And the room number is B13. and come see us before you close us. Akima is also, also, also Akima is a place where I see zero, absolutely zero students who are not included. Everybody is included there. And even if someone's not included, which is not true, but even if they're not included, a student or staff or anyone at the school would go to them and, and, and, Just have a conversation with them and it would make their day and Everybody just included at alkymal and everybody and we are just thriving at alkymal Thank you Henley so I don't know if this is Kenny who's a grown-up and it's supposed to speak I can't actually read the name on there. I just can read that. It's Kenny sergeant on the gmail Jill? Jay. All right, let's

062get Jay. Hello, my name is Jay, and I'm just in fifth grade right now, but I have heard from many people and all my friends that Aki Mall is a great school to go to. I would really like to go to Aki Mall, and this is why I'm begging you, please do not close Aki Mall. There are many people who I know who are planning on going to Aki Mall, and that will affect their future plans for jobs. I also hope that you won't because everybody that I know is planning on going there, and I want to be able to be with my friends. Thank you, Jay. Good job. Our next speaker is going to be Ava Mancha, and Ava is going to be followed by Mikhail Jones. This school has profound... How close? Okay.

063This school has profoundly impacted countless students, myself included. As a graduate of the Dual Language Academy Lagos, Aki Mall has been a place where every student is welcome. As treasurer of student council, I can attest to this school has made a turning point in my life. I mature significantly undergoing a complete transformation and I've learned so much and this school continues to positively influence so many others, helping them experience similar growth and change. Furthermore, separating these elementary schools from the school that they've been thinking and planning on going to will negatively affect those students, causing so much stress. You're taking away learning opportunities from Maricopa kids and not being inclusive at all through this decision. Thank you, Ava. Our next speaker is, is it Mikael Joens? Mikael? Yes. Hello, school board members and Akimel families.

064My name is Mikael, and I'm a seventh grader at Akimel. Sorry. Ockey Mall Middle School. This is my first year here, and I've already become part of the Rattler family. The reasons we should stay open is our electives, such as STEM and culinary. Another reason we should stay open is our community. Everybody is so nice, and I love it here. Another reason is the Duolanguage program. My last reason is all the sports. I made the volleyball team, and I think our school deserves to thrive. Thank you for your time. Good job, Mikhail. Our next speaker is Cajun Pickett. Cajun is going to be followed by Isabella Ulevas. Hi, my name is Cajun Pickett. I am an eighth grade student from Ocumal Middle School. I've been at Ocumal since seventh grade, and during that time, I've

065felt a major impact. Not only did I get support from the amazing staff, but also from the students. I have truly... I've truly had a big turnaround at Ocky Mall Middle School. Before I was coming to Ocky Mall, I went to a school in Maricopa. I was a very big troublemaker, and I have came to Ocky Mall to have a change. And Ocky Mall has helped me succeed that goal. I am proud of the person I have become and the person I am going to be. Please don't shut Occamaw down. I would love for the future students that would and hopefully can have the same experience at Occamaw that I did. Thank you for your time. Have a good night. Thank you, Kajun. Well done. Our next speaker is Isabella Huevas, who will be followed

066by Alana Smith. Hi, I'm Isabella Cuevas. I'm a student at Aukey Mall and I've been here since all of middle school and a former student at Estrella. When I first came to Aukey Mall in sixth grade, I didn't know that I could be so understood as a student and a person. I was given the chance to express myself in a way I didn't know. For example, band. I fell so deeply in love with music thanks to my band teacher, Mr. Jip. I have such amazing teachers here and even teachers I never had are such amazing people. This staff is so understanding which is a trait that everybody cannot really have at different schools. Ockyemal is a really great school and such an inviting environment to be with. Here at Ockyemal everybody has a place. This

067school has provided me with so much good memories and I'll be sure to keep them for the rest of my life. I would like to shout out Ms. Price for showing so much Ockyemal pride to try and keep our school gates open. Thank you. Good job, Isabella. Our next speaker tonight is Alana Smith. Hello. My name is Alana Smith. I am the student council president, an NJHS member, a drop club representative, and one of the four students who goes to DV for advanced math. All of those things is actually because of Aki Mall in elementary. I didn't think I would ever get that far. But really, the teachers, the community, everything all together just makes everything seem so clear. And I can do anything. That's why math is really one of my big... subjects, but

068I was never that good at math before. And these teachers, they made everything clear to me, and I really just loved the whole community that made me think that I can do everything, so I can run for everything, I could try everything. I've tried out for a lot of things, musicals and sports, and it's just that everyone... includes everyone, so I can do it, you know? Thank you, Alana. Well done. Our next speaker is going to be Veronica Roman. Hi, I'm Veronica Roman, and I'm from Occumal. And I don't think closing Occumal is a good idea because of the amazing things we have here, like theater, AVID, dual language, and so much more. Closing Aukimaw would mean having to move these amazing and many activities to a different school. Now this may seem like something

069we can do and eventually get comfortable with through the years, but we cannot recreate this exact mix of activities and classes that give students as many choices as possible and this feeling of community. Why fix what isn't broken? Thank you, Veronica. Good job. I think that is all of the student blue cards I have. Are there any other students that wish to speak tonight? We have another student? Come on up, please. And since I don't have your blue card, could you just please state your name before you start off? Thank you. State my name and then speak? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Just so we know who you are, sir. My name is Madison Gumes, and I'm currently attending Desert Vista High School. Before that, I attended Ocumal Middle School. At this school, I had learned

070so much. There was never a day where I didn't walk out happy. At this school, I'd like to emphasize on my eighth grade year because I feel like I grew so much to start their AVID program. I guarantee you, you won't find another school that has a better AVID program than this school. My writing ability skyrocketed when I took this class. I even wrote a letter to Arizona State Senate for my medication. Mind you with the help of my avid teacher Back there. She's radical the teachers at the school are all incredible. They're all kind they're all they all genuinely care about each individual kids and education None of them are shy to helping None of them are shy to helping the moment a chance arises whether it's personal or academically. I hope that I

071hope that all of the speakers and all of those who showed up can help you infer that this school cannot be shut down. Well done. Any other students wish to speak? Yes, come on up. Check, check, one, two, three. Yeah, we can hear you. All right. Hello, my name is Audra McCoy, and I think my past teachers are just as shocked as I am to see myself up here. I went to Lagos, I went to Aki Mall, then attended DV, and I am now a senior at ASU studying education. Now... Now I have the privilege to be interning at Kalina after personally requesting to work in Kyrene because it is home to me How do you plan to console the students who have a second home at this schools? You are looking to close these

072students have gained and lost friends I was an orchestra student here at Aki mall and played violin closely with a student who took his life my senior year of high school I look back on these years with him in fondness. I have performed on this stage. I have cried in that courtyard. I have spent my lunches in that library. Just as so many other students have and so many other students will. But we are not just students, past, current, or future. We are individuals with hearts, with lives. I was 11 when I entered this school 10 years ago, and I'm now 21. And still, I have been recognized by four past faculty members tonight. Mrs. Smith, I saw you in the back. Thank you for teaching me Greek mythology. That was really hard. Mrs. Prosser,

073who I also saw, my former librarian. Thank you for supporting my love of reading. Mrs. Hathaway, thank you for being the best science teacher ever. You made me like it, even though I don't understand an ounce of science. Mrs. Ridge, I think I saw your face back here. Maybe not. I don't know if she's still here. Thank you for supporting my creative writing. And Ms. Monaco, I saw you. Thank you for teaching me math. Division is still hard, though. Even though I struggled with school, though my straight A's would say otherwise, it's the teachers and the connections I've made that will last my whole life. Thank you for helping me in ways you will never truly see. You made me into the person I am now, and while you may never see it, the people

074in my future certainly will. Please give the rest of this generation and our future generations the opportunity to grow and make these schools their home too. Thank you. I think we have another student that would like to speak. Come on up. Thank you. My name is Eva Lorena Ayala. I have spoken here once again. I'm here to talk to you about Alkmaar. I would like to start from when I first came here in seventh grade. This is a new district to me, and I have to travel an hour to get here. And so I would like to say that... I would like to thank all those people that when I first came here just showed me the way and all the students and staff and teachers that have guided me all the way to eighth

075grade too and how during these moments I just never felt all this warmth from the teachers and staff and students. All around here, Aki Mall is great. I don't even know why it was an option to close in the first place. But we're still here and we're still standing strong. So please do not close our school. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Eva. Well done. Any other students? All right. I'd like to, before we move on, give a big round of applause to all of our students. Is there another student speaker? Please. Hello. Okay. Greetings. Oh, okay. Greetings, hello, and good evening. My name is Raven Sanin, and to be frank, no amount of time will suffice for the amount of things I have to say about this school. But to begin with,

076I am a freshman of Mountain Point High School, and if you guessed, or if you didn't, I guess, I am a former student of Aki Mall. And my experience here was genuinely unexplainable, but something I would like to point out is the dual language program. I feel as if I would not be able to be where I am at academically without this program and with the help of teachers and the help of other students, I was able to thrive. Yeah, I was given various resources to help me to become who I am. Who I want to be, especially in high school, you know, it's hard. But, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well done, Raven. Thank you. All right. Thank you again to all of our student speakers. It takes a lot of courage to get up in

077front of a room like this. And each of you did a fantastic job. You articulate. You did a such – you should all be proud of yourselves. Parents and families, you should be exceptionally proud of your kids. Thank you. So before we move into our grown-ups, because we have about 50 blue cards for grown-ups, we're going to take a quick break, and we'll start back up in about five minutes. I'm going to get deep dish. How about wings? Eat up here. All right, we are going to reconvene our public hearing. Welcome back. Welcome back. All right, we are going to reconvene our public hearing. We are now moving to the grown-ups. So, as you know, we're going to give two minutes to each speaker. You're going to see the timer up there on the screen.

078There's also going to be a little ding that goes off at the two-minute mark. If you're in the middle of a sentence, it's okay to finish your sentence, but because we have so many people that want to speak tonight, please do respect the two-minute limit so that everybody can stay here and speak. All right, we're also just a heads up. going to take a quick break at the one hour mark from now. So around 8.30, if we're still doing public comment, we'll do another quick break and we'll keep on going. We're not going to leave until everybody has a chance to speak tonight. So our first public speaker of the grown-ups, of the adults, is Tamara Begay. Tamara is going to be followed by Ophelia Pulel. Good evening. Yatay Shei, Tamara Begay, and Shea. I'm

079originally from the Navajo Nation up north, the Four Corners area. My son, Zakai Begay, goes to Mariposa. When he was three, my son couldn't communicate verbally. Zakai, come here. And I was told, get him evaluated, get him evaluated. Go to the school district, my sister told me. Kyrene is the best. I know they are. Take him there. Took me a while, but I did it. Got him evaluated. Your staff was phenomenal. I could just say that your staff was awesome. They helped us. They helped my son to this day. Now he talks more. And through that, I think your staff, that's my main concern is your staff, how they treat these kids, how they teach the kids is... Phenomenal. My son is like verbally talking more now and I just want to know are you

080guys going to be able to let these teachers go with these students to the school that they're going to be transferring to? If that's just my main concern because my son still cries for, he cries for his kindergarten teacher. He's now first grade. Miss Adrian. Now it's Ms. Wilson. He has a hard time. Mom, Ms. Adrian's class? No, you got to go to Ms. Wilson's class. Okay. But then now I'm getting, you know, reviews from the Dojo app saying, hey, Zakai got a point today. I've never seen that in his kindergarten year, but now that I see it in first grade, it shows that my son is improving. And through that is through, you know, your staff at Mariposa. Mariposa is his homeschool. So I just ask that, you know, think about the younger generations

081that are going to become a leader one day. Maybe my son may be sitting in one of your seats one of these days. So just think about, you know, the younger generations when they become leaders in life. Thank you, Ms. Fage. Our next speaker is Ophelia, I believe it's Ploheco. Is Ophelia here? Ophelia? All right, I'll put her to the side. Oh, is Ophelia coming? No? Okay. Okay. Our next speaker will be Ms. Christy Wolford. Ms. Wolford is going to be followed by John Dowd. I'm not going to speak much because you guys have heard me at every meeting, but the diversity, the rich conversation that you've heard from, I think I saw a third grader all the way up to a senior in college has just blown my mind. The one thing in particular

082by our ASU grad who came here and said she was seeing six, seven students. Don't say six, seven. I did not even realize I just said that. Meanwhile, she recognizes these teachers. That's saying something. You've got a teacher retention here at Akimol that is unmatched. We've got teachers coming from other middle schools to be at Akimol because of the culture here. People want. this environment. They want this culture. The numbers, they don't lie. We've got graphs that we just put out, I believe, on our PTSO student or PTSO social media accounts. The numbers, we're the only middle school on the west side. We're the biggest middle school in the Kyrene School District. We're the only middle school on the west side, the only school on the west side increasing in numbers. Numbers mean money from

083the state. We're not losing you money. This is a school that is thriving and gaining money, however that system works. We also have lighted fields just over here to the side that make money. for the district as well. We have so many things to offer here. The students said it best. There's nothing I need to say except for the fact that people want this environment. They want Akimol. Please, don't shut something down. Don't give something away that people want. If you were moving into a neighborhood that wasn't great, you'd do everything you want to to move out. But if you move into a neighborhood like a Lakewood or like even our friends at Maricopa or over at Levine, they want to be there. They want to stay. That's Akimaw. If you're a company, if you're

084the president of a company, and you have to budget cut some places, you will close some of your stores. We get that that has to happen. But any smart company, any thriving company, just like Akimaw Middle School in and of its own, will never shut down their top stores. In fact, they will bring other employees to their top stores and use what's working and make it better. That's all we ask of Akimaw. Thank you, Ms. Wolford. Our next speaker is John Dowd. John, we'll be followed by Casey Erler. Thank you for being here today. My name is John Dowd. I have two boys that are currently at Occamaw, and we are not zoned for this school. So both of our boys have come over here because we chose this, and I feel like that is...

085very pertinent because I think there are a lot of people from a lot of areas, Levine, Maricopa, I know some of their friends are from there, and they come here directly from that. On top of that, I believe that a concern, I don't know, I'm sure it's been discussed, but with all of the charter schools coming in, I'm sure they're salivating at the idea of Aki Mall being available. And if that were to happen, I think that... that caused some other issues for Kyrene. I think because of its location and its reputation already, I think we're gonna have some problems because you have amenities here and easy access from the freeway as well. That's gonna draw people here and even hurt us down the road further. I know that it's a little bit easier to

086get here too compared to some other schools. I feel like there's also this chemistry here at this school. The kids said it, parents have said it, and by breaking that up, I think there's going to be something lost. Moving into another area, I know you can even keep a lot of this really strong employees, team members, but you put them in a different environment, under a different circumstance. Many of them may leave, but you do have something that's successful here, and I just really genuinely hope we can keep it together. So, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dowd. Our next speaker is Casey Erler. Mr. Erler will be followed by Daniel Schaefer. Superintendent Tenyes, board members, community members, thank you so much for having me tonight. I want to start by thanking you for... the opportunity

087to speak and your inclusion for us in this process. I understand and we all do how difficult of one it is. Now with everyone else here, I agree completely that ACUMAL should remain open. I currently have two students who go to Cairn de los Lagos and we chose that school because of the community, the track from Lagos to ACUMAL to Altadena and we actually live in Levine as well. So our idea of this community, we brought it here. and hope to follow that all the way through. Now, even though that is the primary thought for everyone in this room, I think it's important to ask the question for my particular community in Lakewood, is the what happens if it is an impossibility to keep ACKIE Mall open? And in the first iteration of the proposal,

088those students in Lakewood would have gone to Altadena. In the second iteration, they were changed to Centennial. Now, the thing about that community in Lakewood is we are fiercely loyal. We are there for that diversity and that type of lifestyle. But I think that if we get to that point where Aki Mall cannot remain open, we need to seek that feedback from that community, specifically Lakewood, about which school they would prefer their students to attend. I'm sure the feedback we heard from Monta Vista originally was, keep us going to Altadena. Why change that? And what happened then was we swapped places. Now, the reason I bring that up is that if most parents want to bring their students to Altadena for the community track to Desert Vista, then potentially, if Centennial is still the feeder,

089you're going to put that foreign language at risk, that foreign language program, because those parents in Lakewood will still get their students to Altadena because we are committed to that community, that track on this side of Ahwatukee. And so I just think it's important to evaluate that with the actual data and the feedback of who the parents, where the parents want to go. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mr. Daniel Schaefer. He's going to be followed by Allison Hemmack. Good evening. Thank you for coming to speak with our community. I'm here to voice my support for the Lakewood proposal. It's good that I followed Casey because I live in Lakewood. That proposal expands the Occam Hill campus, absorbing both Altadena and Centennial. I'm a parent of dual language students both at Lagos and

090Ocumel. My family moved to Lakewood because of the dual language program and we've seen our kids and community thrive. Some of the highest test scores in the state, well-rounded and diverse populations. This is because the staff and administration at Lagos and Ocumel. The current process has given no options for the west side other than to divide into two schools. but the Lakewood proposal unifies us in Ahwatukee. It keeps our community together and adds to it to make us stronger. Occumel is one of the best facilities Kyrene owns and it cannot be understated again and again and again and again. It is the safest of the three middle schools with dual access from multiple freeways and directions for first responders. It has thriving and unique special needs programs, extracurricular, and of course, the dual language program.

091Ahwatukee knows this is the best school around because Alkmael hosts the highest number of students out of boundaries from both Centennial and Altadena. Again, the West Side has never been given more than one option other than to divide. Please do not make dividing our only option. I urge you to choose the option that unifies, Kyrene. Thank you, Mr. Schaefer. Our next speaker is Alison Hammack. She'll be followed by Alan Earle. Hello, Board Superintendent. Thank you for being here tonight. I'm speaking as a current Kyrene parent and a former Kyrene student. We chose to live here because of the Kyrene district. And I just want to say I don't envy the decision that the board will have to make. I recognize that it's a hard decision and that there's going to be no way to please

092everyone. So I thank you for coming here tonight and hearing our concerns. I'm going to bring up a point, and I'll be fully transparent and say this is what I understand. I don't have a student that currently attends. a middle school, I have students that will attend a middle school in a couple years. And it's my understanding that for students who are attending Aki Mall that go to advanced classes that they're able to walk over to Desert Vista for some of those advanced classes. It's also my understanding that for students who are not feeding into Desert Vista, that they may go to other high schools, their home high school for some of those classes. And then I've also heard that when that is the case because of issues with transportation, that sometimes those students aren't

093able to get back to the middle school for their classes, then they've had to do those classes remotely because they can't get back due to transportation issues. And so I would just ask the board to look into if that is indeed an issue that be kind of considered when talking. about closing this school that does have easy access to a high school and then potentially having more students who that might impact. So that's my one question for the board is just to ensure that that's considered when thinking about the logistics of moving schools. And since it hasn't been brought up tonight, I just wanna make sure that everyone in the room is also aware of voting for the Kyrene override. If you don't have your ballot by the 24th, you can request your ballot. So

094please vote for that to keep funding the Kyrene schools. Thank you. Thank you, McSamek. Our next speaker is Mr. Alan Earl. He's going to be followed by Mike Broughton. Hi there. My kid is in Millennial, special needs kid. I already want to call that in the CCD. Some of his teachers are here. Mr. Lamb's back here. There's a great environment at Millennial for my child. I haven't heard anything from you guys about what's going to happen with that. When I listen to all the things that people are saying, the number one thing I would advise you to do is wait. The number two thing I would do is say slow down. I haven't seen anything where you have a plan that says how all these things will happen, when they're going to happen, how you're

095going to make them happen in the time that you've got. I don't see how it makes sense to try to do that in 2026. So I think you should put it off until 2027 or more. Easy math here. Maybe some of these people don't know and maybe you guys will quibble with some of the math But I think you said we're trying to save seven million bucks in five years. That's 1.4 million dollars I think they said 12,000 students That's a hundred and sixteen bucks a kid That's not that much So when you think about other things that you guys spend money on I think you should think about that Think about how much you spent on Redoing the district office like 15 million I know we need a district office, but when that's twice

096as much as what we're trying to do now and we're displacing thousands of kids or hundreds of kids, I don't know. But the last thing is you got to do something for special needs. We got to have a transition plan. It's got to be a lot farther ahead than all the other kids. It should be the first. Haven't heard anything about it. Maybe there's some other people will talk about it, but we need to know what happens. Our kids can't just show up and go to some school. Just change from one day to the next we've heard all these great kids talking about how well they're doing and I love that But my kids not doing that I need extra help which needs extra time Please wait Thank You mr. Earl our next speaker is

097Mike Broughton. It's Mike here. Mr. Broughton. All right, we'll move on then our next speaker will be miss Delia lighting Miss lighting will be followed by Kelsey wolf Denae Good evening, Kyrene board. My name is Delia lighting and I am the K president I've had conversations with you about our 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 We are planners and we want to plan What is becoming more and more impossible for educators to deal with are there 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 stretched

098to 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 or opportunities to collaborate. This is not a recipe for success. I mention these issues because they will only exasperate if the choice is made to keep more of our schools open because we have to cut that funding from somewhere. I would like to remind you of the lever that gets pulled should we save more schools from consolidation. I believe it was slide 16 or 17 from the first board retreat that showed what is at stake should we keep schools open. When you have to cut $7 million from the budget, then people

099get cut. we will have to have a reduction in force which will result in higher class sizes no special area program at least not the way that we have it now no assistant principals no academic interventionists and the list goes on and on this would lessen the kyrene experience for all students and making making teaching for our educators even harder I regard you each with so much respect. I am confident that you will continue to be thoughtful throughout this process. I ask that you keep our educators in mind when making the decision to consolidate our sites. It's not fair that you have to make this decision, but we need you to have the facts, void of emotion, when making the decision for all of Kyrene. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Lighting. Our next speaker is

100Kelsey Wolftonet, who will be followed by Bethany Anajviano. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Remember superintendent tennius and thank you so much to the Aki community for welcoming us tonight Worthy on the east side of Kyrene, but we wanted to be here tonight to support our amazing community So I wanted to just reiterate a few things from the Thursday meeting at KMS from what Senator Mitzi Epstein said about asking for clarity on the criteria. I think that would help Mariposa as well as a lot of the schools I've talked with of that transparency of what are the specific criteria for opening or closing a school. At Mariposa, our team of data parents have looked through everything and from... perspective we check all those boxes and we want to welcome more students into our thriving community And

101so, you know, and I appreciate the perspective of teachers. We had a PTO meeting last night and hearing from our teachers the challenging time that they're having right now. So we have a thriving teacher population, tenured teachers, 10 plus years, and they don't want to retire. So we want to make sure that we're keeping our teachers at the forefront as well as our full suite of kids, including like the press speaker mentioned. And I want to use just the rest of my time to talk about the, no override, I appreciate the other speaker mention as well, especially for communities like ours, we have to do two things that are very hard at the same time. I put my ballot in the mailbox yesterday and so I encourage everybody here watching at home to please consider

102voting yes. Think about our teachers and we have to do that in order to continue to save Kyrene. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Wolf-Tanay. Our next speaker is Bethany Anviano, who will be followed by Shelby Gordon. Hi. My mother recently retired from being on the Chandler School District for 30 years. So I, and over her 30 years, she had a lot of controversial things happen, just like this is happening. And so I wanted to say thank you for your service. And I know that these are really hard decisions, and I'm certain that you're... doing the very best that you can with all the information that you have. I live in the city of Maricopa. and we came to Kyrene because of the dual language program. Whenever I'm asked, why do you continue to

103go to Kyrene School District, it's because of the dual language program. I don't know all the facts. I am concerned about how the open enrollment of Lagos affects busing for Maricopa. and how the closing down of Aki Mall would affect busing from Maricopa. My children currently have pick up times at 6.20 and 6.30 in the morning. It's pretty early for kindergarteners, but it's worth it for me. I have other children who have graduated out of the Kyrene District and chose different middle schools, but we chose to come back to Aki Mall because of... the things that this school particularly offers, especially the Spanish language program. But my son does go to Akimal now, and we would like to continue going to this school because of the things that it can offer. Thank you. Thank you.

104Our next speaker is Shelby Gordon, who will be followed by Kate Dowd. SPEAKER 7 Good evening board members superintendent and the Kyrene community. My name is Shelby Gordon and I'm a current community member but a future parent of the Kyrene school district. And I would like to voice my opposition today of the proposed closure of Mariposa Elementary. Not only is Mariposa an A plus school but it has one of the highest enrollment rates among the Kyrene schools. The Mariposa does have a sentimental value to my family as it is elementary school that my husband attended back in the late 90s. But we also bought a house in Warner Ranch last year with the hope of sending our young daughters who are currently three and one to the school starting in 27-28. the same year that

105it's slated to close. So closing an A-plus school like Mariposa is going to be extremely disheartening to the community, but especially for young families like mine who made major life decisions based on these schools that we want our kids to go to. And I also want to say, we're on the east side, but this Akimel community is very awesome to see and experience. So I... We're not at that point where my girls are still in preschool, but I'm glad to be coming into the Kyrene District, and I hope that there is a little bit of planning, and I think somebody else said slowing down and thinking it through. It is a hard decision that has to be made, and I sympathize with the choices, but thank you. Thank you, Ms. Gordon. Our next speaker is

106Kate Dowd, who will be followed by Emily Steinhoff. Hi, my name is Kate Dowd, and I'm a product of the Kyrene school system. I attended Monta Vista, went to Centennial. I remember when Aki Mall was being built. I continued to Mountain Point, where I even met my husband. I'm now an employee at Desert Vista High School. I didn't go far. I love this community. I now have two boys who used to attend Lagos, and now, although we're zoned for Altadena, we follow the dual language program to Akimaw, where we have found caring, committed teachers, attentive, dedicated administrators, and hardworking and supportive front staff. As a member of the community, I am concerned and confused about the decisions being made to close Akimaw. I'm also curious about the data and research that was done to determine

107that this is the best course of action to protect the students and your staff. Akimaw is the largest of your middle schools. It's also my understanding that enough people have chosen to come to Akimaw that they had to close open enrollment, certainly a good problem to have. So it brings concern that you would choose to close a school that so many families have chosen to attend. I understand that cutting funds is a difficult task. On paper, it might make sense geographically to divide up Akimaw, but I am worried that attention has not been given to the following items. If you are dividing up the largest number of families and guiding them to two different middle schools, you are taking the largest risk, displacing 850 students. The reality is that some of those families could choose

108to go elsewhere. Have you done your research enough to be confident that those 850 students will not leave Kyrene? By closing Occamall to save money, you're risking the most student ADM. You're risking losing more money because you're displacing the most amount of students. What's your long-term plan for Occamall? If you leave it empty, a charter school can take over, somewhere like Great Hearts or Legacy. This is a beautiful school that is right off the freeway, has plenty of access, fields and lights surrounded by thousands of households that would bring competition to the Kyrene community. What about other options? Have you considered closing the district office and housing the district staff and wings of the schools that are currently unoccupied? Okay. Thank you, Ms. Dowd. Our next speaker is Ms. Emily Steinhoff, who will be followed

109by Kenny Wolford. Thank you. Oh, can you hear me? Yes. At the beginning of this, the superintendent sent out an email saying that the loudest and the most, which meant the wealthiest voices weren't going to dominate, and that is not what is happening. We have five Title I elementary schools in this district. Kalina, Esperanza, Lomith, Millenio, and Ninos. The current plan... is to combine that into three by doubling the population of Esperanza and Lomas, Esperanza taking on Millennial and Lomas taking on Kalina. There needs to be an overhaul of the boundaries. Right now you're looking at Esperanza having 763 students, Lomas having 781 students. That is the size of a middle school. The next largest school would be Sierra at 610. Lagos has been declared that they're not going to be anything more than dual

110language. So those students are going to go to another school. Lagos is going to stay at their 363. They're not taking on more students. Cerritos, 362. Because the demographer said, hey, there is a... New development going in, we're going to say maybe 250 students, a student per house going up there. Yet, there is a new apartment complex going up on 50th, 417 units, and the demographers do not take that into account. I've been parented as a fraud. We struggle. Our students struggle. And the district needs to think about our Title I students. They need to think about our students and our families. that the boundaries could be redrawn to have some of those students go to other schools, that Monta Vista can take on some of those students instead of staying wealthy and insular, that

111they can take on some of our students. We can move some students from Millennial to Lagos if we change. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Steinhoff. Our next speaker is Mr. Kenny Wolford. He will be followed by Emily Fabiano. Bunny, Mr. Rogers had a hell of a shoe game. Love that man. And one of the parts of the perspective from his mother was to focus on positive individuals that gave to their community, medical personnel, first responders, and volunteers, just like every one of you. And I thank each and every one of you for volunteering tonight. And I'm going to find something good to come out of what I'm about to say here. But it goes back to August 27th and the Kyrene Long Range Planning Committee meeting. There was a moment that stopped me cold when

112the demographer at one hour, 44 minutes and 20 seconds said, all of this was actually fun, drawing borders and closing down schools. That's not fun, man. Tell that to the thousands of people that are going to be affected by this. And he also did it in front of 16 volunteer committee members that were influenced by what came out of his mouth. He was filled with inaccuracies. Insufficient evidence, and all of this was in front of individuals that put us here in these chairs tonight. At 149.40, he said, I thought five middle schools would be a better option than four. But I've got to be honest, four works better. Upside one down and up the other. I'm not a decision maker, but he is. His words influence everybody. And at 144.145. He says, based on popularity,

113economics, and everything else, Hockey Mall stays. Thank you. Thank you for what you're doing. If Hockey Mall was a spreadsheet, we'd be winning. Thank you, Mr. Wolford. Our next speaker is Ms. Emily Fabiano, who will be followed by Nicole Monaco. Good evening. I am Emily Fabiano. I'm here tonight to advocate for my children's school, Kyrene Del Millenio. I have a current kindergarten student and a future preschooler for this fall, hopefully. As many parents here tonight, I believe our school, Millenio, is my child's safe place, and honestly, it's one of his favorite places to be. He has an IEP, he gets incredible services there and that means that he really loves his routine and his structures, loves them so much, won't miss a day of school. Because of this, I urge you all to give us

114as much time and preparation and any change that is put in place. Closing our school at the end of this year is just not enough time to make plans or to prepare my student. He needs a lot more time to talk about all of this stuff and change and it's really big for him. I also plan to test him for Kyrene's gifted program this winter. He's very brilliant, and if he does get in, I do not think a full gifted academy is the right place for us, and I believe many others would agree. We already have great gifted programs in place at Kyrene. I can't transition him somewhere for a year and then transition him back to Millennium a year after. That's just a lot too much change. Also be difficult to split our children

115up because I have another child and taking him to do two different schools would be just not an option for us. I personally would love to see Millennium stay open. Do not close for the gap year if you change it into a gifted academy later. I urge you to think about implementing a gifted classroom maybe for each grade. like some other some of the other schools have or to focus on different areas you'll retain more teachers students and the gifted classrooms could attract more students but please keep millennia open for the students that already go there thank you for your time thank you miss fabiano our next speaker will be nicole monaco who will be followed by landon or kaylin crandall quiet class Good evening to the Kyrene Governing Board and Kyrene administration, Ocky Mall

116families and other community members. I'm standing here not only as a member of the Ocky Mall staff, but also as a Kyrene kid. My Kyrene experience started in 1996, yeah I said in 19, when I walked onto a Kyrene campus for seventh grade. To say those two years shaped my life would be an understatement. I returned to that same middle school for my student teaching and then was hired in the summer of 2007 to be a sixth grade math teacher here at Aki Mall. And I was hired by one of my eighth grade teachers who was the principal at the time. That was 19 years ago. I can state for a fact that my middle school experience had a lasting impression and shaped my career. Over those 19 years, I have focused my career on

117helping middle school students to have a transformative experience to help them grow into the people they want to become. Numbers show that Aki Mall is a school families are choosing to come to. We have 200 students coming from Avondale, Casa Grande, Chandler, Gila Butte, Gilbert, Goodyear, Guadalupe, Levine, Litchfield Park, Maricopa, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Tolleson. Even with students from all over the valley, Aki Mall has created a culture where students find a sense of belonging. I am not here to say close another school instead of ours, as every school has their own unique story. And I would not want another campus to feel the unease of the past two months. I just urge you to please consider the five middle school option and keep Aki Mall open. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker will

118be Mr. Landon Crandall, who will be followed by Mark Alas. All right, thank you board for allowing the community to speak. I'm a father of four sons representing Australia and Akimaw and I think it would be a disservice if we didn't applaud the effort of the teachers from Australia. They haven't been a herd for here tonight and they do an incredible job and we love them and I've had four of my sons go through them. and it's provided a great learning environment for them. I wanted to just highlight the possibilities that we have within this boundary change. If you do keep Altadena and Ockyemal open, you have the possibility of having two top 25 middle schools within the Kyrene School District. What's been highlighted before, if you keep Centennial there as a part of the

119budget. you have the opportunity of people leaving the district or wanting to go to Altadena, which then would mean Centennial would not bring that same culture that Ocumal provides. I wanted to highlight just one other point before I close is Ocumal is a neighborhood school. Centennial, we know a number of neighbors within Centennial who choose to go to charter schools and to private schools and they've made their choice. They've made their choice that is not their neighborhood school and we have a thriving community here at Aki Mall that provides that community and we are choosing to be here instead of being displaced somewhere else. So thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Crandall. Our next speaker is Mark Ellis, who will be followed by Kara Hathaway. Good evening, board. Thank you for having us here

120this evening. My name is Mark Ellis. I'm currently the varsity soccer coach here at Akyemal. I coach both the boys' team and the girls' varsity teams. I've been here for four years. The reason I come back, it's a great school. The boys that make the team have great character. They have skill and character. That means the parents of these boys and girls have character. It's a great family school. I would suggest that from a soccer standpoint, the pitch here is the best. The lighting, it's the only school with lighting. The baseball fields have lighting. The track has lighting. None of the other schools do. This is the one you want to keep open. You mentioned schools have to close because of demographics. I would challenge that. I have a background in demographics and marketing, and

121I have a suspicion that the demographics were based on the 22 census particularly. If you go to all of our schools in the neighborhoods, the neighborhoods were built 30 to 40 years ago. Kids, young families went into those houses. Kids went to the Kyrene schools. They left high school, college, and beyond. The elderly got older. They are now moving out. Gentrification is coming in. I live close to Mariposa. My whole neighborhood is surrounded with young children. Parents with baby strollers with one, two, and three children walk by my house every day. They are coming to Kyrene school. Please check your demographics. I don't believe any schools in Kyrene should be closed. None. Thank you, Mr. Ellis. Our next speaker is Kara Hathaway, who will be followed by Pam Astey. My name is Cara Hathaway and

122I teach 8th grade science here at Aki Mall. I also serve as the 8th grade team leader, the new teacher liaison, and one of our avid coordinators. Before I was a teacher here, I was a parent of three children, all proud Aki Mall alumni. Like many, we are a Maricopa family who chose Aki Mall because of its high academic standards, strong programs, and diverse student population. I share this so that you will understand why I am so passionate about keeping Aki Mall open. Three years ago, I joined the Rise Up Change Initiative team to build teacher leadership, set 90-day goals, and refine our instructional focus. For the past two years, our team has spent time and intensive training in Oklahoma City through the UVA program, focused on data-driven instruction. At first, I joined as a

123conscientious objector. I had spoken to teachers from other campuses who had not seen the results they hoped for and wanted to represent those doing the daily work in classrooms. But after my experience in Oklahoma, I began to believe that our staff had the heart, skill, and determination to make meaningful changes for our students. And I stand here today proud to say we are doing exactly what this district has charged us to do. We are rising. Our test scores have increased each year. Our students are rebuilding their grit and according to the panorama data, they are finding a place where they truly belong. But change doesn't happen in a vacuum. Growth doesn't happen by chance. It happens because of people with a shared vision and a common goal. At Akimol, we have the right people at

124the right time with the right attitude to make lasting change, a change that has already begun. Our staff has embraced hard work, our students are showing resilience, and our community is rallying around us. You cannot simply pick us up and recreate what we have somewhere else. This has taken years of dedication, perseverance, and heart to build. To suggest it can be easily replaced is to underestimate the people who make Hockey Mall what it is. Superintendent Tenius and the team governing board, I ask that you give us a chance to continue this progress and keep rising. Our next speaker will be Pam Asty. Is Ms. Asti here? Yes. Who will be followed by Sarah Price. Good evening. By closing the Kalina Elementary, you are closing one half of a shared campus that can provide opportunities for

125shared costs, services, and staffing resources with Centennial Middle School. The campus is completely integrated, including the parking lot, play areas, ball field, security fencing. The property is not a good candidate for one of the committee's proposed future uses outside of the district without significant capital investment. This is poor fiscal management. The campus is located in the center of a neighborhood. It is a neighborhood school. Closing the school goes against the principles laid out in the committee's original guiding principles. The original plan has already been altered. It appears that the board only is paying attention to the parents who are featured on the local news or shout the loudest. This has eroded the trust of the community in the ability of the district. to process the public's commitment in an unbiased manner. This has also created

126a lack of transparency for the decision-making process. I request the board to publish a fact sheet summarizing the financial data and rationale as to why each school has been chosen to close or remain open, similar to the M&O Override fact sheet. A quick reference guide accessible to the public without having to watch hours of committee and board meetings with bad and missing sound would help restore transparency. to this process. Please include the additional data and rationale that was used to make the changes to the original plan. Also, for the future or final recommendations, please provide easy, accessible financial data and rationale to support the action for each school, not just the list. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Asty. Our next speaker will be Sarah Price, who will be followed by Katrina Bourbon. Hello, my name

127is Sarah Price and I teach eighth grade science here at Hockey Mall and I came here tonight to remind this board that there are two middle schools that are on this list to close. The reason I say remind you is because in all of these conversations that we've watched and listened to you guys have not mentioned the middle schools hardly at all. This elementary school has this program and this elementary school has this one. But what about the middle schools? Middle school is three years, yes, but every day I work with these students who are navigating who they are, where they fit into the world, and... big emotions and relationships. Middle school years shape who these students will become, their confidence, motivation, and future successes. And although I understand Superintendent Tenius does not want to

128discuss individual schools, I think that we all know that not every middle school experience is equal. The brave current and former students of Aki Mall have come up here and shared their stories with you and their voices tell the real truth and that is that Aki Mall matters. The Kyrene Promise welcoming inclusive and rigorous learning environments where students feel empowered and prepared to make meaningful impacts is not just from kindergarten to fifth grade. It extends to eighth grade. ACIMOL delivers on that promise and the evidence is overwhelming. If our goal in this district is to produce kids that are models of the Kyrene kid, then middle schools must be a part of this conversation. My background is in adolescent psychology, not traditional education. But Principal McCarthy took a chance hiring me because she knew I

129would put our students and their needs first because she had a vision about this school. Through her intentional leadership and the culture that she's built, Principal McCarthy has made Aki Mall a space where adolescents have the guidance, support, and challenges that they need to grow into confident, capable young people. Our students are counting on you guys to not forget them in the middle. Thank you. Yes, you may speak for you may speak for her yes, and and the next speaker will be miss Heather wick. Thank you Good evening members of the board Her name is Katrina Brevin and she's a Lagos parent of two. She's one in second grade and the other in fifth grade. Both of our girls have been in the dual language program at Lagos since preschool. And tonight she wanted to

130express her full support for the Lakewood proposal that has been submitted. It reflects a thoughtful and community-centered solution that keeps the best interest of our students and families at heart. However, I want to be equally clear. She wants to be clear. that if the decision remains to move the dual language program to Centennial, her family will not continue in the program. And in fact, they will leave Kyrene School District altogether. We chose Kyrene specifically of the strength and promise of its dual language program. Relocating it to Centennial would create unnecessary disruption and distance for family like ours who have been deeply invested in this pathway. The proposed change feels misaligned with the values of the accessibility and consistency that have made this program so successful. Please know this decision impacts not just data points or

131enrollment numbers, it impacts real families, students, and their educational continuity. I urge you to strongly consider the Lakewood proposal as the best option for maintaining the integrity of the dual language program and keeping our Kyrene families engaged and supported. Thank you for your time and listening to the voices of the family and the decisions affected most. Thank you to Ms. Bourbon, wherever she is. And our next speaker will be Ms. Heather Wick, who will be followed by Brandon Kins. Good evening board. Thank you so much for being a part of our community this evening and coming here to listen to our concerns. I am a Lakewood resident and also in support of this Lakewood proposal. This helps keep continuity for our students. It helps our community remain close. And I think that it will offer

132some Some new options and maybe a little bit more movement in the future and I hope that you will consider this option Thank you Thank You miss wick our next speaker will be Brandon King who'll be followed by Larry Schroeder Hello, board members. Last week, I presented the Lakewood proposal to you guys. I'm happy to hear some support for it. What it was doing was formally requesting an actual option B for this side of the community. For anyone that hasn't heard that, what we're requesting is a formal drawing that shows one central middle school on the west-hand side utilizing the Australia campus as a sixth-grade campus. It also included asking for an English and Spanish pathway at Lagos, and the board still stands by that proposal. Now, tonight, I didn't get to speak for myself

133last time. Tonight, I want to speak actually as a parent to you guys, and I want to walk you through what your current proposals mean for my daughter and other Lakewood children just like her. So, she's going to start off at kindergarten, right? Starts at Lagos, makes friends, that's first grade. Coming into first grade, Spanish isn't working for her, right? But there's no English pathway there, so she goes off to Estrella. That's her second school, second friend group she has to make. Now, going into third grade, you're going to split Estrella again. Lakewood kids are going to have to go to Monte Vista, right? That is her third school, third friend group she's going to have to make. Forward to sixth grade, her classmates are going to go to Altadena. However, we're zoned for Centennial

134because we're in Lakewood, so now you're going to go to a fourth school. fourth friend group she'd have to make. Move on to high school majority of Centennial feeds into Mountain Point. She's gonna go to DV It's five schools five times. She's having to start over and we've never moved Thing is you didn't have to do this isn't about capacity you have the space here to do this This happens because you chose to zone it that way Lagos needs both pathways We need one central middle school in the West you can choose a path where kids grow with their neighbors from K through 12 Right now you've given us two versions of the same plant both closing Akimel both keeping the same two middles. That's not a choice. That's like asking us to pick our

135least favorite shade of the same exact color. You have a board meeting in a few days. You just mentioned you're not going to vote on this. I strongly ask you to give us a chance so the rest of the community can talk about this. Our next speaker will be Larry Schroeder, who will be followed by Kim Bryant. Good evening. I want to thank you for having the opportunity to speak to you today. This is my son, Matthew, and I'm the bigger version of him. Now, when I grew up, you know, a long time ago, I barely made it through school. Matthew, we learned when he was about three years old that he has some special needs. He's got ADHD, and, you know, a lot of people think that's a disease, but he's got special tools

136in his toolbox that a lot of other people don't have. and it was the Kyrene School District, and particularly the extraordinary leadership and administration that is here. They truly love these kids. I mean, you feel it as a parent. You feel it as a kid. I wouldn't have been able to come up here and speak like both my children did. I couldn't even say trick-or-treat when I was that age. So I didn't have that. So I learned. Just a few years ago that I have ADHD too. I don't even know how I made it but I want you to know that Those programs need to survive now. I understand that this is a business decision. That is not an easy one to make I Don't want to do that. But the thing is is that

137I want to applaud This that students here for the spirit that they have in the love that they have for the school now I'm sorry, but I have to say this, that your superintendent came in this afternoon, saw the decorations that they put in, and ran around here like a child and popped all the balloons. You know, this is something that these kids wanted to, and parents, and PTO, wanted to share their voice. And you took that away. And we're sorry about keeping you awake, Mr. Fedrick. Thank you, Mr. Schroeder. Our next speaker will be Kim Bryant. Is Ms. Bryant here? Oh, she had to leave. All right. Well, then, it is 8.20. We're going to get our next speaker. Our next speaker will be Ms. Bailey Eisenberg. Good evening, Superintendent Tenius, members of the

138board, and the Kyrene community. First, I do want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you and our Long-Range Planning Committee for your time, dedication, and commitment to what's truly an impossible task. Your efforts do not go unnoticed. Thank you. My name is Bailey Eisenberg. I'm currently a teacher at Estrella and I've proudly served in Kyrene for 13 years I am a former Kyrene kid a member of kea and I've served on a variety of committees across the district I'm here tonight because I believe it's important for my students to see that doing what's right is not always easy But it's still worth doing Estrella has been my home for the past decade. I've worked with incredible students, families, and colleagues, many who have become my lifelong friends. The thought of closing Estrella along

139with other schools in our district is truly heartbreaking, but the challenges we're facing are not new. For years, teachers have been feeling the strain of limited resources, growing class sizes, and increasing demands. We've seen cuts across the board while expectations continue to rise on our end. Our site has operated with a half-time assistant principal for years, even as student needs have continued to grow. Through my involvement in various district committees, I've seen firsthand how deeply these issues are impacting our schools and our staff. With that, I understand that closing schools, while an incredibly difficult decision, is a necessary step to keep our district strong. We cannot afford further cuts to our classrooms. I joined Kyrene to be a part of a thriving educational community, and I want that to continue for our current students and

140for all the generations to come. No school wants it to be their school. that is closing. That much is clear from all the passion that has been expressed across our district here the past few months. Standing here while my school is on the list is inexplicably difficult. But in the end, we are one team. Great educators, caring staff, and strong programs will be found at every Kyrene school. I can assure you that no matter what building our students will walk into, they will be greeted with open arms and unwavering support. We now have the opportunity to shape new communities and make new connections during this very uncertain time. Delaying the inevitable risks the very core of what makes our district exceptional, which is our people. Let's move forward with unity, courage, and please focus on

141what's best for our students. Let's not forget they're watching. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Eisenberg. We're at the 8.30 mark, so we're going to take a very short recess and come back shortly. Start our hearing back up. We're going to start our hearing back up. We are reconvening our hearing. It is 8.43 p.m. Our first speaker, or our next speaker, I should say, is going to be Ms. Stacey Forget, who will be followed by Sarah King. I'm a proud product of Kyrene. I went to Sierra and Occamall back when the district was expanding and adding Estrella. Now I'm a parent of a Kyrene student and a public school teacher at Desert Vista, where I'll eventually see many of these kids in my own classroom. I've been teaching for 16 years, and I have a deep

142investment in this community as an educator, a parent, and someone who grew up here. I chose to bring my kids back to Kyrene because I believe in this district, in the teachers, the community, and the values it stands for. As Sierra, Estrella, and other schools merge, my main question to the board and district leadership is this. How will site and district leadership make sure this merger doesn't become us versus them, but instead one strong, united community? How will inclusion and belonging be reinforced and monitored so every teacher, staff member, student, and family, especially those from the closed campuses, not only feel supported during this change, but have a real voice in shaping their new homeschool? And how will the traditions, identities, and cultures of each school be brought together to build something new that everyone

143can feel proud of? I also want to say I understand that school closures are necessary. I support the district in making those hard decisions, but I hope we can start to shift the community conversation towards how we can make these transitions as smooth as possible for our kids. Continuing to fight for this school or that school doesn't keep the focus where it should be, and that's what's best for students. The goal of all of this is to provide more for the kids, not for our buildings. Kids are resilient. They can adjust and adapt, sometimes better than the adults. I see it every single day in my own classroom. So let's help them do that. Let's model collaboration, empathy, and optimism so they feel supported every step of the way. At the end of the day,

144this is about our people and doing what's best for the kids. Let's make sure every student, teacher, and family feels seen, supported, and proud to call Kyrene home. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Faget. Our next speaker will be Sarah King, who will be followed by Michelle Kay. Yes, you may read her statement. Thank you. Hers is super short here, so I won't take too long. My name is Sarah. I'm the parent of a Kyrene Elementary school student. We live in the Lakewood neighborhood, not far from where we are now. The Lakewood HOA and community have come together and provided an alternate plan that would keep the kids in this community together. This proposal will not only increase enrollment at Lagos, but it will also help keep Akima open. I ask the board to review and

145approve this option so that we have the opportunity to keep our kids and community together. Thank you to Ms. King. Our next speaker will be Michelle Kay. Now it actually is Michelle Kaye. Who will be followed by Marley Organ. Good evening, President Welch and board members. I'm here as a Kalina parent to state that I'm in favor of the Lakewood proposal and what it could potentially open up for Kalina students. We are one of the open enrollment families who come in down 48th Street in the caravan of Kyrene cars every single day. We did not choose for our girls just to go to Kyrene. We chose for our girls to attend specific schools within Kyrene. There is a difference. As of right now, both of the schools we had chosen are closing. Kalina for elementary

146and Ocumal for middle. Why Akimala and not CMS, even though Kalina's big sister's right next door? I'm a former employee and had supported both schools during my 10 years in the district, and for me, the choice came down to staff. You cannot have consistency of expectations from year to year when there is a revolving door of teachers. You cannot build trust with families when there are more and more unfamiliar faces every year. Doesn't that say something about a school when staff chooses not to stay long? You can't fix it by bringing in more new staff. who, not to mention, may have a slight chip on their shoulder from being required to move campuses without a real logical explanation. The Akimol shirts don't lie. The Pitt don't quit. They're still here from when I worked here.

147The decisions being made should reflect what Kyrene families and staff have already been telling you for years. The numbers of families who seek Akimaw and Kalina schools out, as well as the number of teachers who have chosen to stay at these schools, is absolutely impressive. That should be everything you need to accept the Lakewood proposal and keep Akimaw open. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Kaye. Our next speaker is Marlee Organ, who will be followed by Laura Preffling. If you have any handouts, you can give those to our board secretary. She'll make sure everybody gets copies. Thank you. Good evening, board members, administrators, faculty, and fellow heartbroken families in our community. For the record. I am not a public speaker. The only thing fueling me to be up here and speaking is the lioness mom in

148me speaking from the heart on behalf of my cubs, my twins, who are on the spectrum and in the CCD special education program at Millennial. How can I make you understand? If you've never broken a bone in your body, you can only imagine the pain. you would have from a broken arm. When you finally go through it, you realize it's not just the pain. Now you have to navigate your life entirely differently. You need to cover your arm to shower. You need clothing that can fit over your cast. Eating a simple meal will take twice as long. Driving a car, making a phone call. Everything becomes a nightmare in the blink of an eye. This is how our family operates daily over every little change in routine and every change in scenery. Inside our world,

149my twins love their school, they love their teachers, they love their friends, and they are happy boys. Do you think this happiness just happened overnight? Absolutely not. We have been at Millennial since preschool. The first months of preschool, they spent sitting in the hallway outside the classroom because it was too overwhelming to even step inside. Fast forward five years, they get sad when the weekend rolls around, two-week holidays, and summer breaks, they are an eternity. We matter too. Where do our kids get shuffled in this entire life-changing experience? What about some consideration for us? How about keeping the schools with CCD programs so we don't have to be tormented with starting over again? Take us into consideration Our next speaker is Laura Preffling who will be followed by Anthony Contreras Hello, my name is Laura

150Preffling. I have been with the Kyrene district as a parent for 12 years and I get to have four more I am extremely invested in Kyrene. I have been very loyal to Kyrene. That said, I cannot stay with Kyrene if Lagos' dual language program is routed to Centennial. I'm sure Centennial is a lovely school, and I do not mean any offense, but the numbers side by side don't lie, and there's a reason that most Ahwatukee families that live in the Centennial boundary don't even send their kids there. Sorry, I have some of those side-by-side comparisons. The U.S. News & World Report ranking of Arizona middle schools ranked Centennial as 344. Aki Mall was 176. In 2025, Centennial, only 30% of the students passed the reading section of the state test and only 24% passed the

151math section. That is sad for everyone involved, but it's not the place that I'm going to send my kids. And then just the fact that someone stated it earlier there about 800 students at Aki mall that would be displaced versus 550 that's still a lot of kids to displace, but the math just doesn't make sense so What is the criteria for? Keeping schools opened or closed because I feel like it's become very muddied I'm very confused by it are we keeping our best schools? we're not so far. Are we keeping our worst schools? What all is going into it? And so I ask that you guys maybe share that with the community, be a little more transparent in that. So thank you. Our next speaker will be Antoine Antoine Contreras, who will be followed by

152Jennifer Tai. Thank you. I'm not good at public speaking either, so bear with me. My name is Anthony Contreras and I'm here today as a concerned Kyrene School District parent of three boys to attend OccuMall, one at Millennial, who hopefully will be here next year. I went to Mountain Point, I went to Centennial, I have lots of Kyrene School Districts we went to, or schools we went to. My oldest son has been Sorry, I'm not good at this. My oldest son's time at Occema has been particularly transformative. With a supportive environment and dedicated staff, he has thrived academically and personally. The school has been meeting all of his needs, and we have been incredibly proud to witness his significant growth and success. His accomplishments in sports, including soccer, championships, he got selected top four for

153the 100-200 4x4 for the conference. Those are memories that I want to continue with my boys. My sixth grader, who has made significant progress. and met most of his goals on his IEP. He has a specific learning disability. Sorry, I get emotional talking about him. I believe this will truly affect him the most. He has grown so much here, the staff, principal, everyone has worked very hard. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Contreras. Our next speaker is Jennifer T., who will be followed by Heidi Halverson. As the daughter of a mother who served as president of Mesa Educators Association for 10 years while Mesa was closing schools, I have some questions about how Kyrene's process compares to what Mesa did. First, there seems to have been little coordination between Tempe Union and Kyrene

154when you're voting to close a middle school that directly feeds into the neighboring high school, especially since Tempe Union might also have to go through closers in the future. Research shows that families choose communities based on a clear progression. That's why district nations wide build elementary, middle, and high schools within the same neighborhoods. Closing Estrella and Ocumal, which are in district line or in direct line to the nearest high school, while not using this same criteria for other elementary schools like those near Pueblo and Centennial directly contradicts each other and are also an opposite of what you're suggesting for Aki Mall. We ask that you help us understand what logic is being used moving forward as these are not aligned. Second Mesa a much larger district never closed this many schools at once. Why rush

155a vote to close so many campuses in a multi-year rollout instead of holding annual votes to close smaller groups, allowing you to see the direct impact before deciding to close more schools? Once schools are closed, you can't go back. Mesa felt this at times and we can benefit from learning not to make the same mistakes. The facts are we need to move slowly and carefully since we never know how charter and private schools enrollments will play out or what financial gains or losses the district will experience as a result of previous closures. Third, demographers justified closing Aki Mall based on location, ignoring enrollment and community population. Mesa never closed a highly enrolled school, not to mention its top enrolled schools. Using geography to justify a decision is not enough. Some of the out-of-family districts choose

156Aki Mall because of its freeway access. And truth is, if students aren't required to attend their boundary schools, you can't accurately project. I have more. but thank you for your time and attention to these critical questions. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Heidi Halverson, who will be followed by Kathy Mindeman. Hello, my name is Heidi Halverson, and you heard from my third grader from Lagos earlier and my sixth grader from Ocumal, and I don't know where they find the courage, but these schools are creating global leaders, and they are a reflection of that. And I'm here today to voice my support for the Lakewood Community Plan. We've talked about the culture at Aki Mall. You feel it when you walk in the door. The students are thriving. They have no idea that these are

157the worst years of people's lives. They never got that memo. We have ridiculously overqualified teachers and staff here, not just doing their teaching mission, but supporting these... students in emotional ways. The administration who leads by example sets the tone in the hallways at pickup in every interaction, every phone call, every email, every can't find my kid off the bus. I'm so sorry about that too. The award-winning programs, test scores, teams, courses, shout out to Mr. Jones for the dual language. It means so much to us. But we have, I want to talk more too about what Lincoln mentioned, the community. We don't dig into that enough. The community has been expressing our support for Aki Mall for years by sending our kids here and making it the only middle school on the west side with

158increasing enrollment. For years we've been speaking this. This didn't happen by chance. It's because the families believe in this school and want to come to this school. It's because parents volunteer, fundraise, support our kids and their classmates and show up for events. It's because we've got the National Junior Honor Society. I don't know if they're still here, but they volunteered to babysit so people's voices could be heard tonight. You can't have a thriving school in this disgustingly underfunded public education system in Arizona, and real talk, it's the truth, without community support. And you can't ask us to take that love somewhere else while our kids suffer through the transition. Can we give it up to the sound engineer? Come on. Every person up and down, bless your heart. Okay, I'm going. All right. Hello. My

159name is Kathy Mindeman. I'm the parent of three kids, two alumni from Akumal, and one current sixth grader who is amazing, and she's embarrassed. Also a proud homeowner in the Lakewood community, and as a parent, I have limited purview into the stats and behind-the-scenes workings. I use chat GPT for a lot of just trying to understand everything. But all I know is that my kid is thriving, her friend group is thriving, and not all schools have this level of success. And I know we're not comparing schools, but we should be because stats matter when we're moving to the area from out of town. And when we're deciding what's important to our family, what do we need to look at? We look at test scores. We look at enrollments, et cetera. So I have a few

160questions, and I hope they might help not only the board's decision-making, but also our community's understanding of the priorities that you're considering when making this important decision. So with Occamal earning a PBIS Level 4 rating since 2024, yes, it's the highest recognition for positive school culture. What factors do you see as driving that success, and how might these be preserved in any future plans? With Aki Mall's strong teacher retention and stable leadership, what lessons can we take from that consistency when planning for district-wide sustainability? As Aki Mall's curriculum scores and student engagement continue to rise, how can we support that momentum instead of interrupting it? With our dual language program thriving at Aki Mall and giving students bilingual skills that open global opportunities, how do we ensure that access continues for our West Side families?

161in Kyrene. And finally, knowing Occamaw's inclusion programs and efficient transportation routes help serve students of all backgrounds effectively, how do we make sure those strengths are part of the long-term vision? I just have one minor, minor teeny tiny. I want to thank all the parents, volunteers, and community members that our superintendent so lovingly supported with showing our community spirit. Our next speaker this evening is Mr. Greg Reichert, who will be followed by Katherine Schaefer. Thank you. So the revised long-term plan re-zones Lakewood students and, I forget, well, that doesn't make sense, but they'll move three times and continue year after year. So I'm coming from a, I'm a parent of a student in Estrella and one in Ocky Mall. Long-time Lakewood resident, one of the largest communities in. the Kyrene district, how my students would

162be affected or my children would be affected. Australia students transitioned to Sierra, Lakewood students specifically are reassigned to Monta Vista. Then Monta Vista students moved to Altadena, but Lakewood students are sent to Centennial. Finally, Centennial students attend Mountain Point High School and yet Lakewood students are zoned for Desert Vista. Such frequent changes negatively impact their social and emotional well-being as moving to new schools without familiar peers is already challenging. To support their development, the district should ensure Lakewood students remain with their elementary cohort throughout their education. I urge the school district to reconsider the plan to prioritize Lakewood students' social and academic needs. We had a plan for... to minimize disruption and maximize stability for our community by keeping all the middle schools open, moving fifth graders into the middle school, add fifth graders to

163the current bus route, ensure no changes from fifth to eighth grade students and staff, keep all the elementary schools open, connected to middle schools, make it pre-K through fourth grade, bus routes remain the same with potential reductions by increasing student pickups, and closing standalone elementary schools as needed. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Rector. Our next speaker is Katherine Schaefer, who will be followed by Mark Wulff. I think I'm good. Am I tall enough? My name is Katherine Schaefer, a Lagos and Ocumal parent and Lakewood resident, and I want to start by thanking you for your focus on protecting the dual language program. It's clear that you care deeply about keeping it strong in Kyrene, and we appreciate that. While K-5 dual language has received attention and protection, grades 6-8 have been largely overlooked, leaving the

164middle school program vulnerable. With the two maps you've drawn, what have you done to protect the dual language in middle school? The answer is nothing. Kyrene isn't just an elementary district. Families who enter the program at Lagos aren't just thinking about kindergarten. They're looking ahead, and for years they didn't see a strong, reliable middle school path. Many families left Kyrene because there wasn't a plan on the west side. That all began to change when Principal McCarthy joined Akimol. Her leadership and focus on dual language has been instrumental in rebuilding trust and strengthening the dual language program. She has a deep knowledge of how the program works, how to support the teachers, and a strong connection with Principal Williams at Lagos. Families are regaining that confidence and seeing Akimol as a viable path for their children

165to continue thriving in dual language in Kyrene. This progress also heavily depends on Aki Mall's proximity to Lagos. Keeping the schools close allows family to maintain a strong community connection and supports a cohesive dual language education K-8. Closing Aki Mall would disrupt all of this. The building, the location, and the leadership are all critical to the program's success. Remove any one of these elements and the program long-term will certainly fail. We know this. Protecting K-5 without protecting these 6th through 8th graders is not enough. The program only works when the entire path is strong. I stand behind the Lakewood plan to keep Aki Mall open. Thank you, Ms. Schaefer. Our next speaker is Mark Wolf, who will be followed by Elaine Peters. My name is Mark Wolf. My older daughter attended Mariposa and Pueblo my

166younger daughter is a first grader at Mariposa. Tonight I wanted to talk about the importance of the PTO at a school. I'd like to ensure that we aren't taking for granted the service that a PTO provides to the schools in the Kyrene district. I had the privilege of serving as treasurer and president at the Pueblo PTO. Creating a strong PTO requires community of dedicated parents with the ability to volunteer their time. A strong PTO brings in tens of thousands of dollars to a school to fill in funding gaps that would otherwise remain open. Often it is the PTO that is both running the fundraisers and donating a lot of the funds. Let's just say when I ran the Step It Up fundraiser, I made sure that we... that we met the threshold to receive the

16750% of the funds. PTOs promote the tax credit donations. They recruit volunteers for extracurricular events and provide in-school services. As you've heard from our PTO president earlier today, Mayor Posa's PTO is currently canvassing the district residents to support the override and promoting the importance of the override on social media. These are all things that will be lost if we close our school. I urge the board to take note of the PTOs that have been able to organize a response to their schools. and appear at the board meeting to argue for their schools. These are the PTOs that are doing all of the things I described above, the things that are needed by our schools and frankly, the district. You've seen the response from Mariposa and other schools. I urge the board to take this as

168another data point to assess the validity of the plan. I'm left wondering why we would close the schools that support our district the most and are attracting students into the districts. if you've heard twice tonight mariposa the the neighborhood in mariposa has a pipeline of young students who are young children who want to be students at mariposa why would you make the problem worse thank you thank you mr wolf our next speaker will be elaine peters who followed by stephen cordell is miss peters here all right if miss peters is not here we'll be going to stephen cordell mr cordell is going to be followed by michaela phillips Good evening board. I actually had to say that in my head a bunch of times. I kept wanting to say good morning when I was rehearsing

169this. You started off with Mr. Rogers, which was really great. I grew up with Mr. Rogers back in the day, and I believe he started off with, what a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Well, today was a really good day for you guys to see this community and this school. Okay, well. This school means so much just these kids the community and the staff members, but I bring a special viewpoint from my little family here I'm the only one of my family's personally affected by all the changes you guys got to make So my son goes to clean up my daughter goes here to Aki and my very beautiful and very very very Strong wife who's pregnant is right here what happens to work here at Aki just so we're all so clear This is

170me speaking not her I was a Kyrene kid back in the day. Let's just say the early 90s instead of the late 80s. It sounds a lot better. I mean, I grew up playing in those baseball fields. I actually brought a little picture of me back in 1996. playing over there. So yeah, okay, the 90s, it happened. Well, we've all seen what this school can bring to like the community and everyone. Like we've all heard the kids speak. Like there's nothing new that I'm going to say that you guys haven't heard 50 times already from 50 different voices. But I do want to highlight that this is the center of this community, is this school. These kids want to be here and they want to thrive here. I really hope that we will. find a

171decision that helps keep this going. This is not something that's normal at other schools, right? Like, I don't think about going back to my middle school, you know, back in, or even my high school, but there's kids here that came back from college just to come speak to you. This is not normal. This is abnormal, but in a perfect way. So I really hope that in the end, you know, you guys will do what's best for our kids and take a step back. and think about how we can keep this open. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Michaela Phelps, who will be followed by Catherine Peters. I'm scared, sorry. Hello, my name is Michaela Phelps. I'm an instructional assistant in the CCD classroom here at Occamaw. I feel it's my duty to, sorry, stand

172up here. I'm not good at public speaking, my bad. And advocate for my students. I also want to mention... that I am a student at ASU. About six months ago, I changed my major to elementary education with a certificate in special education, all because of the incredible experience I've had working here. My job, the students, and the staff around me have truly inspired me to pursue my future in education. The support from the teachers and admin at Ocumal is unlike anything I've seen, but stands out the most. But what stands out the most is our commitment to inclusion and advocacy. Here, our SCCD and general education students know each other. They interact, learn, and grow together. Every student is included in school events. And every need is accommodated because that's who we are as a

173campus. Sorry, it just means a lot to me. If you close our school, you're not just shutting down a building, you're taking away a community that embraces diversity, celebrates inclusion, and supports every student and staff member. You're moving students who have routines. and set schedules that depend on their support at school from teachers, staff, and even student best buddies who they know and are used to. I want to leave with this question in mind. Do you really believe that splitting our campus will preserve the culture of acceptance we've worked so hard to build? Please rethink your choice and put our students first. Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Phelps. Our next speaker is Catherine Peters, who will be followed by Erica Seymour. He's good, isn't he? Yes. Hello again, and good evening. My name

174is Catherine Peters. I'm a former Kyrene student and a current Kyrene parent. I'm here proudly representing Kyrene Del Millenio. Millenio is the biggest, newest elementary building in the Kyrene district. Opened in 2000, it recently had a new roof and HVAC upgrade. Our school is in close proximity to a police substation, which gives me peace of mind if we should ever find the school in an emergency. With a late start and location, Millennial has great traffic flow, not interfering with the two other alternative schools just down the street. If we were to merge with another school, we would already make a congested traffic situation at the new school a headache. Also, we would be combining two student bodies into a smaller building. When it comes to repurposing Millennial as a gifted academy, we would be underutilizing

175this wonderful building. Millennial campus is outlined with enough room to have 832 students, which if we bring in a gifted academy, it would only bring 500 students, which would only have the school at 60% capacity, only an 8% difference currently. President Walsh and Vice President Nelson took the time to visit Millennial during their many school tours. President Walsh's first question to Principal Lamp, can I see the famous falcon nest? I believe this is a unique, shining star of our Millennial family. More than just an indoor recess alternative open to all students, the falcon's nest is run by a former self-contained autism teacher with advanced skill set. Its main purpose started out as a safe place for students who cannot spend a lot of time outdoors due to health, allergy, or sensory restrictions. It then developed

176into an opportunity for all students to work with our certified teacher to improve social skills to help them learn how to manage their emotions. My daughter has no outdoor restrictions and chooses to go to the falcons nest often. I feel this program may have to go away if moved to another smaller building. In closing, please don't close Millennial. Our falcons soar high. I don't want to have to explain to my kindergartner that she will have to start over in a new school next year for first grade. Thank you all so much and go falcons. Thank you, Ms. Peters. Our next speaker will be Erica Seymour, who will be followed by Krista Jolkowski. Good evening, or good night, because it's really late. My name is Erica Seymour, and I'm a teacher at Millennial. Being part of

177the Millennial family has been very special to me, and everybody in staff. Millennial is a big part of our hearts, for sure. Millennial is a special place for... anyone who's ever been on our campus. When we walk into Millennial, you feel inclusive and welcome. Our school has an amazing culture and it's diverse. Students and staff and families feel welcome. They feel they belong. And we always say, we belong here in all of our announcements. And students word those announcements every single day. And it's run by our school counselor. And students just know word for word every morning. And they know they feel like they belong there. At Millennial, we have amazing staff and teachers and admins who go above and beyond of our staff and our students and families. Our admins even know students by

178name, teachers we know students and families by name. We have a wonderful community and we want to continue sharing those wonderful things with others and wonderful things that we do at Millennial. And please, Consider keeping Millennial open. We believe in our kids, and they're really happy every day to come to our school. Thank you for your time, and have a good night. Thank you, Ms. Seymour. Our next speaker is Krista Jelczkowski, who will be followed by Kaitlyn Murphy. When thinking about what I wanted to say tonight, I first thought I would go hard with data and facts, but at this point I think you've heard it all. I don't think that I have anything more to bring to the table. So instead I thought I would share a piece of my story. It's not any

179more profound or any more unique than anybody else in this room or any of these families, but our stories all matter and our journeys matter. Four years ago, my daughters lost their father. And if it wasn't for, I wrote something and it's not even working. I can't read it. If it wasn't for the stability that I gained at Australia mostly because it was four years ago and now at Aki Mall, I don't know that I would be able to A, stand before you today or actually have a sense of safety and security in my life. We were in such chaos and crisis and the staff. the culture, they rescued us and they came to our aid. And so for us to be here today to fight for our schools, it's because it was more than

180just, it's more than just those dots. And I know people keep saying that and I don't mean to be, I don't mean to beat a dead horse here, but I look at these girls today and they are, this one's bounding around and thriving and this one is as well. And I'm teaching them something different about advocacy. And so thank you for letting us speak to you today. I've been at like almost every single board meeting trying to amp myself up for having this conversation with you. So I'm proud of myself right now. And to all the teachers that have impacted my kids. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Joukowsky. Our next speaker will be Caitlin Murphy, who will be followed by Belinda Marshall. Hi, I'm Caitlin Murphy. I hate this. I hate public speaking and everything,

181but everyone has brought up such wonderful points tonight, and it's, you know, some of them you've heard a million times, but I think it's really important. So you've probably already heard this one a million times, too. So good evening, board members. My name's Caitlin. I have two daughters at Lagos and Aki Mall. Both of them actually spoke tonight, which I was so proud of. My daughter here is... Really trying to put the best buddies and the CCD program at Aki Mall out there because it's not really being talked about and it's super important. And I just got to meet the wonderful ladies who run that program and God bless them because they're angels. All the teachers here are and especially the principal and Mr. Jones. As you can see, Aki is home to incredible students,

182dedicated staff, and a truly unmatched community. I believe Aki Mall Middle School should remain open. I urge you to consider the many reasons why. First, Aki Mall is one of the highest enrolled schools in the district with nearly 900 students. What's even more telling is that over 200 of those students come from out of district, and nearly 200 more are in district transfers. These numbers speak volumes. Families are actively choosing Aki Mall over other schools, even when it's not their assigned campus. Aki Mall runs like a well-oiled machine. Our academic performance is strong, and we offer award-winning programs that support both student success and engagement. These programs don't just win recognition. They create opportunities and inspire growth. Our location is also ideal, situated right off the highway. Aki Mall is both accessible and convenient for

183families across the area. There was a proposed option to keep five middle schools open even though the demographer didn't didn't like it He gave his opinion when his job is just to give facts that plan would allow Aki mall to continue serving its students and community I respectfully ask that you please consider that option. Thank you for your time Thank You miss Murphy our next speaker will be Belinda Russell. All right. Good evening And thank you to the Aki mall community for such a warm welcome tonight My name is Belinda Russell, a Marada parent and advocate for the Kyrene's district long-term success. I want to take an opportunity to talk to call on our state legislature to fund all Arizona learners transparently and equally. At the KMS hearing, I spoke about the need to pause

184implementation of middle school closures, specifically to allow the sixth graders whose early education was disrupted by COVID, the most disrupted learning period in modern history, to complete their eighth grade year where they began. Research confirms that the COVID cohort who entered kindergarten in 2021 remains one of the most academically and emotionally affected students in U.S. history. The CDC also reports higher anxiety, attention challenges, and social regression among this age group, making trauma-informed transitions essential. Pausing middle school closures isn't about resisting change. It's about implementing it responsibly. It allows this cohort to finish eighth grade in stable, familiar environments while the district carefully plans the next phase. I urge the Office of the Superintendent to take a visible leadership role in the pre-planning phase, clearly communicating how students and staff will remain the focus of every

185transition. Families need to understand not just what will change post the vote in December, but how the district will protect relationships, preserve teacher stability, and ensure continuity of learning. Kyrene has always prided itself on being a community of care by phasing implementation thoughtfully, leading transparently, and putting students, staff, and programming first, we can demonstrate that even in times of change, Kyrene's strength is in its humanity. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kate Dowd. Ms. Dowd, she must have gotten back in the stack. All right. We've got one more. Our next speaker then will be Kristen Reichard. Thank you. All right. What if I told you I have a plan that does the least amount of change, the least amount of chaos for all of our families and staff? I'm suggesting that you keep all your

186middle schools open. Move your fifth graders into those middle schools and then move all the elementary students to the elementary that connects there You can keep all your boundaries the same you can keep all your bus routes the same you move those fifth graders Onto the middle school bus helping to grow the students on that route And then you have all the elementary students. You can pick up more students on your way to grow those bus routes. No change for fifth through eighth grade students. They get to keep their location in middle school. And you have your preschool through fourth graders that are right next door. Obviously, the middle school works for parents, so elementary should work as well. And the benefits of having this is that larger parking lots for events expand. sports fields,

187flexible space for if there's an emergency, you can move quickly between locations for safety, simplifies drop off pickup and after school activities for families to come to one location to get both their kids if they have elementary and middle school students. And you can close as many single site schools as you need. And with that, you would have no construction next to one of your co schools. And this is the least amount of change, and you can still get everything you need financially solved. So there's my idea. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Riker. That was the last of the blue cards that I have. Are there any other speakers that wish to address the board? Yes, please. My name is Christina Sherlock. I'm the CCD teacher here at Aki Mall. I came here about six

188years ago. The program was not what it is today. Thanks to the support of the admin here, I came and said what I wanted to do, and the admin said go for it, and the teachers have been so supportive. I've never worked with such. an amazing group of teachers. They just care for my children as much as I care for my children. That was one of my instructional assistants, obviously. She cares. And we've literally put our blood, sweat, and tears into this program. And I... Can't imagine moving it kids. Yes are resilient my kids not so much Kids at other schools special needs children. They need structure and other I get Millennials kids I get Australia's kids all special needs children. They need structure. You've got to slow this down You're going way too fast,

189and you just you have to rethink this plan So that's just really what I have to say. Thank you. Yes, another speaker, please. So I did not plan to speak tonight. I did not write a speech. I can just say your name for the record as well. I'm Jennifer Nelson. Thank you. I'm the CCD teacher at Millennial. I've had pleasure of having actually Mr. Walsh and Ms. Nelson in my classroom this school year. Everybody wants their school open. I mean, nobody wants their school to be closed. I can tell you every great thing about Millennial and why it should stay open, and it's going to be no different than anybody else in this room that's from a different school. The one thing that we're not hearing a lot of information about is CCD students and

190where they're going, and it's actually been pretty silent on CCD. I did see that there was an updated FAQ that says no decisions will be made for self-contained programs until after votes. the voting is done, but how can you vote on schools without knowing where these programs are going? A lot of the schools that you're closing have CCD programs. Each of these programs are busting at the seams. We're all over capacity for students right now, and they can't just be placed in random classrooms. I mean, we have specialized needs that need specialized classrooms. We need to be equipped for meeting the needs of our students. parents and teachers have said of special needs students, they... they need the structure, they need the continuity. Our students spend so much time working on social skills and things

191like that, so with the current plan, Millennial is being absorbed by Esperanza, but what about CCD? Are we gonna send our CCD students to Esperanza, who already has self-contained programs, or are those students gonna be separated from the peers that they've been with for the last several years? And so I think that having a plan on where these students are going is important to know before you vote, not after. Thank you, Ms. Nelson. Any other public speakers this evening? Any other speakers? All right, well, again, I want to thank everyone for being here tonight. Again, this is the second of our seven hearings, so we appreciate the feedback we've gotten tonight. We're looking forward to continuing to get feedback over the next several weeks and engage with you and our community. I wish everybody a

192good night. Please continue to follow this process, and we're going to work hard to make sure that we get to the right result here. Thank you. Oh, yeah. And our custodial staff is going to be cleaning up for breakfast in the morning, so we're going to clear out.