New Dashboard Tracks School Closures In Arizona

New Dashboard Tracks School Closures In Arizona

By Staff Reporter |

A new dashboard tracks the school closures taking place throughout Arizona. 

The dashboard comes from the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a nonpartisan organization which primarily produces research on Arizona’s economy. 

Since January, those schools which have closed or consolidated operated in the Maricopa, Navajo, and Yavapai counties within the following school districts: Cave Creek, Phoenix Elementary, Mesa Unified, Isaac, Edkey Inc. – Sequoia Village, and American Heritage Academy. Schools closed or consolidated included Lone Mountain Elementary School, Desert Sun Academy, Dunbar School, Heard School, George Washington Academy, and American Heritage Academy Camp Verde.

Data for the dashboard came from the Auditor General and Arizona Department of Education.

CSI also published a line graph chart detailing spending, inflation, enrollment and student proficiencies in math and reading from 2010 to 2024. This data came from the Arizona State Library, Arizona Department of Education, and Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

CSI director of policy and research, Glenn Farley, said the dashboard data indicates a pattern of declining public school enrollment rather than indefinite growth. Per this dashboard, school enrollment peaked over a decade ago. 

“Arizona’s public school system was built on the assumption that enrollment would continue to grow indefinitely, but the reality has changed,” said Farley. “With district enrollment peaking over a decade ago and alternative schooling options gaining traction, closures are a natural consequence of a system adjusting to new realities.”

CSI’s dashboard reflects a severe disparity between public school spending, enrollment, and student proficiencies in math and reading. While spending increased by 80 percent since 2010, math and reading proficiencies dropped by 13 and nine percent, respectively, and enrollment dropped by one percent. 

Spending far outpaced inflation, growing at over twice the rate: while spending increased by 80 percent, though inflation increased by only 36 percent. 

CSI also found that the school-aged population departed from the total population trend around 2020 due to demographic changes. Combined enrollment in public kindergarten programs declined 13 percent since the 2010-11 school year, while total public school enrollment grew three percent. 

The state’s school choice program, the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, grew to over 87,200 students as of Monday. 

CSI clarified that demographic decline wasn’t the sole reason for changes in the school-aged population. CSI reported that charter school enrollment nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022, 55 percent of surveyed private schools experienced enrollment growth in the 2021 to 2022 school year, and homeschooling grew from two to 11 percent of the population during the pandemic (though that number dropped to around six percent in recent years). 

An accompanying CSI report declared the disparities in funding, enrollment, and outcomes were signs of disconnect with the current state of enrollment and capacity. 

“Charter, private, and home schools have continued growing, but Arizona’s district public school enrollment peaked over a decade ago,” read the CSI report. “A massive injection of new funding and resources over the past few years has led to significant new spending and expansion by these schools, though, which are now having to deal with the consequences of this disconnect between enrollment and capacity.”

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State Representative Chavez: Teachers Unions Have Gone Too Far With School Closures

State Representative Chavez: Teachers Unions Have Gone Too Far With School Closures

By Corinne Murdock |

After nearly two years of ever-changing pandemic protocols, it appears that some members of the Democratic Party and teachers unions disagree with remote learning as a viable mitigative strategy for COVID-19. State Representative César Chávez (D-Maryvale) commended Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s insistence that “enough is enough” with distance learning for K-12.

“Mayor Lightfoot’s statement is commendable,” wrote Chávez. “We have wedged a gap within a generation of children that might never obtain the lost curriculum due to the pandemic. We need to stop politicizing this situation, roll up our sleeves, and get these kids back in school.”

Chávez’s commentary provoked Arizona Education Association (AEA) President Joe Thomas to ask, “Was your account hacked?” Thomas has been one of the principal activists pushing for remote learning coming off of the holidays. As AZ Free News reported, Thomas was one of the individuals responsible for launching the RedforEd movement. 

Chávez joined the likes of Governor Doug Ducey with his stance on remote education. Following the organized push by teachers unions to close schools, Ducey pledged that in-person education would continue for all of Arizona. To back his promise, Ducey announced that families could receive up to $7,000 if their child’s school faces unexpected closures.

For that, former state representative and current attorney general candidate Diego Rodriguez called Ducey “the worst governor in Arizona history.” It appears that Chávez wouldn’t be at odds only with his former colleague — other Arizona Democrats signaled support for teachers demanding remote learning.

State Representative Mitzi Epstein (D-Ahwatukee) asserted that she supported school closures; the Arizona House Democrats agreed with her remarks. State Representative Kelli Butler (D-Paradise Valley) excoriated Ducey for “punishing” schools if they decided to close due to COVID-19 outbreaks. 

State Representatives Athena Salmon (D-Tempe) and Andrea Dalessandro (D-Sahuarita) insisted that teachers have “safe environments” in which to teach. Likewise, State Senator Juan Mendez (D-Tempe) retweeted commentary criticizing Ducey for jeopardizing children. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.