3 Paradise Valley Unified schools to close because of declining enrollment

Nick Sullivan, Arizona Republic
·4 min read
2

Three Paradise Valley Unified School District schools will close in July after years of declining enrollment.

The Paradise Valley Unified board voted 4-1 on Thursday to shutter Sunset Canyon Elementary, Desert Springs Preparatory and Vista Verde Middle schools. A fourth location, Hidden Hills Elementary, was spared after being flagged for potential closure in December.

The board also voted to redraw the boundaries of Desert Trails Elementary, Sonoran Sky Elementary and Greenway Middle schools, sending a handful of those students to new campuses this fall. Changes will take effect at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Where will PV Unified students go?

The closures and reboundary process will impact placements for more than 1,100 students.

  • All 336 Desert Springs students will be split among North Ranch, Liberty and Desert Shadows

  • All 312 Sunset Canyon students will transfer to Eagle Ridge

  • All 451 Vista Verde students will be split between Greenway and Sunrise

  • About 40 Sonoran Sky students will transfer to North Ranch

  • An unknown number of Desert Trails students will be split between Grayhawk and Pinnacle Peak

  • An unknown number of Greenway students will be split between Sunrise and Shea

Families impacted by the closures will receive first priority during open enrollment, Assistant Superintendent Steven Jeras said. The district cannot guarantee every student will get into their school of choice due to capacity limitations.

Why is Paradise Valley Unified closing schools?

A committee had privately been analyzing data and discussing possibilities for months before announcing four schools were in danger of closing during a Dec. 5 meeting. Three of those schools were A-rated by the Arizona Department of Education.

This was a monetary decision, according to district leadership. About 26,000 students are enrolled in Paradise Valley Unified today, down nearly 13% from five years ago, according to data presented to the board. Fewer students means less state funding.

Superintendent Troy Bales cited a declining birthrate, fewer children per household, a lack of affordable housing and a competitive school choice market as factors contributing to the loss of students.

Approximately 85% of district expenditures go toward employee salaries and benefits. Closing three schools will save Paradise Valley Unified roughly $1.8 million by reducing administrative and maintenance costs without cutting jobs, according to district estimates.

The move could also benefit students, board member Nancy Case said.

“It’s very difficult to have all the programs needed and have parents participate and volunteer at the school when there’s so few parents,” Case said. “When you have more students at a school, you have more opportunities for students.”

Bales said he and his Cabinet chose to remove Hidden Hills from the chopping block “to study it a little longer.” It will once again be up for review “in a subsequent year.” The board did not vote on its closure on Thursday.

Community members accuse PV Unified of transparency violation

Community members condemned the district’s actions during a public comment session in which speakers hurled invectives at the board and superintendent, accusing them of purposefully subverting transparency in order to close the schools.

Board member Sandra Christensen, the sole dissenting vote, backed speakers’ allegations that the district committee violated open meeting law by deliberating behind closed doors. She said the community should have been updated much sooner in the process.

“Regardless of whether or not it’s an open meetings law violation, what was the right thing to do? To have these committees open to the public, or to surprise them right before Christmas with this information, and then have people scramble to figure out if they’re going to have a spot for their child in a certain school,” Christensen said.

Legal counsel confirmed the district did not violate policy or statute, Bales said. Because of the allegations, however, the district requested the attorney general review its committee process. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office should release its findings this month, Bales said.

Alexia Isais, an alum-turned seventh grade social studies teacher at Vista Verde, said the vote was premature and short-sighted. Hers is one of two closing schools that receive Title I federal funding due to large populations of low-income students.

“What message are you sending to your students? What message are you sending to your alumni who feel very deeply that a lot of things are going wrong, that a lot of things aren’t transparent, that laws or rules are being broken in the name of secrecy?” Isais said. “This community relies on this school for these underrepresented communities to be just a short walk away from their home.”

Board member Tony Pantera fought back against the notion that student communities will be irrevocably damaged.

“They’re just buildings. The community can exist anywhere,” Pantera said over multiple audience members yelling “shame” at him. “It breaks my heart to close any school. I don’t want to do it, but we have financial responsibilities.”

Reach the reporter at nicholas.sullivan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Paradise Valley Unified to close 3 schools due to declining enrollment