Overview
- The unanimous Jan. 14 vote cuts all elementary and junior high media specialist roles, more than 40 teacher positions, and reduces hours for deans and some high school clerks, affecting about 2% of the 5,300‑plus workforce.
- District leaders describe the move as a staffing realignment that preserves a 24:1 class-size target, keeps media centers open, and offers impacted employees access to other vacancies next school year.
- The district says media and technology duties will be combined into a new career literacy position that must meet state and national standards, a consolidation educators warn could dilute services for students.
- Union leaders and committee members who advised on savings say their recommendations were misinterpreted, arguing the cuts will harm programs and do not reflect the intent of their input.
- Higley Unified is weighing options to close a $7.8 million gap with possible board action Jan. 27, and Alhambra Elementary has a Jan. 22 hearing on two proposed campus closures as districts link cuts to enrollment-driven funding declines.