Overview

• The proposal follows a two-decade enrollment slide from about 20,000 students to roughly 12,000, with a projected $7 million funding loss over five years.
• A nearly 60-member Long-Range Planning Committee spent seven months studying options and voted to recommend closing or repurposing nine of 25 campuses by the 2028–29 school year.
• The plan would repurpose Kyrene del Milenio as a K-5 gifted academy, ending current self-contained gifted programs that many parents want to keep.
• Parents, students and staff packed the Sept. 16–17 board meeting, with more than 100 people protesting outside and over 80 to 90 speakers urging changes to the list.
• District leaders flagged practical strains such as needing 10 to 15 additional bus drivers, and the board president urged exploring alternatives that close fewer schools.