Errors delay closure vote two months

Mar 5, 2010 — The Arizona Daily Sun

Hillary Davis

Mar. 4, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Flagstaff Unified School District's school board is postponing its planned vote on school closures after conceding to some legal problems in the notification of parents.

The delay in a final closure vote is likely to be at least 60 days, as required by state law.

Interim Superintendent Barbara Hickman said that there were some "procedural errors" in the notifications for the recent set of meetings regarding school closures and boundary changes, and the planned vote has been taken off the agenda for the board's March 11 meeting.

Specifically, Hickman said, the notices were required to include reasons for the proposed changes. But they did not.

One parent, attorney Pernell McGuire, contacted the district's lawyer last week with his concerns about the notices' compliance with state law, which requires school districts to give reasons for proposed closures. FUSD's attorney conceded the district needed to restart its notification process.

McGuire said he was concerned not only that the reasons for the proposed closures weren't given, but that the schools targeted for closure weren't specified, preventing parents from forming fully informed ideas and arguments about possible closures.

McGuire has two children at Sinagua, one of the schools named for possible closure and repurposing, and he is active with a parent group rallying to keep Sinagua open as a grades 7-12 secondary school -- as it is currently.

Hickman did not give a new vote date but did say the vote didn't need to be taken by March 11 for schools to close next school year.

State law requires at least 30 days' notice before a board hearing on the closures and 30 more days before a vote.

Hickman said the board will reissue proper notices and will continue to take input.

"Clearly, it benefits the district to make these decisions in a measured speed as possible-- I'm very clearly not saying in a hasty manner," Hickman said. "But clearly, once you have gathered data, you have information, you have reports... and the board has heard from the groups of people they need to hear from, it is certainly respectful to employees and to families to let them know what the district's plans are for next year."

Top district administrators and principals have all recommended FUSD close one high school -- specifically, Sinagua, which would then be repurposed into a large grades 6-8 middle school -- and one of the standalone middle schools, plus South Beaver and either Thomas or Christensen elementaries. The school board had set March 11 as the date to take a vote, likely on this recommendation and possibly other school closure combinations.

Hickman didn't say what the drop-dead deadline would be to make a decision in time for closure next year.

APOLOGIES FOR DELAY Hickman said she knows it's not in the best interests of the community to make school closures too close to the start of when they would take effect.

She echoed that in a written statement to district employees.

"FUSD is aware this delay may place a burden on families who want to make school registration plans and on teachers and other staff who would like certainty regarding next year," she wrote. "The Governing Board is aggressively reviewing options for our next steps and remains committed to making decisions that support an excellent academic program, address building capacity and administrative overhead, and assist the District in formulating and adopting a balanced budget. We will get back to you as soon as possible with a revised plan that we will follow for the remainder of the school year."

The board launched the school closure process last November, just days after the first budget override vote failed at the ballot box. In December, the board agreed to send out generally worded letters to nearly every district family, saying their school might be closed or see boundary changes.

But the board did not name any schools set for closure or even agree to any closure scenarios at that time. The move was meant to buy more time to gather additional information and public input.

In the early stages of closure talks in mid-November, administrators initially floated the idea of voting in early February on which schools to close. That timeline was soon bumped back a month to March 11.

In her statement to FUSD employees, Hickman apologized for the "oversight" that led to the decision being postponed.

"While we're making progress with transparency, are working hard to execute district policies with clarity, and have been tackling many other administrative concerns, we still need to improve our ability to act with precision and accuracy," she said.

State law regarding school closures

Provide written notice to the parents or guardians of all students affected in the school district at least 30 days prior to a public meeting to discuss closing a school within the school district. The notice shall include the reasons for the proposed closure and the time and place of the meeting. The governing board shall fix a time for a public meeting on the proposed closure no less than 30 days before voting in a public meeting to close the school. The school district governing board shall give notice of the time and place of the meeting. At the time and place designated in the notice, the school district governing board shall hear reasons for or against closing the school. The school district governing board is exempt from this paragraph if it is determined by the governing board that the school shall be closed because it poses a danger to the health or safety of the pupils or employees of the school.

ARS 15-341, Section A, Para. 33

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