Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 77 No. 6
INSIDE
This Week THE VOICE OF BUSINESS
NEWS...............8
Police seek suspect in domestic violence homicide
www.glendalestar.com
February 4, 2021
Glendale primes for Super Bowl BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
While the rest of the country focuses on Super Bowl LV, where veteran Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers will duel rising superstar Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa, local leaders are looking far downfield — to when the big game returns to Glendale. Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2023, at State Farm Stadium. This will be the third time the city has hosted the biggest party in sports, with previous Glendale Super Bowls in 2008 and 2015. In 2023, “I think any repeat visitors will be blown away,” said veteran Councilwoman Joyce Clark. “It’s going to look totally different,” City Manager Kevin Phelps said. “Whoever has been to the Super Bowl SEE SUPER
BOWL PAGE 4
Visitors for Super Bowl LVII in 2023 will see a very different Sports and Entertainment District than they saw in 2015, when Glendale last hosted the big game. (Photo courtesy city of Glendale)
Some elementary schools may close BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
FEATURES .... 22 Local bands perform virtual coffeehouse concerts
OPINION..................... 14 BUSINESS.................. 16 SPORTS ...................... 18 FEATURES.................. 22 RELIGION ................... 24 YOUTH........................ 26 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 27
After numerous COVID-19 cases reported among Ironwood High School students, in-person learning at the Glendale campus is on hold. Ironwood students will learn online until Feb. 10. Meanwhile, a board meeting last week set the stage for potential permanent closures of multiple Glendale schools. Due to falling enrollment, the Glendale Elementary School District Governing Board outlined proposed closures of five of the district’s 17 schools in two phases. The first phase would close Melvin E. Sine and Isaac E. Imes schools before the 2021-22 school year, with Coyote Ridge, Desert Garden and Bicentennial North schools closing the following school year.
Facing an $11 million-plus budget deficit, “GESD will ensure financial solvency by providing the community a multi-year process of reorganizing boundaries and repurposing schools by June 2021,” according to a presentation at the Jan. 28 meeting. The board is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4. The main agenda item: “Timelines for Boundary Changes/ School Closures/Repurposing.” Board meetings are held at the district office at 7301 N. 58th Avenue. While attendance is limited due to the pandemic, board meetings are livestreamed at youtube.com/user/glendaleelementary. Comments can be emailed to calltopublic@gesd40.org until noon the day of the meeting. Comments will be read into the record during the “call to the pub-
lic” section of the meeting. GESD board meetings are also scheduled for Feb. 11 and 25. The hottest topic of meetings over the next month is sure to be school “repurposing,” which often translates to “closure.” The reason for potential permanent closure of Glendale elementary schools is a lack of overall growth, with individual school enrollment falling. According to a presentation at the Jan. 28 meeting, GESD total enrollment in 1995 was 10,424, with 13 schools in the district. This year, enrollment is slightly less at 10,326 — even though the district has four more schools than it did 25 years ago. And, according to the presentation, “EnSEE CLASSROOMS PAGE 3