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MYSTERY DEEPENS
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
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Senate bill would force TU, Kyrene to merge BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor AND HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services
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@AhwatukeeFN |
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he two school districts serving Ahwatukee would be forced to become one in as little as five years under a bill that was abruptly revived last week and approved by the State Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill, which now goes to the full Senate for a vote, would force Tempe Union and Kyrene school districts – along with 198 others in Arizona – to consolidate by 2024. Tempe Elementary could conceivably be added to a Tempe Union-Kyrene consolidation – creating a district with more than 40,000 students.
With Republican lawmakers saying too much money is wasted on duplication, the consolidations could occur without voter approval. But HB 2139, approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 6-3 party-line vote, does not stop there. It would require every school board in the state to annually determine how much money could be saved by not just unification but also by consolidation with other adjacent districts. In fact, it spells out that in the smaller population counties, those with just three supervisors, there could be no more than three school districts. Most counties with five supervisors could have up to seven districts; Maricopa County could have no more than 20. Apache Junction Republican Rep. John Fillmore’s bill provides a carrot for governing
Residents mounting protest against Quik Trip plan BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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n effort by two board members of the Foothills Paseo II HOA to drum up opposition to a Quik Trip service station planned near their community may be in vain, but they and other residents aren’t going away quietly. Although the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee will be getting the neighborhood hot potato when it meets next Monday, the city legally cannot stop the service station from being built, according to the chief of staff for City Councilman Sal DiCiccio.
The panel, which meets at 6 p.m. April 15, will be reviewing plans for a Quik Trip on the southeast corner of 40th Street and Cottonwood Lane – less than a mile from the South Mountain Freeway and near the only entranceway to Foothills Paseo II. Next week’s hearing comes as the Arizona Department of Transportation prepares more bad news for the area. On May 6, it will close 40th Street from Willis Road to Cottonwood Lane, though the park ‘n ride lot will remain open. The proposed Quik Trip site “is subject to stipula-
see QUIKTRIP page 10
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boards that come up with their own consolidation plans without taking it to voters, allowing them to spend more money than would otherwise be allowed for up to three years. Balking appears not to be an option. HB 2139 says if the governing boards don’t come up with a plan by June 30, 2022 to unify and consolidate, then the county school superintendent is directed to come up with a plan. And it spells out that any such plan “shall be executed without an election.” The issue, Fillmore said, is money. “When people have said to me that schools have more money, I’ve always had the quick comeback (that) they have enough money,” he said. “What we need to do is have them spend it a little bit more wisely.”
see CONSOLIDATE page 17
Hero of Esperanza
Esperanza Elementary proved last month what a school community really means as staff, students and parents banded together to ensure that 8-year-old Trek Friesth of Ahwatukee wasn’t traumatized by his transfer to another school. Details: see page 3. (Kimberly Carrillo/ AFN Staff Photographer)
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