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MURALIST AT WORK
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AIDING FIRSTCANCER’S TIME VICTIMS NOVELIST
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REMEMBERING TONI MORRISON
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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empe Union High School District officials are embarking on a multi-pronged advertising campaign in the hope that messages on billboards, social media sites and other channels will turn around — or at least slow down — a decline in enrollment. The school board last week was briefed on the campaign by Jennifer Liewer, district director of community relations, in a follow-up to a detailed demographic report on enrollment by Rick Brammer and Don Graves of the research firm Applied Economics. Though the cost of the campaign was not disclosed, Superintendent Kevin Mendivil suggested that the cost of doing nothing likely would be far greater. Because of the loss of about 300 students in the last school year, he said, “We had to adjust our budget by $2.5 million.” “We’re facing that same kind of challenge this year,” he said. “And while I think it might
be around 250, 300 …it’s better than what we were looking like even as early as three weeks ago.” Enrollment is critical to any Arizona public school district’s revenue stream because state subsidies are directly tied to the number of students who attend their schools. Mendivil said the time had come for Tempe Union to get the word out about its schools, noting that up until now “the district has not had any deliberate action around recruitment and really touting who we are as a district.’ “We’ve not had to do that, quite frankly,” he said. “We have a great reputation. We have a great brand. We have wonderful students. We have excellent teachers. Our schools are top quality. We have wonderful programming.” The number of students living within district boundaries hit a peak of about 12,500 in the 2005-2006 school year, according to Applied Economics, and “then trended downward by 1,000 students through 2009-10 due
see TEMPE UNION page 6
Ads like these will start appearing in many forms as Tempe Union tries to lure new students to its schools and keep the ones who are already there. (Tempe Union)
Memorial Saturday for inspirational Diane Markins
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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
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@AhwatukeeFN
TU ad blitz aims to stop enrollment slide
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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@AhwatukeeFN |
Diane Markins of Ahwatukee, who passed away last week, used the written and spoken word to inspire countless people. particularly women. (AFN file
photo)
WE’RE MAID FOR THIS 30 Years and Still Keeping It Fresh and Clean
iane Kay Markins, an Ahwatukee author and public speaker whose words of faith and practical guidance brought comfort and inspiration to countless people, passed away Aug. 6 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 62. A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, at Mountain Park Church, 16461 S. 48th St., Ahwatukee. A San Diego native and journalism graduate from Northern Arizona University who was a devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Markins’ long career included public relations, teaching at Mesa Community College, freelance
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writing and hosting a radio show called “Bold Living” on KPXQ. But it was her inspirational columns, books and blogs — as well as her many public speaking appearances — for which she will perhaps be best remembered by many, particularly women. “Diane loved words,” her family wrote in her official obituary. “Speaking them, writing them, reading them, hearing them, teaching them. She believed that laughter was the best medicine, and this showed throughout her work and daily life.” Kathe Wunnenberg, her longtime friend with whom she shared a ministry, recalled: “Diane was very compassionate, very
see MARKINS page 8
MOLLY MAID OF AHWATUKEE, CHANDLER AND GILBERT
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