THE MESA TRIBUNE | FEBRUARY 14, 2021
1
Red Mountain star / P. 23
Mesa murders soar / P. 3
An edition of the East Valley Tribune
VOTE NOW
THEMESATRIBUNE.COM
Sunday, February 14, 2021
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
Pandemic impacting Mesa grades, absences, enrollment BY PAUL MARYNIAK Tribune Executive Editor
T
he pandemic has taken a toll on enrollment and attendance in Mesa Public Schools while its impact on students’ grades has been mixed. Administration of�icials last week detailed the pandemic’s impact for the Governing Board and discussed steps they were planning to address regarding some of its adverse effects, particularly on students’ grades. While enrollment has dropped by more
than 4,500 students over the past two years, most of that decline occurred in the past year. Enrollment fell from 61,344 in 2018-19 to 60,769 in 2019-20 but has now plummeted to 56,807. One small bright spot that Dr. Robert Carlisle, district director of research and evaluation, cited was a 2.8 percent increase in kindergarten enrollment. But board member Dr. Joe O’Reilly drew no comfort from that stat, noting overall kindergarten enrollment had dropped by 13.7 percent from a year ago.
Most school districts in Arizona have reported similar decreases in kindergarten enrollment and some education of�icials have suggested that parents simply decided not to send their youngsters to kindergarten out of fear of COVID-19. Enrollment is a critical factor in any Arizona school district’s �iscal condition because the state reimburses districts on a per-pupil basis. And in Mesa’s case, the enrollment decline threatens to adversely impact budgets for
��� SCHOOLS ���� 6
Mesa restaurants ready to ‘platter up!’ for baseball
NEWS .......................... 4 More jobs mean more roadwork.
COMMUNITY .......... 17 Westwood High center a source of help. COMMUNITY ............................... 17 BUSINESS ..................................... 20 OPINION ....................................... 22 SPORTS ........................................ 23 GET OUT ........................................ 25 PUZZLES ...................................... 26 CLASSIFIED ................................. 27 Zone 1
Mesa pasty company grateful for city help ...................... See page 19 BY TOM SCANLON Tribune Managing Editor
F
or many Mesa restaurants, Spring Training equates to “platter up!” Local restaurants and other businesses staggering from the pandemic expect the start of Spring Training – pitchers and catchers are scheduled to start tossing this week with games beginning Feb. 27 – to be a boost, even with expected restrictions on attendance. It might be more of a solid double this year than the grand slams of springs past, but the return of baseball is eagerly awaited by Mesa businesses. “That’s great news,” Mangos Mexican Cafe manager Omar de la Cruz said, when told Spring Training would start as planned.
��� RESTAURANTS ���� 4
Al Fresco off Main and the anticipated start of Spring Training are boosting the hopes of restaurants reeling since the pandemic began a year ago. (Pablo Robles/Tribune Staff Photographer)
Buy or refinance with confidence. Let’s talk today. 5901 E McKellips Rd, Suite 104 • Mesa • 480-807-7500 • westernbanks.com Member FDIC