The November election may be more than six months away but discussions are heating up already regarding the proposed unification of school districts.
In the Phoenix area, more than 30 districts would be affected including Glendale Union, Glendale Elementary and Washington Elementary which would be combined into one new K-12 district with 50,000 plus kids.
Reporter Betty Reid spotlights an upcoming community forum on Monday to discuss the proposed unification's affect on Glendale Union, Glendale Elementary and Washington districts.
Several redistricting forums are planned spring and summer to educate voters before Nov. 4.
The first is Monday at Arizona State University at the West Campus, ASU at the West Campus
4701 W. Thunderbird Road, University Center Building (UCB) in LaSala A Building.The event starts at 5 p.m.
SupportOurSchoolsAZ.org, www.supportourschoolsaz.org. , organized the forum and hopes to draw those who reside in Glendale Union High School District and its feeder elementary district's, Washington Elementary School District and Glendale Elementary School District.
The forum will be moderated by Holliday Moore, former CBS Anchor and ABC Political and Senior News Reporter. The panelists presenting on both sides of the redistricting issue are Susan Bitter-Smith (Executive Director of the Arizona – New Mexico Cable Communications Association), Senator Linda Gray (District 10), Representative David Lujan (District 15), Martin Shultz (Chairman of School District Redistricting Commission (SDRC); VP of Government Affairs, Pinnacle West Capitol Corporation), Mark Speicher (President, OptiMed Resources), Joseph Thomas (SDRC member; teacher, Mesa Unified School District).
Read the story at http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/04/17/20080417p...
.
We will keep you posted on other forums coming up including those affecting districts in Tempe, Ahwatukee, central Phoenix and the Southwest Valley.
What do you think of the proposal to reduce the number of school districts in the state ? For more details about the redistricting plans, go to the Arizona Department of Education's Web site at http://www.ade.state.az.us/sdrc/.
Lori Baker is mom to two daughters, 21 and 23 years old. She is
editor for the Valley and State section's Education and Environment pages in the Arizona Republic.
