On Tuesday we bought ourselves more time when 3 of the board members voted to take the vote to close the schools off of the agenda. It is unclear when a vote will be held, but the superintendent is attempting to push them to vote by April. The board members that took the vote off the agenda are Erika De La Rosa, Erika Ovalle, and Alicia Vink. I would like to put an extra focus on emailing these board members to thank them for being the guardrails and preventing a rushed decision from being made. Below are the emails of the board members. The last 3 are the ones that voted to take the vote off the agenda. Here is a template email.

Subject: Thank You for Your Leadership

Dear Board Members,

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Erika De La Rosa, Erika Ovalle, and Alicia Vink for postponing the vote on school closures. Your courage to prioritize transparency and community involvement during such a critical time is commendable, especially amid the pressures from the district. As you have highlighted, it’s essential to cultivate strong community relationships and gather diverse perspectives to navigate these challenges creatively and responsibly. I am eager to engage in future discussions and contribute ideas that could benefit our district’s future, including exploring potential partnerships and innovative programs. 

Please look into renewing the lease with ASU prep to offset these cuts that are being threatened to preschool for example. At least counter offer. We have heard $17 million was offered for the land by ASU prep, we have heard that a 99 year lease was offered. Was a good faith negotiation made? Or are they being discriminated against for being a charter school? 

Is our desegregation funds being spent in a way that makes sense? Currently nearly half of that is being spent on a free public Montessori school which is highly focused on pre-k and kindergarten, has a large waitlist and a lot of out of district families are enrolling, using it for the lower grade levels and leaving the district after and not generating the revenue we desperately need. Is this the wisest use of these funds? Is it even helping those it is supposed to?

Please look into putting Head start in every school in the district and tuition-based preschool for others, if needed to be fiscally responsible. This would increase enrollment and retention at schools that currently do not have these programs and need them. We need a full breakdown on the spending of each school, the enrollment and enrollment trends of each school. Are we closing the right schools if any schools actually do need to be closed? You only get one chance to get this right, and the future of the district depends on it. 

The district does not even properly account for greater enrollment losses, especially when it comes to Heard for future revenue generated. They currently just put that the district will lose 200 per year which is unrealistic. Also, it has been made clear that at least part of the Heard boundary plans to redistrict into Osborn or Alhambra if their school is closed. This would be catastrophic to the district. We can't afford to get this wrong. The district needs to go back to the drawing board and put in the hard work necessary to set us back on the path of keeping a balanced budget while provided quality education for ALL students and communities in this district. Thank you for being the champions our community needs. 

Best regards,
[Your Name]
[Your Contact Information]

a.    President- jessica.bueno@phxschools.org

b.    Vice President- carmen.trujillo@phxschools.org

c.     Member- erika.ovalle@phxschools.org

d.    Member- erika.delarosa@phxschools.org

e.    Member- alicia.vink@phxschools.org