As a parent and community member, I am deeply concerned about the proposed school closure. A lot of us moved to this neighborhood in large part because of Copper Creek Elementary. It is more than just a school — it is the heart of our community, the reason families put down roots here, and the place our children feel safe, supported, and seen. Closing Copper Creek would not just relocate students; it would disrupt an entire community built around this school. 

One of the most precious parts of living here — something incredibly rare in this day and age — is that our children can walk or ride their bikes to school with friends. Parents trust that their kids are safe in this neighborhood, safe on these routes, and safe in this school. Copper Creek is one of the few places where families still feel that sense of freedom and security. Losing the school means losing that daily experience of independence, connection, and safety that we worked so hard to find.

Our children thrive here because of the teachers who know them, the staff who support them, and the friendships and routines they have built. Taking this school away means longer commutes, overcrowded classrooms at receiving schools, and a loss of the close-knit environment that makes learning possible.

What hurts most is that this proposed closure is not about our community failing to meet enrollment standards— it’s about statewide funding changes, especially the expansion of ESA vouchers, draining money from public schools across Arizona. Families like mine who choose public school are now being asked to sacrifice our neighborhood school for a budget problem we did not create.

We are asking the Amphitheater Governing Board to pause this closure, do a full analysis of alternatives, and consider solutions that keep neighborhood schools alive.