An Arizona school district is cutting staff amid competition for charter schools
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Arizona’s second-largest school district has cut staff after losing enrollment due to “competition with charter schools.”
Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) Superintendent Franklin R. Narducci on Wednesday cited a drop in enrollment from 2023, a year after lawmakers passed a schoolwide option to give parents options to choose schools outside of neighborhood public schools.
Narducci also cited several factors behind the enrollment loss, including “competition from charter schools,” the rising cost of home ownership, and declining birth rates.
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CUSD’s governing board on Wednesday voted to cut about 60 positions in administrative, clerical and coaching roles.
Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) Superintendent Franklin R. Narducci on Wednesday cited a drop in enrollment from 2023, a year after lawmakers passed a schoolwide option to give parents options to choose schools outside of neighborhood public schools. (Stock)
Lana Berry, the district’s chief financial officer, said students have dropped to 4,000 since 2022 and are expected to continue to decline.
After all the layoffs, CUSD remains the second largest district in Arizona and the second largest employer in the East Valley.
“Arizona’s public school districts are in dire straits because of the state Legislature’s history of underfunding public education,” Chandler Education Association president Laurel Miller said, according to reports. said the email.
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Miller reportedly said the nearly $3 billion in taxpayer money allocated to Arizona’s “fraudulent” ESA voucher program, he said, led to unnecessary enrollment declines — forcing districts to make drastic decisions like cutting favored employees and closing public schools.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has made school choice universal for all families by 2022, launching an $800 million program that gives parents $7,000 to spend on their children’s education. Several other states followed, reflecting a trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools.
Arizona became the first state to offer school choice to all families by 2022, launching an $800 million program that gives parents $7,000 to put towards their children’s education. Several other states followed, reflecting a trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools.
According to a report by KPHO newspaper, the teacher spoke at the school’s district meeting on Wednesday and said that teachers are getting too much attention.
“I feel that what they will be asked to do is too much for one person because they will be doing the work of three people at the same time. And I am very worried about the sustainability of that,” said the teacher. “I’m also worried that some families will say, I want a librarian at my school, and they’ll go to charter schools.”
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Most states restrict parents to schools within a ZIP code or school district, but charter schools allow families to choose other options.
Several other states followed Arizona in passing public school choice, reflecting a trend of parents seeking alternatives to traditional public schools.
