For families with siblings attending schools in the Cottonwood-Oak Creek District, juggling between different schools will become a thing of the past starting in the 2018-19 school year.
The COCSD governing board voted unanimously on Tuesday, Feb. 6 to move forward with kindergarten through eighth-grade realignment, restructuring three of the district’s schools into two K-8 schools.
In a presentation to the board, COCSD Superintendent Steve King said the realignment would mean fewer transitions for students, resulting in better school achievement and a greater convenience for families who may have several children attending different schools.
“Realignment would be a greater opportunity for the curriculum,” King said. “This would also support a strong culture … it’s hard to grow a culture when students come and go.Teachers have described it as feeling like a factory.”
In the current district model, Dr. Daniel Bright Elementary School is pre-kindergarten through second grade, Cottonwood Elementary School is third through fifth grades and Cottonwood Middle School is sixth through eighth grade.In the proposed realignment plan, Cottonwood Elementary School would be closed and repurposed with the two other schools following a K-8 model.
King told the board that families have expressed the struggle of juggling between different schools.“Families are where this is at,” he said. “Families don’t look the way they used to. Kids are living with grandparents and there are rising numbers of foster families.
Laura Patterson, who has four grandchildren in the district, wrote a letter to King saying that her grandsons are currently attending three different schools.“I am all for there being two K-8 schools,” she wrote. “It would be so much easier on me to be able to only deal with one school than having to deal with three different sets of schools, principals, office staff and locations. I am all for the realignment and look forward to this happening and being available next school year.”
To King, having a K-8 model “makes sense,” adding that charter schools in the Verde Valley are K-8.“We are surrounded by a K-8 model,” he said, “Families like it better … moving to that system could result in possible growth.”
King said a K-8 model would also have older teachers working with kids in younger grade levels. He also hopes the restructuring would cut transportation costs.
“There would also be a concentration of increasing resources, so the administration can focus on what the needs of the kids are,” King said.The board will be scheduling a study session to go over logistics of the district’s realignment.
In January, the board approved a request by King to extend open enrollment from Feb. 1 to March 1 to give families more time should realignment take place. Cornville resident Eric Marcus, who recently joined the COCSD Governing Board, said he was impressed with King’s presentation.
“I commend [King],” he said. “It was a risk for him to bring this forward — still being a new superintendent. I am impressed with this district and what this plan will do for students.”COCSD board member Jason Finger asked about the possible savings from realignment.
Business Manager David Snyder said while there may be efficiencies in realigning the schools, there isn’t much evidence that there would be cost savings because the district would still be serving the same amount of students.
Marcus said that while there is a fiduciary obligation to cuts costs, what is more important is what realignment will do for students.
“If it turns out that [realignment] is cost neutral, then we did our duty,” Marcus said.
Finger admitted that realignment is something the district should have done sooner.“With declining enrollment, we have not grown enough to fill empty classrooms,” he said.
“We always have to make do with less, while trying to operate as tightly as we can. [Realignment] is the perfect solution to the problem.”
Kelcie Grega can be reached at 634-8551, or email kgrega@larsonnewspapers.com
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated that Cottonwood Elementary School wouldn’t be closed due to their contract with Sodexo. The Sodexo contract has no bearing on decisions relating to CES.
