“My Dog Ate My Homework”
School District Merger Proponents Can't Answer Questions About Their Mega District Proposal
You would think the people proposing something
as radical as wiping out the Madison School District
would have done their homework.
Here are a few of your critical questions about their proposal they can’t answer:
- As a property owner in the Madison School District, your property values are enhanced because of Madison schools’ excellent performance and exceptional reputation. So, if Madison is merged into a Mega District in which there are lower performing schools, how much do proponents expect their plan to lower our property values and increase our property taxes?
- Arizona's Auditor General report shows that a school district’s “economies of scale” administrative efficiency is achieved at the 5,000-student level. So how can proponents guarantee their Mega-Merger Proposal, which creates a 120,000-student district, won't cost us more money?
- Proponents of the proposal admit that there are significant transition costs connected with creating a Mega District. How many millions of dollars do they estimate their proposal will cost taxpayers?
- The Mega-Merger Proposal empowers a new school board comprised of members from all over Phoenix to draw new district attendance boundaries for students. So how can proponents of the proposal assure parents that their children will be able to attend their neighborhood school?
- Arizona already has strict state academic standards that dictate what a student should be taught at specific times in their academic careers. So why are proponents trying to persuade us that the Mega-Merger is necessary to achieve continuity in curricula?
- Virtually every school district opposes the Mega-District Proposal. So how can proponents say they respected local input from the education community before developing their plan and then justify promoting the Mega-Merger Proposal to the public?
- The proponents' Mega District Proposal’s promise to equalize pay between high school and elementary school teachers would take $250 Million. Since no funds are appropriated for this purpose, how do proponents expect to keep their promise to voters?
These are just some of the fundamental questions about the Mega-Merger Proposal proponents can’t answer. There are many more – in fact, the list of questions they can’t answer is growing every day.