Want to get parents riled up?

Threaten to close their kids’ school.

Scottsdale is hardly immune from the epidemic of dwindling school-age populations around the Valley.

After mulling options behind the scenes, Scottsdale Unified School District administration told parents Pima and Echo Canyon elementary schools may be “repurposed” – code name for “closing.”

That brought out a crowd of parents – and students – waving “Save Pima” and “Don’t Close Our Schools” signs outside the Oct. 7 SUSD school board meeting.

A second group gathered outside in a continued to demand the resignation of board member Carine Werner following her “hot mic” comments captured at a meeting two months ago.

Werner, who was participating remotely at that meeting, could be heard at that time making disparaging remarks about Patti Bilbrey, the district’s director of Nutrition Services, who was giving a presentation.

Werner addressed both situations.

Regarding her critics, Werner said, “I did take full responsibility for the comments. I reached out immediately to Patti and apologized. We had a very constructive and respectful conversation.”

Werner turned the tables, insisting a few people were “manufacturing a controversy for political gains.”

Werner said threats had been made against her.

As for those who spoke against the school closures, Werner said, “Your voices have been heard.”

Furious over what they said is a lack of information and “fait accompli,” Werner and fellow conservative board member Amy Carney voted against moving ahead with a public hearing on Pima and Echo Canyon.

But they were outgunned by new board members Donna Lewis, Mike Sharkey and Matt Pipinsky, who voted with Superintendent Scott Menzel’s recommendation “that the Governing Board schedule a public hearing to obtain public comment regarding the potential closures/repurposing of Echo Canyon K-8 School and Pima Elementary School.”

The public hearing will be held Nov. 13.

A vote on the closures could take place Dec. 9.

 

Werner’s statement challenged

The Progress asked Patti Bilbrey, SUSD’s director of Nutrition Services, to confirm Werner’s statement at the Oct. 7 board meeting.

According to an email Bilbrey sent to the Progress, she said when she reviewed the August meeting, “Hearing those remarks was both heartbreaking and deeply humiliating.

“On Sunday, Aug. 10, five days after the Governing Board meeting, Mrs. Werner reached out to me.

“While I acknowledge that she called to express regret that I became caught up in this mess, she did not, and has not, apologized for the personal and inappropriate comments made about my appearance or for her dismissive words about the presentation.”

According to the nutrition director, “Mrs. Werner stated that her remarks were part of a sidebar discussion she was having with her son about childhood obesity. However, the live stream video captures those comments being made in direct response to me and my presentation.

“I have remained quiet until now because I did not want to distract from the important work our Nutrition Services team does each day. However, I find it necessary to clarify the facts.”

Werner told the Progress, “I apologized to Patti several times in our phone conversation.”

Bilbrey said she stands behind her statement.

The Scottsdale Unified nutrition director’s bottom line:

“My hope is that this experience serves as a reminder of the importance of respect, empathy, and accountability in public service, and that the focus returns to where it belongs, which is supporting the health and success of the students we serve.”

Tears, rage

Dozens lined up to speak during the public comments section of the meeting that preceded the board’s action.

Some fought back tears as they complained schools they believe are doing great jobs in taking students to the next level are on the chopping block.

The two schools, each with enrollments under 300, are the smallest in the district.

Debbie Schumacher said she was the first of three generations of Pima students.

“You said ‘repurpose,’ but we all know that within a few years, it will fail, and then you will be closing it and then selling it to a developer,” she said.

Closing the school would destroy the neighborhood, she said – and be counterproductive to the board’s goals:

“If you close Pima and Echo Canyon, you’re going to lose more students, because the majority of your Echo Canyon kids are going to move to Paradise Valley School District, and at least 20% of Pima students will end up at Noah Webster or a Great Hearts Academy.”

Blaire Wilkins was one of the Echo Canyon defenders.

“It is no secret that Echo Canyon is a small school,” she said. “This is actually something many of us seek out, and as a member of the site Council, I’ve been aware of the district wanting to increase enrollment at Echo Canyon and other schools in the district.

“What was not clear until Dr. Menzel came to our campus to speak to the community a few weeks ago is that the size of the school was problematic to the point where closure – or vaguely defined ‘repurposing’ – was imminent, or rather, that Dr. Menzel intends to recommend a closure to you, the governing board.”

She complained of “no district communication of this potential until he was in our cafeteria telling us to enroll (children) in another school.”

John McClellan called Echo Canyon “the future of education, one that develops the whole child. It’s a place where children grow academically, emotionally and socially, and where they love to learn.”

Despite a plea from Lewis for “golf claps,” McClellan received big applause for this line:

“We can’t close our way out of the problem – we must grow our way out.”

Executive session

The public meeting began – and then quickly ended.

The board took less than 30 minutes for a private consultation/executive session “for the purpose of consultation with the attorney/designated representative of the public body in order to consider its position and instruct its representatives regarding negotiations for the potential sale of administrative buildings on Main Street in Scottsdale.”

The following morning, Menzel responded to a Progress request by providing the address: 7575 Main St.

That tracks to a building just off the Civic Center in Old Town.

More Scottsdale Unified schools in danger?

Echo Canyon and Pima might not be the last schools Scottsdale Unified School District considers repurposing – or closing.

Indeed, Superintendent Scott Menzel’s Oct. 1 post on his blog suggests there may be a mini-avalanche to come.

“Like many school districts across the valley, SUSD is experiencing two challenges at the same time: declining enrollment and rising operating costs,” Menzel wrote.

He may have been thinking of Kyrene School District, which includes Ahwatukee and parts fo Tempe and Chandler. It has proposed closing two of its six middle schools and six of its 19 elementary campuses because enrollment has fallen form a high of 20,000 to a current 13,000 with a projected loss of 1,000 more students by 2030.

After peaking at 26,173 in 2009, SUSD enrollment fell nearly every year thereafter – dropping below 20,000 this year.

“When schools operate with very low enrollment, they do not generate enough funding to cover the cost of staffing and maintaining the facility. Continuing to operate schools under these conditions is financially unsustainable and puts pressure on the entire district budget.”

In addition to “Phase I” potential changes to Echo Canyon (kindergarten through eighth grade) and Pima (K-5) for the 2026-27 school year, Menzel listed “Consideration for Changes in 2027-28.”

Schools to be Reviewed (enrollment near/below 400):

  • Anasazi;
  • Copper Ridge;
  • Laguna;
  • Redfield;
  • Tonalea;
  • Yavapai.

“It is important to emphasize that Phase I is a first step in planning for the 2026-27 school year,” Menzel noted.

“The final decisions rest with the Governing Board.”

Information: susd.org/school-repurposing-enrollment-review.