Kyrene Forward

No, there will be no changes to school start/end times as a result of school consolidation. All school start/end times are listed on the Kyrene bell schedule page. Families experiencing an enrollment change can use this page to find start/end times for your new school. Times will remain the same in 2026-27 for all schools remaining open. 

Transportation will always be aligned to your home school boundary. If your school boundary changes, but you choose to remain in enrolled in a school outside of your boundary, transportation would not be provided.

Kyrene will provide transportation from hub locations along the district's north and south borders, to serve students living outside of Kyrene's boundaries.

> The north hub will be near 48th street and Baseline. It will provide transportation to Kyrene de los Niños Elementary and Kyrene de las Lomas Elementary as well as Kyrene Middle School and Centennial Middle School. 

> The south hub will be near 48th street and Willis. It will provide bus service to Kyrene del Milenio Elementary and Centennial Middle School.

Additional transportation information will be available in January.

Enrollment is declining over time, not overnight. Students relocated to another school will still need teachers and staff to support their education. Kyrene intends to follow established class size ranges. Fewer schools will mean fewer administrative and non-classroom positions, and the first approach to address that reduction would be through normal attrition, such as retirements.

There are laws that dictate when and how districts offer contracts for teachers and other certified employees. Legally, Kyrene cannot offer contracts before a specific date in March. After that, teachers have a window of time to decide whether to accept the contract. Once contracts are accepted (in mid-April) staffing can be finalized (typically in May). However, there are often late retirement decisions and enrollment shifts that necessitate staffing changes even through the summer. This is why Kyrene schools are not able to share teacher information until Meet the Teacher in July.

We understand, under the circumstances, families wishing to know this information before enrollment opens in February. However, legally, the process cannot begin until March.

Combining staff from multiple campuses actually helps to increase program capacity. Staff will be reassigned alongside students, in order to continue meeting demand for before and after school programs. 

Yes, two middle schools will continue to offer dual language: Kyrene Middle School and Centennial Middle School.

Under the proposed plan, the middle school dual language program would move to Centennial, and Akimel A-al students currently in the dual language program would be assigned to Centennial, regardless of home address.

No, transportation will not be provided for schools without boundaries. These schools will be open-enrollment only.

We understand that families and staff of students receiving special education services have specific questions about program continuity during this transition. Please know that planning for our students with disabilities has been a priority throughout this process, not an afterthought.

The district is committed to:
* Ensuring every student with an IEP continues to receive all required services as outlined in their individualized plan
* Maintaining specialized programs by carefully analyzing current enrollment and determining the most appropriate locations in our reconfigured schools
* Providing adequate space, resources, and staffing for special education programs in receiving schools
* Engaging special education staff, families, and IEP teams in transition planning as decisions are finalized

We recognize that students with disabilities and their families may need additional support and information during transitions. Specific placement and service delivery details will be shared with individual families as plans are developed. Our special education team is working closely with facilities and enrollment planning teams to ensure thoughtful placement of programs and seamless continuity of services.

Kyrene is currently serving approximately 12,000 students (and is expected to drop to 11,000 students within the next five years) in a district built for 20,000 students, and resources are stretched thin. Consolidating schools will help to ensure better-resourced schools. It also prevents other cost saving options, such as larger class sizes.

Kyrene has seen a significant decline in enrollment over the last decade, and projections show enrollment trends will continue for the foreseeable future.
> Approximately 75% of enrollment loss in Kyrene is due to declining birth rates and subsequently smaller kindergarten cohorts.
> Additionally, an aging population and a rise in real estate costs limits the number of households with school age children.
> To a lesser degree, declining enrollment is a result of choice (private schools, charters, microschools, online or home schooling).

Kyrene maintains an outstanding reputation as one of the top districts in Arizona. The district invests in strategic marketing based on data; offers programs of choice to remain competitive; and prioritizes community engagement. Kyrene’s in-boundary marketing focuses on early grade levels in an effort to address the declining service rate, and externally, we continue to draw more students than we lose to all other districts.

Kyrene has been making difficult budget decisions for years, reducing expenditures by $24M over the last decade, in response to declining enrollment. The district has made every effort to shield students and staff from the impact of those decisions, but this is becoming harder. If Kyrene did not right-size based on current and future enrollment trends, the district would be forced to make decisions that directly impact the Kyrene experience—such as significant position cuts, larger class sizes, and fewer opportunities for students. 

Additionally, Kyrene has been and continues to be an advocate for increased state funding for Arizona public schools.