Several school districts have announced that its schools will be remain closed Tuesday and some even longer due to the ongoing teacher strike.
TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Tucson Unified School District will remain closed to students on Tuesday, May 1. This decision was made based on the Arizona Educators United call for a continued walkout and reported teacher absences for that day.
At most schools, employees who want to work are permitted report to their campuses.
Warren Elementary School will be on total shutdown. This is because the state mandates that schools provide a certain number of instructional minutes, and after three days of closures, Warren no longer has enough instructional minutes to support another day of the walkout.
Employees affected by a total shutdown will not be able to use leave balances for absences unless they are 12-month employees.
Food Services will not be provided at schools where there is a furlough. Families are welcome to go to other Tucson Unified sites for breakfast and lunch.
If the walkout continues long-term, more schools may be in this situation with instructional minutes. The Governing Board will meet Tuesday night to weigh issues related to the walkout.
Makeup instruction plans will be determined when we know how much time will need to be recovered.
For all schools except Warren Elementary, Food Services will continue to offer meals to students up to 18 years. Breakfast will be available from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Meals are free for children. Breakfast is $2 for adults, and lunch is $3. Parents/guardians should accompany children. Schools will not be able to provide supervision. Children are allowed on campus only during meals.
Please see the Tucson Unified website, www.tusd1.org for a Q&A that may answer your questions.
If you have additional questions, please send them to answers@tusd1.org.
Thank you.
AMPHITHEATER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Yesterday, the Arizona State Legislature adjourned without a budget and will not resume its session until Monday, April 30th. I would have hoped, with so many parents, teachers and students coming to the Capitol to express their concern, that our legislature would have at least shown the courtesy of listening to them.
Now, however, it appears the #RedForEd participants will continue their demonstration into Monday, when the legislators are back in session, and when they hope to be heard.
Therefore, Amphitheater again has so many employees who have reported their absence for Monday, that ALL schools in the Amphitheater district must remain closed on April 30.
It is our hope that a budget resolution will come soon, or the Governor will call a special session of the legislature to vote, and our employees can return to work.
We continue to monitor this situation very closely and will continue to communicate with you as soon as we have additional updates.
Thank you again for your patience, flexibility, and understanding during these unprecedented times.
TANQUE VERDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Dear Tanque Verde Unified School District Parents and Guardians,
The past few days have been challenging and unprecedented in our state. We have empathy for both the teachers advocating for increased education funding, and for the parents, students and staff who wish to see our schools open.
Dr. Cowan, Superintendent of the Mesa Public School District, explained the situation in an email this weekend- "On Friday afternoon, Governor Ducey and the leaders of the Arizona Legislature reached an agreement on the Governor's recent budget proposal. The proposal supports the plan for a 20-percent increase in classroom teacher pay by 2020, and begins the restoration of recession-era cuts. It provides flexible dollars to increase support staff pay, update curriculum and improve school facilities. This plan should be seen as a pronounced start, fostering a continued, multiple-year conversation between state-elected officials, teachers and Arizona families."
The statewide #RedforEd walkout has not been called off by the organizers, with demonstrations and walkouts continuing Tuesday. As a result, we will not have sufficient staff in place and TVUSD schools will remain closed through Tuesday, May 1st.
The budget proposal is expected to go before the legislature for a vote on Wednesday. We are actively working on plans to reopen school as soon as we know we have appropriate levels of staff.
After receiving guidance from the Arizona Department of Education, we have determined we will be required to extend the school calendar to replace instructional time lost during the closure.
In order to minimize disruption to our TVUSD families, we are working to create plans that will provide flexibility to parents. Any days added to the calendar will be opportunities for additional learning, but will not affect a student's grade or be required.
Please continue to monitor the district website and school communications closely. We will inform you of specifics of the school year extension as soon as the details are determined.
Thank you again for your patience, flexibility, and understanding during these unprecedented times.
CATALINA FOOTHILLS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Dear CFSD Families,Our CFSD schools continue to be closed.As we monitor the events surrounding the walkout, I am receiving questions about how this week will unfold. My short answer is, I don’t know. These are my responses to some of the most common questions.When will the walkout end?We are taking this day by day. Once the leadership of the walkout announces its end, we will send an email to your SchoolMessenger account that our schools will reopen. We will share the announcement on our district and school websites, social media, and with the news media, too.When will our schools reopen?
Once the walkout is over, our schools will open the next day or on Monday, if the announcement comes over the weekend.Will we need to add more days to the school year?
Our administrative team is exploring every possible solution. Our goal is to meet the required number of instructional hours required by Arizona law while minimizing the disruptions to our student calendar. Until we know how long this walkout lasts, we won’t know exactly what changes will need to be made.I heard that the Governor made a budget deal last Friday. Why aren’t we back in school?
On Friday, we heard the same news reports. But the alleged budget deal was made behind closed doors, and the Legislature just reconvened today to continue deliberations about the budget and other legislation. Media outlets are reporting that the budget legislation will be made available to the public sometime this week.We will continue to follow these developments and report back to you. Thank you again for your patience and resilience.Sincerely,
Dr. Mary KamerzellSuperintendent
Dear Sunnyside Families—
We have become aware that a prolonged state educator walkout is inevitable.
As word of extended walkouts in other schools and districts continues, the Sunnyside Unified School District has made the difficult decision to close our schools from May 1 through May 4 due to student safety concerns. It is not viable to keep our schools operating without adequate staffing.
All elementary and middle school after school activities and athletics will be cancelled until further notice. Food services will not be provided during these days.
We apologize for the inconvenience this causes our families. If this changes throughout the week, we will let families know when their students are able to return back to school.
To MUSD Parents/Guardians:
As you are aware, the Arizona Educators United #RedforEd movement and Arizona Education Association involving educators and staff across the state have actively engaged in walkouts to bring attention to the issue of low public education funding in Arizona. Marana Unified School District school-based educators and staff have joined this movement in solidarity to demand clear, sustainable solutions to Arizona’s educational funding crisis and to express themselves about the impact of the school funding issues in Arizona.
On Friday, April 27, the Arizona Legislature adjourned without reaching an agreement on the Governor’s recent budget proposal. The Governor’s education budget proposal must be considered as a part of the entire Arizona budget, which must be acted upon by our elected leaders in the House and Senate. If the budget is affirmed, the Governor then needs to sign it into action. To that end, educators across the state continue their walkout and efforts to have their voices heard at the state level.
As previously stated, our District is committed to re-opening schools as soon as possible. We also recognize that we cannot hold classes, expect meaningful learning to take place, and provide a safe environment without a sufficient number of teachers.
At this time, the Marana school district does not have sufficient staff to provide instruction, appropriately supervise students, and ensure student safety. As a result, all 18 Marana schools will be CLOSED Tuesday, May 1 and REMAIN CLOSED until we have sufficient staff to reopen. It is our hope that a budget agreement will be reached soon.
We know that this is an unprecedented time in our state. We also recognize that this situation creates additional stress and uncertainty for our students and families. I want to reassure you that we are continuing to monitor this situation closely and are working hard and exploring all options to minimize impact on our students and families including but not limited to the following:
- Ability to minimize impact of school closure without challenging families by adding days to the school calendar.
- Elimination of any potential impact on our graduating seniors.
- Development of plans to address many other items successfully including Advanced Placement tests, senior finals, online course work, and alternative credit options.
- Communications with the Department of Education regarding the school calendar.
The District will continue to provide updates to parents through email, phone call, and text as applicable. Updates will also continue to be provided on our Website at www.maranausd.org and on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/maranaschools/. If you have not recently done so, please take a few minutes to review the FAQs. We encourage parents to read the FAQs for valuable information regarding breakfast and lunch meals, activities, athletics and field trips, graduation, educational meetings and more.
We are focused on reopening schools as soon as soon as possible and are committed to providing our students with a successful and rewarding finish to the school year. We would love for this to happen sooner rather than later. With only 18 school days remaining in our current school calendar, we have a lot to get done!
Thank you again for your patience, flexibility, and support during these unprecedented times. We will continue to keep you posted.
Sincerely,
Doug Wilson, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Based on the continued delay in passing the proposed budget that includes increases in public education funding, the statewide teacher walkout will continue. While the Governor has proposed a potential budget solution, the legislature is required to hold three days of public hearings on any budget legislation. SVUSD will therefore be closed indefinitely, and we will notify you when we are back in session.
When the proposed budget is signed into law we hope to resume normal operations, but will continue to evaluate the situation and communicate with our families and staff as soon as information becomes available. SVUSD will reopen our schools once we can guarantee staffing so that students have a safe and effective learning environment. The district is working on plans to make up instructional time lost during school closures and will be updating parents as these decisions are made.
We will be sending daily notifications by 3pm through social media and email. You can also check our website and Q&A for up-to-date information. Please make sure all of your contact information is current in ParentVue.
We understand that continued closures are difficult on all involved, including our families, staff, and students. We appreciate your support and will work to ensure that our students finish the year strong.
MAMMOTH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT:
Mammoth-San Manuel USD will continue to have an altered schedule for May 1. Start times all the same, but release times different. We will release students at the Jr. Sr. High at 12:15 (The Reddington students will wait in the office until 1PM for their bus.). First Avenue Elementary will release at 12:45 and Mammoth Elementary will release at 1:10. All students will be fed lunch before the release times.
Family Activity Night for the Junior High (Jumanji Night), scheduled for May 1st, will be cancelled and, if possible, scheduled at a later date.
Continue to check Facebook, REMIND text service, and the marquee for timely updates. Our website has not been updating as fast, we apologize.
Dear SCVUSD35 Parents and Guardians:
All SCVUSD35 schools will continue to be open and operating on a regular schedule Tuesday, May 1, 2018.
Buses will provide transportation, and will operate on a regular schedule.
Athletic events will continue as scheduled. Contact your site Tuesday morning for any changes.
We will continue to keep you informed of any changes or updates. Thank you for your continued support.
David Y. Verdugo
VAIL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Dear Parents,
Vail Schools will be open tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1.
Welcome back.
Calvin Baker
FLOWING WELLS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
Flowing Wells schools will be closed on Tuesday, May 1st.
SAHUARITA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
On Tuesday, May 1, 2018, SUSD will operate an ALL staff workday. Schoolwill not be in session for students on Tuesday.
