Chandler school board, city partner to attract families
Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks
Chandler Unified School District Governing Board Vice President Barb Mozdzen speaks during a Sept. 10 meeting. The board agreed to contribute $10,000 to a city of Chandler marketing campaign, involving other East Valley districts, to attract young families to move into the area.
The Chandler Unified Governing Board’s approval of an intergovernmental agreement Sept. 10 wasn’t unanimous.
But the board members who did vote in favor of partnering with the city of Chandler’s Economic Development department had reasons why they thought it was worth it.
Under the agreement, the school district will give the city $10,000 as part of what’s called the Young Families and Professional Community Attraction Campaign. That’s a city program meant to attract young families and professionals to the community, according to staff reports.
The agreement with the city is one in which CUSD and the Kyrene, Mesa and Tempe Union High School districts are asked to each contribute $10,000 to the project, with the city funding the rest of the estimated $150,000 cost of the program.
Four of the five CUSD board members voted to approve the contract, with Ryan Heap abstaining and the measure passing, 4-0.. He said he believes the major obstacles to more young families residing in the area are home prices and interest rates — problems a marketing campaign isn’t meant to solve.
But board member Kurt Rohrs, who frequently votes in lockstep with Heap, especially on fiscal matters, said he thinks it makes sense.
Rohrs said $10,000 isn’t a large investment, considering how hard district staff and state lobbyists fight for per-student funding increases.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get too exercised over $10,000,” Rohrs said. “If we pick up one or two students, it pays for itself. And this will help us grow closer to the city on things like specific worker needs and workforce development.”
The new base level of K-12 funding approved by the Arizona legislature this year is $5,113.26 per student.
Board Vice President Barb Mozdzen agreed, saying a main key will be to reach a different audience CUSD hasn’t previously reached.
Board President Patti Serrano pointed out that language- and/or culture-specific groups exist both on the ground and in digital spaces, where district reputations flourish.
Stephanie Ingersoll, the district’s executive director of marketing and communications, said her team gets the word out about positive and specific ways Chandler excels.
“When we see stories about Chandler being great at X, Y and Z, we say ‘Why is Chandler great? Because of schools.’ We put those stories out there,” Ingersoll said. “It’s exciting to see the city, maybe, is catching up with us to realize that they have jobs in technology, or the city is family-friendly and a great place to live, because of the schools.”
Ingersoll also said she’ll analyze the marketing plan from the city-hired firm to ensure that the program doesn’t duplicate what’s already a significant annual CUSD investment in marketing itself as a district of choice. The district’s marketing is generally internal by ZIP code, whereas the city’s program is to market to outside audiences who don’t already live in the area.
She said the Kyrene and Mesa districts already approved their $10,000 contributions and it’s on an upcoming Tempe board agenda.
The campaign, according to a staff report, is meant to take bids for a full-service marketing agency to develop and execute a comprehensive marketing plan.
The plan is to address demographic trends, including an aging population and declining birth rates, that are leading to declining school enrollment and potential school closures.
The stated goals of the campaign are to “attract young families and professionals to live and work in Chandler” and to “promote the city’s strengths, such as, high-quality school districts, job growth and economic opportunities, community safety and family amenities and affordable housing in some neighborhoods.”
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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