While the Kyrene Elementary School District has been encouraged to close at least seven schools, parents, teachers and administrators have voiced concerns about the impact it could have on the longterm well-being of the district.
Principals from Centennial, Aprende and Pueblo middle schools shared their concerns of school closures and consolidations saying they can lead to teacher burnout, stretched responsibilities and overflowing class sizes during the Dec. 2 governing board study session on the potential closures.
All of the principals and instructors who spoke touched on the challenges of having few students spread across multiple schools and the benefits of having a larger or smaller school. Including the impact it has on teachers and their responsibilities of campus area even with less students.
“As your school shrinks, it doesn’t mean you have fewer duties, and it doesn’t mean my team isn’t willing to do that, it just becomes more and more difficult,” said Centennial Middle School principal James Martin.
They touched on the fact that teachers in those schools wear multiple hats, from classroom instruction to lunch monitors to extracurricular activities and more.
He also said that several teachers from his school have not only left the district, but also left the profession due to burnout and high student count in classrooms.
“I have seen people on my campus who are pouring their heart and soul into this work, and little things could impact their decisions moving forward,” Martin said.
This comes as the district discusses the potential closure of 7 schools including the Centennial and Aprende middle schools.
Renee Kory, principal of Aprende Middle School, said she has seen teachers grow resentful from the stress of multiple jobs.
“In a smaller school, they don’t have enough teachers to teach those sections, so a teacher is teaching multiple subject areas with multiple preps and then having to go to multiple meetings for preparation,” she said.
Other teachers explained why a small school might not benefit the district and could have an impact on classroom resources.
“I understand why smaller sounds better, but each year Estrella’s population goes down we lose more resources and it’s hard to get them back,” said Holly Cook, a reading intervention teacher at Estrella Elementary School.
Kyrene has the capacity to hold up to 20,000 students and holds less than 13,000 as of the 2024-25 school year. Administration is still determining how students will be distributed throughout the district should schools close in 2026.
The governing board will decide if schools should close or to postpone the vote on Dec. 16. Any decision to close more than the seven schools presented would require a series of public hearings and possibly delay the vote further.
Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).
Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.
Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.
Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.
Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.
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