The Kyrene school board recently discussed changes to the 2027-28 school year involving school closures and how staff will be relocated.
Assistant Superintendent Garth Cupp presented the “Kyrene Forward” plan to the board and discussed what changes families should know about to prepare for the relocation and the next school year.
“One benefit of going through the first phase is that we have some experiences to build upon,” he said. “We want to make the next transition even stronger.”
Cupp explained that the next phase of moving will include more timelines and communication stages for clarity.
Board Vice President Amy Satre said she appreciated the communications plan but wanted to measure its effectiveness to ensure the community has accurate information.
“We don’t want families learning information outside of what the district is providing, as other channels of communication might not be correct or make things sound more negative than they really are,” Satre said.
Member Kevin Walsh and other parents in the district said that they had concerns about school leadership moving forward.
Christy Wolford, a parent of a student at Akimel a-al Middle School, was concerned with the transition to Centennial Middle School as Akimel a-al will close at the end of the school year.
“We need to know that Centennial academic standards are going to be lifted so that the programs that we know and love at Akimel, like the humanities and AVID, will also be there,” she said.
Walsh thanked the staff for their work and had concerns about the program changes with the movement of staff.
“We need to say as a district that we can make a commitment now that we will still have these programs at our schools next year,” Walsh said.
The district explained that employees will be offered a contract on March 15 and will be given the remainder of the district’s spring break to decide to accept or reject the offer.
All staff will begin their positions at the new schools on July 7, with the first day of school being July 21, 2027.
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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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