School district unification gets mixed signals from voters

A measure to consolidate the nine elementary and high school districts around Yuma County was getting mixed signals from voters in Tuesday's general election.

The district unification measure was presented to voters in two questions, the first of which asked whether they wanted to dissolve the existing high school districts in which they lived. The second asked them whether to create five new districts, each consisting of elementary and high schools.

Under the proposal, one district, tentatively labeled District A, would merge Mohawk Valley, Wellton Elementary, and Antelope Union High School. District B would consolidate Yuma Elementary School District 1 with Yuma, Kofa, and Gila Ridge high schools. District C would combine Crane and Somerton elementary school districts with Cibola High School. Finally, District D would Gadsden Elementary School District with San Luis High School. The Hyder Elementary School District would remain the same.

According to initial returns, voters in all existing elementary school districts except those in the Gadsden Elementary School District were voting not to dissolve Yuma Union and Antelope Union high school districts.

But at the same time, voters in District 1, and the Somerton, Wellton and Gadsden elementary school districts were supporting the second question by varying margins, according to initial returns.

It could be up to the courts to decide whether and how district boundaries would be remade if voters, on one hand, favored creating new unified elementary and high school districts but, on the other hand, rejected dissolving the existing high school districts.

The School Redistricting Commission, created by Senate Bill 1068 in 2005, crafted a plan that could change how district boundaries are drawn, according to Art Harding, a commission member.

Harding said the biggest reasons why unification has been proposed is to obtain an economy of scale and to unify kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum.

"By unifying, we can consolidate administrative functions for the purpose of re-directing money into the classroom," Harding said. "Also we spiral the curriculum - you touch off from what you learned last year, get a refresher before moving on."

But Kim Owens, Tolleson Union High School District school board member in Maricopa County, disputes the contention unification would save money or improve student achievement. Some schools would pay more and some schools will pay less in taxes, owing to the fact there are many conflicting statutes the redistricting commission overlooked when drafting their plan, she said.

There are other legal ramifications, Owens noted, such as unification could lower bond capacity in districts where they were already passed and will not cover all the capital improvements they were intended to fund.

Unification could cause overcrowded schools in some districts, increase administrative and transit costs, decrease salaries and student achievement, Ownes stressed.

"The commission doesn't have any data to prove unification improves student achievement," Owens said. "Study after study shows 50 to 60 percent of the highest performing high schools and the most efficient are not unified. We have no clear information of what is going to happen if unification passes."

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William Roller can be reached at wroller@yuamsun.com or 539-6858.