School districts prep for teacher walkout

Yuma County administrators put contingency plans into place

Yuma County school administrators asked for patience and understanding as they put contingency plans into place for a proposed teacher walkout next Thursday — and asked parents to make alternate childcare arrangements.

Nearly 80 percent of more than 57,000 educators statewide voted to walkout of their classrooms starting next Thursday. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, teachers will hold “walkins.”

“We are aware of the result from last night’s Arizona Educators United vote,” Yuma Union High School District said in a statement Friday. “As a district we are working to determine the impact a potential work stoppage would have on school operations. We are not encouraging or supporting a teacher walkout.”

Yuma Union High School and Gadsden Elementary in San Luis are planning to close all campuses if a walkout occurs; others may follow suit depending on certain factors.

“In the event of a work stoppage, to best ensure the safety of our students, we will close all campuses and do everything we can to provide parents and students with regular updates,” YUHSD said in a statement to parents and the media.

At Gadsden, Superintendent Raymond Aguilera noted that student safety was the most important factor in any decision that would be made.

“Based on numerous

planning meetings and input from our district leaders, if Gadsden teachers participate in the walkout, district schools will close for the duration of the walkout,” Aguilera wrote in a letter to the media. “This difficult decision is based on ensuring the safety of our students.”

Other districts, such as Crane, Somerton and Yuma District One, are taking a “wait and see” approach before they call off all classes.

State law requires students to attend classes for 180 days. Any missed days would have to be made up, either by having school on Saturdays, or extending the school day or the calendar.

“All Crane Schools will be closed if we determine there is not adequate staff to maintain campus security and student safety,” Crane said in a letter to parents. “School closures will be determined school by school. This will impact preschool through middle school.”

Wellton Superintendent Lisa Jameson said she was not sure if her teachers would participate.

“At this time, I do not believe WES teachers will strike because they continue to have their students’ best interest in mind,” she wrote in an email to the Sun. “For many of our students, school is the safest place to be. We have many single parents who work, and we do not want our students to be home alone.”

Districts said they are hoping to have a firmer grasp of how many teachers will walk out by early Monday, and each district would communicate school closure news with parents.

“We are hoping to know more by Monday afternoon based on the number of teachers planning to participate and for how long,” said Somerton School District Superintendent Laura Noel.

An estimate of how many local teachers were planning to participate in the walkout was not known.

Jameson said her staff may find other ways to show their support. The Wellton Elementary School District governing board signed a resolution supporting the need for increased funding, she said.

“The administration and staff at Wellton Elementary School definitely agree that the governor and the legislature need to increase funding for education in Arizona,” she noted. “We have a creative staff, and we will find other ways to show support for our ‘Fund the Future’ movement.”

All districts cautioned parents to ensure that their contact data with districts is up to date, as districts will use all their resources to get the message out to parents about school closures. If phone systems are overburdened, parents should look at the districts’ official social media pages or websites only, and consider them their official source for information.

YUHSD will use its Blackboard Connect School Messenger notification system as well as its website and social media channels to get information out, the district said in its release.

District One said parents, employees, and stakeholders should look for pertinent information via Blackboard Connect messenger, the district website, and social media.

Crane said it would use all modes of communication to alert families to the closures including its parent alert system, emails, phone calls, district and school websites, and social media (Facebook and Twitter). It also has an FAQ on its website regarding the issue.

Gadsden parents should look for information on School Messenger, the district/school Facebook, and the district website (gesd32.org), Aguilera said.

Districts will be seeking to do what is best both for students and educators, Noel said.

“What we are doing is reading our policy carefully, the Arizona Revised Statutes, consulting with attorneys, consulting with statewide education agencies and then aligning that information with our own district concerns.”

Crane, YUHSD, District One, Somerton and Gadsden commended their staff for the professional manner in which the #RedForEd movement has been carried out so far.

“We want to commend our staff members for the professional way they have handled themselves and for the respect they have shown our students and families,” Crane officials said. “The before school activities have provided our staff with an avenue to express themselves about the impact of the school funding issues in Arizona.”

“We are fortunate to have a community that consistently supports our schools,” YUHSD said. “We appreciate our dedicated employees who continue to focus on meeting the needs of our students.”

“Our district has supported the weekly school walk-ins that have been occurring for the last several weeks,” District One said in its letter to parents. “We appreciate the continued support of public education in our community.”

Yuma County is home to 69 physical and online schools, according to the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s 2016-2017 Vol. II annual report to the Legislature. The report listed Yuma County’s student population for the 16-17 school year at 34,764.208, which is based on an averaged formula. Fall 2016 enrollment surpassed 35,000.

Hyder and Mohawk Valley superintendents could not be reached for comments. Parents in those districts should contact the respective school.