Is Unification the Answer?

What most frustrates me about the unification effort are the non-issues that are touted, taking the spotlight away from the real issues in K-12 education.

The commission and unification supporters claim that unification will “streamline the financial resources” of the district yet they have offered no evidence.  The norm among Phoenix elementary school districts is the utilization of intergovernmental agreements like the Mohave contract.  This allows districts to procure the best deal for products and services. Also, in looking at dollars spent in the classroom, unified districts do not spend more in the classroom than elementary or high school districts.  In fact, six of the top ten large districts in the state were elementary or high school districts including Cartwright Elementary and Alhambra, two districts targeted by the unification proposal.  Additionally, Arizona spends less on central administration than the average nationally at 9.5% compared to 11% (ASBA Legal Services).  Arizona administrative salaries are also below the US.  The commission has offered no evidence that unification will be more cost-effective and the aforementioned evidence challenges the assumption there is a “problem”.

Arizona leaders have made huge strides in meeting the commission’s main goal of unification: “a fully-coordinated, continuous instructional plan for students beginning in kindergarten and ending with the senior year in high school ultimately support a more productive education career for the students involved (SDRC FAQ).”  This is already occurring through the implementation of K-12 state standards.  All students are required to have a particular knowledge base at various points in their Arizona public education and the AIMS test is a way to measure that progress.  The commission misses the mark when they state this as their goal.  If they really cared about kids, their goal would be to improve student achievement.  Trying to get there would lead to a forced election, that if approved, would create a bureaucracy that no Phoenix schools under the proposal support.

So if Arizona education is fairing better than unification supports claim, why the push for redistricting?

Those of us in education know that there is no silver bullet in education.  Can we do better?  Of course. Is unification the answer?  No.

Tiffany Troidl
AZ School Works Political Director