Significant Events Related to Flagstaff Schools This Week

These are two separate issues related to Flagstaff public schools:

• Which Flagstaff schools should be closed and consolidated with others?
• Should the Flagstaff School Board be granted the authority to override its budget limit to obtain more operating funds?

There are lots of activities in the works related to both issues.

As to the first issue, there will be eight community forums to discuss the closure of some (probably some of the elementary schools) and the potential change of use of other schools (one of the three Flagstaff high schools could become a middle school). The first meeting is this Thursday, January 7, at 6 p.m. at Christensen Elementary, 4000 N. Cummings Street in east Flagstaff. Here’s a complete list of the scheduled forums, courtesy of the Arizona Daily Sun.

On the second issue, having lost the voters support on a mail-in ballot in November, where only 16% of registered voters voted, the Flagstaff Unified School District governing board gets a “do-over” with another vote where mail-in ballots are due by March 9. This time, there is a more organized effort to get out the favorable voters, including a Facebook page and yard signs. A meeting of supporters happens Tuesday night at the Main Flagstaff Public Library in downtown Flagstaff at 6:30 p.m.