As far as parents in the Madison School District are concerned, unification with 12 other elementary school districts and one high school district would be a step in the wrong direction.

    “The school district merger proposal wipes out the Madison School District by forcing it to merge with 13 other districts—and that would make our current district only a small part of what would become the largest school district in the state,” said Sarah Speer, chairwoman of Preserve Madison, a parents group organized to educate voters about the school district merger proposal and defeat it in the Madison School District.

The Madison School District, which has an enrollment of approximately 5,000 students, is one of the highest performing districts in the Valley. “Research contradicts the proposal’s proponents’ claims that bigger school districts are better; in fact, experienced educators say the opposite is true,” Speer said.

Speer and her fellow Madison District parent activists believe the mega-unification plan will not only negatively impact their children’s education and threaten their schools’ performance, but it could also purportedly decrease Madison neighborhood property values and increase property taxes.

In addition, proponents of the unification plan can’t guarantee parents that their children will be able to attend their neighborhood school.

“The mega-merger proposal is a risky proposition that doesn’t deserve the Madison community’s support,” Speer said. “That’s why we’re asking voters to vote no.”

    Still, some people believe there could be several benefits to schools and taxpayers should the unification plan pass.

“I know very well that people are attached to their school districts,” said Schultz. “They have history; they have concerns about change.”

Schultz, a former teacher and school administrator, emphasized that “If this doesn’t make sense for the kids, the curriculum and the front line staff (teachers and administrators), then it should not be done.”

However, Schultz does believe there will be several benefits to some kind of school district merge, from a comprehensive, established curriculum from kindergarten through grade 12, to cost savings from combining district “business functions,” such as healthcare benefits administration, transportation, food service, and more.

He says other benefits could include a more equitable pay scale for all teachers in the district (elementary school teachers generally make less than high school educators), smaller class sizes, and better test scores.

The Commission, which was created from Senate Bill 1068 passed in 2005, researched the issues connected to unification, held community discussions and several public hearings around the state, utilized cutting-edge technology tools through ASU’s Decision Theater, and attended education sessions with groups such as the Arizona Auditor General’s office.

Additionally, individual commissioners have visited districts across the state, attended meetings, held discussions with key school and public groups and invited the public and others to attend commission hearings to provide input. Through this work, the Commission focused its attention on 92 districts that were likely candidates for unification. Additional work resulted in that number dropping to 76 districts included in the final plan. If all those districts were to unify, it would reduce the number of districts in Arizona by 49.

Each individual school district’s registered voters must approve their unification plan on Nov. 4 by a majority in order for it to go into effect; if even one district’s voters say no, then the whole plan falls apart. Should it pass, districts have until July 2010 to unify.

The governor received the final report in December 2007 with recommendations including maps, data sheets, financial analysis and other information. The report can be found at http://www.ade.az.gov/sdrc/ (look for Maricopa County, Central) along with research and additional information collected and posted throughout the Commission’s two-plus years of work.