The day after the killing of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, Mesa Public Schools Superintendent Andi Fourlis sent a note
Parents, teachers and leaders hoped this school year would finally bring normalcy for Mesa Public Schools’ 56,000 students, but data presented by administrators to the Governing Board at a May
Mesa Public Schools has had 700 students and staff test positive for COVID-19 since classes began on Aug. 3. The district has begun to boost mitigation strategies.
Renovations are in at Mesa Public Schools, but staff reductions are not.
At its March 16 meeting, the MPS Governing Board approved the first chunk of a $40 million â up from $35 million â upgrade at Mountain View High, calendars for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years and heard that teacher and staff layoffs are not in the works â despite looming budget question marks.
As for the calendars, the board approved no major changes, other than the addition of two âprofessional learning days,â with students not in school on days following winter and spring breaks.Â
Associate Superintendent Holly Williams said this item had a split response among the 27,826 responses to a district-wide questionnaire on the calendar.
Open classrooms, learning gaps and other issues related to the pandemic may be at the forefront of decisions awaiting the new Mesa Public Schools Governing Board, but the condition of many district schools wonât be far behind.
This summer voters could see construction beginning on two of the biggest projects funded by the $300 million capital bond issue that they approved in 2018: an extensive overhaul of Mesa High and Mountain View campuses with some new buildings and additions, revamped athletic fields and other improvements that will cost an estimated $35 million for each school.
So far, the board has only approved contracts for final proposed designs and cost estimates for the two projects.