Friends of Public Schools - Scottsdale

01/12/2026

There’s a bill currently being discussed in Arizona, Senate Bill 1080, that would let school districts partner with private developers to convert unused school buildings into affordable housing for teachers and essential workers. Legislators say it’s a win-win: districts get revenue and teachers get housing. 

Here’s the truth you need to understand:

👉 Arizona already has tools for repurposing unused school space, and districts can lease or sell land under existing law. 
👉 The real driver of unused buildings isn’t a lack of ideas, it’s declining enrollments caused by school choice policies and open enrollment.
👉 Turning school property into housing, even for teachers, easily becomes a backdoor privatization mechanism, transferring public assets into private hands and shrinking public education capacity permanently.

Sending housing to teachers doesn’t fix the root problem (like low pay or declining enrollment), and it does risk setting a precedent where public land becomes public-private profit land. That’s exactly the dynamic we’ve been warning about.

If you oppose this bill as written, contact Senator John Kavanagh and tell him you do not support legislation that could undermine neighborhood schools and funnel public assets into private development.

🔁 Follow for more, we’re going to keep explaining what’s at stake before it’s too late

01/08/2026

🎓 Attention Coronado High School Seniors — Class of 2026! 🎓

Applications for the 2026 Coronado Promise Scholarship are now OPEN!

This scholarship is designed to support motivated Coronado students as you take the next step beyond high school and work toward your future goals and career dreams.

💰 Scholarship Award:
• Up to $6,000 toward tuition and fees
• Paid directly to the school
• Valid for students enrolling in a Maricopa Community College or an Arizona certificate-granting, regionally accredited technical/trade school

Download Application:
https://tinyurl.com/2026PromiseApplication

Submit Application with Needed Documents:
https://tinyurl.com/CoronadoPromise26

🗓 Deadline:
📌 Applications must be submitted no later than Monday, February 2, 2026

Questions? Need Assistance?
See Coach E or TG in GEAR UP

If you’re planning to continue your education after graduation, don’t miss this opportunity to invest in your future. Apply and take the next step! 💙

12/17/2025

📌 FRIENDS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMENT POLICY

Friends of Public Schools exists to support respectful, informed conversation about public education and our communities.

We welcome different viewpoints.
We do not allow harmful or toxic behavior.

Comments may be removed if they include:
• Personal attacks, insults, or name-calling
• Dehumanizing language (about students, families, educators, or schools)
• Harassment, bullying, or intimidation
• Profanity directed at others
• Misinformation presented as fact
• Repetitive or disruptive political talking points unrelated to the post
• Attempts to provoke or derail discussion

What we encourage instead:
• Civil disagreement
• Questions asked in good faith
• Personal experiences shared respectfully
• Solutions-focused discussion

Moderation approach
• Comments that cross these lines may be hidden or removed
• Repeat violations may result in blocking
• Moderation decisions are made to protect families, educators, and community members, not to silence disagreement

Public education impacts real people.
We ask everyone to engage with care, respect, and humanity.

Thank you for being part of this community.

— Friends of Public Schools

12/17/2025

This doesn’t have to be the end of the story but time matters.

Arizona underfunds public education.
Too many schools now compete for too few students. And once a neighborhood school closes, the community impact is permanent.

What can we do before it’s too late?

👉 Weigh in at the state level.
Contact legislators and advocate for real investment in public education not continued erosion through underfunding and unchecked voucher expansion.

👉 Insist on transparency.
Decisions this significant should be guided by governing-board–appointed committees that follow Arizona Open Meeting Laws.

👉 Slow the process to get it right.
Public, transparent committees give communities time to explore alternatives, partnerships, and solutions before irreversible decisions are made.

We can face hard realities without losing our humanity.
Blame won’t save schools.
Transparency, public input, and community advocacy still can.

Friends of Public Schools believes every neighborhood deserves a strong public school and every family deserves a voice.

Like, comment & share if you do too.

11/18/2025

Our public schools are facing decisions that will shape the future of students, teachers, and entire neighborhoods.
The SUSD Board meets TOMORROW, and your presence matters more than ever.
Check susd.org → Board for the meeting details.

Let’s show them our community is paying attention.

11/13/2025

💪 This is about protecting our schools, our teachers, and our kids’ stability.
Be there. Be seen. Be heard.
📍 TONIGHT Nov 13 | 6 PM | Coronado High School Board Room

11/13/2025

This is about protecting our schools, our teachers, and our kids’ stability.

Be there. Be seen. Be heard.
November 13
6 pm
Coronado High School

11/08/2025

💔 PTO parents, you’ve raised the money, planned the events, and carried our schools through years of underfunding.

And now, you’re being told closures are the only answer.

Here’s the truth:
A Maricopa County judge ruled Arizona’s school-funding system unconstitutional.
The problem isn’t SUSD. It’s the state’s refusal to fully fund public education.

🔥 Be angry. You’ve earned it.
But aim it where it belongs. At the policymakers who created this crisis, not the people trying to survive it.

📅 Nov. 13 | 6 PM | Coronado High School Board Room

💪 Show up for your schools. Echo Canyon and Pima are first on the list. They won’t be the last.

Remind everyone: we can’t out-fundraise a broken system.

But we can out-organize it.

10/14/2025

10/11/2025

Our public schools are the heart of Scottsdale but they’re being squeezed by state policies that reward fragmentation instead of community.

This isn’t about “good” or “bad” schools. It’s about too many systems competing for the same limited public dollars.

We can fix this together, but we have to focus our energy on the real problem - not fight each other.

💛 Be kind. Be factual. Be local. 💛

Hateful or misleading comments will be deleted, not because we fear debate, but because we’re focused on solutions that keep SUSD schools open and thriving.

10/10/2025

For years, SUSD enrollment has been dropping. It’s not because of bad leadership or failing schools, but because Arizona’s education market is overcrowded.

Every time a new charter or private school opens, a few more students leave. Multiply that across Scottsdale, and suddenly we have too many schools, not enough students.

Now, with universal ESA vouchers handing public tax dollars to private tuition, our district is reaching a tipping point.

💔 When small schools close, it’s not because SUSD is mismanaging. It’s because the state built a system that rewards fragmentation over community.

It’s time to stop blaming the district and start demanding state-level reform.

🗣 Limit ESA vouchers to students with special needs.
🏫 Coordinate school openings so we don’t flood neighborhoods with empty seats.
💪 Fight for the future of Scottsdale’s public schools before they’re gone.