Despite earlier plans to resume classes on Thursday, May 3, some districts are announcing that schools will remain closed Thursday and until the teacher walkout ends.
So far, Marana Unified School District, Catalina Foothills School District and Amphitheater Public Schools have changed plans to open Thursday and have announced they will instead remain closed.
Late Tuesday, leaders of the #RedForEd movement encouraged teachers to return to work Thursday if lawmakers passed a budget that would give teachers a pay bump — even though the spending plan didn't meet all of their demands (more on that spending plan here). Marana, Catalina Foothills, Amphi and other local districts announced schools would re-open Thursday, anticipating teachers would return to work.
But that's probably not happening.
Fearing lawmakers probably wouldn't pass the bill by the end of the day, many teachers decided to continue the walkout into Thursday.
"The Marana school district is committed to re-opening schools as soon as possible," said Doug Wilson, Marana's superintendent, in a statement. "We understand the challenges this creates for our students, families, and staff; however, we cannot hold classes, expect meaningful learning to take place, and provide a safe environment without a sufficient number of teachers."
Catalina Foothills issued a similar statement.
"We have already determined that we will not have adequate staffing to provide a viable instructional day tomorrow," said Mary Kamerzell, Catalina Foothills' superintendent, in a statement. "Therefore, we will remain closed. This decision will not be changed even if the budget is passed overnight. Rather, opening our schools is dependent upon adequate staffing."
Tucson Unified School District had already announced Tuesday night that it would not re-open until the walkout ended, and Sunnyside Unified School District planned on staying closed the duration of the week.
TUSD recently posted on Facebook that they will announce by 11 a.m. each day on Facebook, their website and through automatic notifications whether schools will reopen the next day.
Vail School District, which opened Tuesday, plans to remain open, said Darcy Mentone, the district's director of communications and public affairs.
The Arizona Daily Star reports that Tanque Verde Unified School District re-opened today on a half-day schedule through Thursday. Sahuarita Unified School District also opened today and has plans for a half-day schedule through Friday. Flowing Wells Unified School District plans on opening with a full-day schedule Thursday. If any of these districts change their plans, we'll update this when we learn about it.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
