Today is the first day of school for Scottsdale Schools. My 2 girls happen to go to Copper Ridge (elementary and middle), and this year Copper Ridge has decided to encourage the wearing of a uniform.
The start of school in Scottsdale does bring up one significant real estate issue. Namely, that families moving into Arizona from out of state often do not realize how early school starts in most of Maricopa county. Over the past year, I’ve personally spoken with many families that are planning to move to the Valley in late August. Every family I spoke to was unaware their children would be missing any school. Most assume that school here starts around the same time school does throughout most of the US, after Labor Day.
To combat the problem, the local administration goes door-to-door, knocking on doors, trying hard to get the word out. The superindent of Scottsdale Schools, Dr. Baracy noted last year that tax dollars are allocated to schools based upon actual enrollment after the 2nd full week of school. Last year, he changed the start of the school year to be much later than before, because he noticed his district was losing significant state tax dollars, when children missed these first few weeks of school.
Parents were given a chance to give input into the start of school, and decided that 2 factors were of higher concern than the tax dollars:
- Finishing the fall semester before the winter break
- A week long fall bring in October
And so another school year begins. Lets all watch those 15 mph school zones (16 mph is a ticket!).
{ 0 comments… add one now }