Open enrollment is a win-win

Besides the fact that Arizona state law requires public school districts to allow for open enrollment after residents are given preference (A.R.S. § 15-816.01), CFSD is proud to be a reputable district that students all across the area find desirable. Families are able to choose to attend if admitted and they do! There are over 36 zip codes represented in our district.

This year about 48% of students are from open enrollment. The percentage varies year to year, but it is significant enough to have a large and positive impact on our schools. This number includes in-district families that opt to go to a different elementary or middle school than assigned for various reasons, such as access to a language immersion program at a particular elementary school.

Each student brings with them a valuable per-pupil amount of state funding. Without their numbers, the district would have to close schools, reduce staffing, and be unable to provide the wide variety of extracurriculars our students enjoy. There would be larger classrooms, less course offerings, and less programs that enrich the student experience.

Open enrollment families are an integral part of the CFSD community. They contribute to the necessary support of a successful district by being involved and providing invaluable volunteers who chair committees, put countless hours in as officers in our FFOs (Family Faculty Organizations), and donate their resources to benefit students at all of our schools.

“As an open-enrollment family, the school board is part of the reason we continue to choose CFSD. I've seen other district board meetings descend into partisanship, name-calling, and stonewalling at the hands of elected officials out of touch with families, without students of their own attending the schools they were elected to support, and seemingly only interested in seeing their names in headlines. I choose CFSD because they do better than that. There is not an ‘us vs them’ distinction between in-district and open enrollment students. Without open enrollment, half of CFSD schools would close. It is a symbiotic relationship that is supported by the school board.

I have personally volunteered alongside Amy Bhola and Gina Mehmert at countless school activities. They aren't interested in the school board for politics; they are interested in making it work for students. I can't vote for them, but I would, if I could, and I encourage in-district families to (do so)."

Kate S., active CFSD parent and volunteer