Expand / Collapse search
☰
Red Flag Warning
until SAT 9:00 PM MDT, Black Mesa Area, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 Northward, Chinle Valley, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264
10
Red Flag Warning
from SAT 8:00 AM MST until SAT 8:00 PM MST, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Yavapai County Valleys and Basins
Red Flag Warning
until SAT 8:00 PM MST, Southern Gila County/Tonto National Forest Foothills, Yavapai County Mountains, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Eastern Mogollon Rim, Western Mogollon Rim, Coconino Plateau, Marble and Glen Canyons, Kaibab Plateau, Grand Canyon Country, White Mountains
Red Flag Warning
from SUN 11:00 AM MST until SUN 8:00 PM MST, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County
Red Flag Warning
from SUN 12:00 PM MDT until SUN 9:00 PM MDT, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Chinle Valley, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 Northward, Black Mesa Area
Red Flag Warning
until SAT 11:00 PM MST, Northwest Deserts/Northwest Plateau, Lake Mead NRA/Colorado River-AZ side
Wind Advisory
until SAT 8:00 PM MST, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County, Coconino Plateau, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Yavapai County Mountains, Western Mogollon Rim, Grand Canyon Country, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Kaibab Plateau
Wind Advisory
until SAT 9:00 PM MDT, Chinle Valley, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 Northward, Black Mesa Area, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau
Lake Wind Advisory
until SAT 11:00 PM MST, Lake Havasu and Fort Mohave, Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Wind Advisory
until SAT 11:00 PM MST, Northwest Plateau, Northwest Deserts

Students and parents are upset over Gilbert Public Schools layoffs

By
Updated  March 30, 2021 9:24pm MST
Education
FOX 10 Phoenix
Parents attend Gilbert school board meeting following layoff

Parents attend Gilbert school board meeting following layoff

152 teachers and other staff members were affected by the layoff, which school district officials say is due to declining enrollment.

GILBERT, Ariz. - Dozens of upset parents and students attended a Gilbert Public Schools board meeting on March 30, following the East Valley school district's decision to lay off some of their teachers and staff members.

Related: Gilbert Public Schools laying off workers; over 100 reportedly affected

FOX 10 first reported on the layoff on March 26. According to a statement, school district officials say the layoff was done due to loss of student enrollment.

"Gilbert Public Schools, along with many other school districts, faces a reduced number of students going into the next school year following the global pandemic," read a portion of the statement. "Decisions like this are not easily made, and as a school district, we greatly value all of our employees and their contributions."

152 certified employees were affected by the layoff, and the cuts sent shockwaves through the school community.

"I was really surprised. I didn’t think they were going to layoff teachers," said student Asher Vanderpool. "I knew a few students that stopped going to school because of COVID. They wanted to be safe and all that."

Vanderpool’s swim coach, who has nearly two decades of teaching experience, is among the teachers and staff members affected by the layoff.

"I just want to know what’s really driving this decision, and how they decided what teachers," said parent Lisa Del Rio. "The teachers they’re letting go are high caliber teachers that have been in the district. This is the hardest years they’ve ever had to teach, and this is how they’re getting paid? I just would like to know more."

Officials with Gilbert Public Schools released a statement, which reads, in part:

Parents say they’re skeptical of the district’s decision.

"Why is it that every single district around us is increasing in enrollment? Why would Gilbert be decreasing? That does not make any sense whatsoever," said Kari Vanderpool.

"I don’t understand why we have to, at least to that degree and such fine caliber teachers," said Del Rio.

EducationGilbertNews