REDFIELD PHASE II

PARENT TALKING POINTS LIBRARY

Public Hearing • September 22, 2026

Pick and choose the points that matter most to you. Copy/paste them into your AI tool along with your personal story to help create your speech.

 

There are many more points below, If I had to make a top 5 list they would be: 

 

1. Option C = Least Disruption + Most Savings. Option C disrupts the fewest students while creating the greatest projected savings.

2. Preserve the Desert Canyon Middle School Feeder. Redfield supports continuing to feed into the centrally located Desert Canyon Middle School. We do not support turning DCMS into a K–8 school or moving the middle school to Copper Ridge.

3. Avoid Unnecessary Disruption. Redfield does not prefer merging into a new school with a new identity, mascot and traditions. Redfield already has a strong, established community, and creating a new identity would add unnecessary disruption.

4. Redfield Is Ready to Grow. Redfield is excited about the opportunity to grow, welcome new families and build new traditions while preserving the community that makes Redfield special.

5. Redfield Is Centrally Located & Accessible. The Redfield building is centrally located, easily walkable for many neighborhood families and provides an affordable, practical neighborhood school option.

STILL LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT TALKING POINT? CHECK OUT THE MANY OPTIONS BELOW:

Use our statement of support of option C: 

 

Our support is based on the Phase II Design Committee’s findings, personal preference and several important considerations:

  • Option C reduces the district’s footprint while physically keeping schools in the 85260 zip code where families actively choose SUSD with dense student populations—and where enrollment is most sustainable over time due to affordability. 

  • Option C closes the two lowest enrolled schools, Copper Ridge (211 in K-5, 150 in 6-8) and Laguna (306 in K-5). Their attendance boundaries also contain some of the lowest number of K-8 school aged children choosing SUSD, Copper Ridge at 407 and Laguna at 572. For reference Redfield has 1,231 K-8 students living in their boundary choosing SUSD, and Anaszi has 638. https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1785514212/susdorg/swgdgsnwbbt1hc4mywgg/PHASE2ENROLLMENTGRIDBYBOUNDARYSCHOOLFINAL.pdf

  • Option C creates the largest amount of projected savings. This option also requires no rebranding costs. 

  • The survey across all schools polled show that families value both strong academic programs and convenient locations: approximately 61% selected strong academic programs and 60% selected convenient locations as factors that would keep them in SUSD, while distance was the #1 factor when considering whether to follow a program to another campus. Options A and B relocate more school communities farther distances than option C. 

  • Committee members who spent hours asking questions, learning the data, and putting in the work came to following conclusions: 

    • Option C received the highest overall committee score based on the district's rubric, 18.48 out of 25, compared with 15.65 for A and 13.81 for B.

    • Option C was most frequently selected by committee members for retaining current SUSD students and families.

    • Option C received the strongest student-centered score, reflecting fewer student moves (773 vs over 2100) and less disruption to established school communities. (2 vs 4 in A, or 3 in B). 

  • Large-scale consolidation and multi-school mergers generate significant employment uncertainty. Option C minimizes district-wide staff disruption, helping SUSD retain experienced educators and maintain positive campus cultures.

We have significant concerns about Option A because, while it offers potential expansion of the Cheyenne program, it would dissolve two established school communities—Redfield and Laguna—to create one entirely new community. This would  disrupt the families, teachers, staff, and administrators in two schools who have spent years building their school communities. In the survey data 65% of Laguna parents were opposed to merging with Redfield at Cheyenne and 50% of Redfield parents were opposed. Meaningful footprint reduction can be achieved with far less disruption.

We know this decision is difficult. Our request is that the Board disrupt the least amount of school communities and students, as well as, consider where SUSD's families are today, where they are likely to remain, and where future families can realistically establish roots.

For these reasons, we respectfully ask the Governing Board to select Option C.

 

REDFIELD IS A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL

  • Redfield is a high-performing, successful school with a strong academic reputation.

  • Redfield has a strong, engaged parent and community culture.

  • Families actively choose Redfield and are deeply invested in the school.

  • Redfield has a strong sense of community that has been built over many years.

  • School success should be measured by more than building utilization.

MINIMIZE STUDENT DISRUPTION

  • Option A would disrupt approximately 2,126 students.

  • Option B would disrupt approximately 2,132 students.

  • Option C would disrupt approximately 773 students.

  • Option C disrupts approximately 1,350 fewer students than Options A or B.

  • Reducing disruption to students and families should be a major consideration.

  • Every student moved represents a change in school, teachers, friends, routines, transportation and community.

FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY

  • Option A projects approximately $2.48 million in savings.

  • Option B projects approximately $2.57 million in savings.

  • Option C projects approximately $2.62 million in savings.

  • Option C provides the highest projected savings while disrupting the fewest students.

  • Responsible financial decisions and minimizing student disruption do not have to be mutually exclusive.

REDFIELD IS MORE THAN A BUILDING

  • A school is more than classrooms and available seats.

  • School culture, relationships, traditions and community cannot be captured by a utilization percentage.

  • Redfield has built a strong community that would be disrupted if the school were repurposed or significantly changed.

  • The impact of closing or moving students extends beyond the physical building.

DON'T JUST MOVE STUDENTS — BUILD STRONGER SCHOOLS

  • Closing a school does not eliminate the students; it moves them somewhere else.

  • The district should evaluate what receiving schools will look like after students are moved.

  • Higher building utilization does not automatically mean a stronger school.

  • The goal should be full and thriving schools, not simply fewer empty seats.

  • The long-term impact on receiving schools should be considered alongside immediate savings.

LONG-TERM IMPACT

  • Decisions should be evaluated based on their impact five and ten years into the future.

  • Enrollment projections are estimates and may change.

  • The district should consider how restructuring affects future enrollment, programming and family retention.

  • A decision that looks efficient today may have unintended consequences later.

  • The Board should consider which option creates the strongest long-term school communities.

REDFIELD → DESERT CANYON MIDDLE SCHOOL www.redfieldpto.com/phase2updatesdcms

  • Changes to Redfield affect the future Desert Canyon Middle School feeder pattern.

  • Redfield students contribute to the enrollment and community of Desert Canyon Middle School.

  • Changes in feeder patterns can affect enrollment, programs, athletics, electives and school culture.

  • The impact on middle school should be considered when making an elementary school decision.

  • Families with children at different grade levels may experience the effects of Phase II for many years.

RETAINING SUSD FAMILIES

  • SUSD has experienced significant enrollment decline.

  • The district should consider whether major boundary changes could cause families to leave SUSD.

  • Families choose schools based on academics, culture, programs, convenience and community.

  • Preserving successful school communities can help retain families within SUSD.

  • Enrollment is not just a number; every student represents a family making a choice about where to attend school.

SCHOOL CHOICE & ENROLLMENT CONTEXT

  • Redfield's enrollment should be considered in the context of the choices available to families within its attendance boundary.

  • Cheyenne Traditional School is a school-of-choice option located within the broader Redfield area.

  • Families living within the Redfield boundary may choose other SUSD options rather than their neighborhood school.

  • Transportation options can make school-of-choice programs accessible to families outside their traditional neighborhood assignment.

  • Neighborhood population does not automatically translate into neighborhood-school enrollment.

  • Redfield has maintained relatively strong enrollment despite families having other SUSD choices.

  • School-choice enrollment should be considered when evaluating the utilization and enrollment of neighborhood schools.

  • The district should evaluate whether changes to neighborhood schools could further encourage families to choose alternatives outside their neighborhood school.

PROTECT WHAT IS WORKING

  • SUSD needs to address underutilized facilities, but not every underutilized school is an unsuccessful school.

  • Redfield's academic performance, culture and parent engagement are strengths worth preserving.

  • The district should distinguish between underutilized buildings and unsuccessful schools.

  • If the district can address facility needs without dismantling successful school communities, that option deserves serious consideration.

THE HUMAN IMPACT

  • Behind every enrollment number is a child and a family.

  • School changes affect friendships, teachers, siblings, transportation, childcare and extracurricular activities.

  • Families have invested time, money and volunteer hours into their school communities.

  • Students should not bear unnecessary disruption when less disruptive alternatives may exist.

  • The emotional and community impact of school closure or relocation cannot be measured solely in dollars.

A DATA-DRIVEN DECISION

  • Parents support responsible stewardship of district resources.

  • The decision should consider financial savings and student disruption.

  • The Board should evaluate all three options using consistent, transparent criteria.

  • Community input should be considered alongside enrollment, financial and facility data.

  • The best option should be the one that creates the strongest long-term outcome for SUSD students.

POSSIBLE CLOSING POINTS

  • Preserve successful schools.

  • Minimize student disruption.

  • Use district resources responsibly.

  • Protect strong school communities.

  • Consider the long-term consequences.

  • Choose the solution that best serves students, not simply the solution that fills the most seats.

  • If the district can save money while disrupting fewer students, that option deserves serious consideration.