Tucson Unified School District held a school board meeting Tuesday night regarding a proposal to consolidate Catalina High School and Rincon and separate University High School.
According to TUSD interim director, Michelle Valenzuela the school board voted down the resolution put forward by Dr. Mark Stegeman in a 3-2 vote, Dr. Stegeman and Rachael Sedgwick voted for the resolution.
TUSD board member, Kristel Ann Foster suggested a different motion, and that passed 5-0, says Valenzeula.
According to Valenzuela, the motion was similar but did not include the timeline and directed the staff to continue the process of seeking input from all high schools not just Rincon, University and Catalina High schools.
#TUSD meeting to discuss the future of local High Schools. We'll have a full report on @kgun9 pic.twitter.com/KSASTyNGUP
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) December 13, 2017
Parents, students, and staff attended the meeting and expressed concerns about what this potential merger would mean for them.
Parents, students and teachers continue to address concerns at @tucsonunified meeting. @kgun9 pic.twitter.com/d3PQuUdxZj
— Jennifer Martinez (@Jennymartineztv) December 13, 2017
Many University High School students expressed their desires of having their own school away from Rincon High. They said with the growing number of students their location is just too small.
Catalina staff says their students have already experienced significant displacement.
The next steps will be for TUSD staff to put together a preliminary plan for high school reconfiguration and restructuring.
