Burgers & Bottlenecks: 765 Hamburgers Reward Punctuality as Traffic Troubles Teen Sleep
With more homes and cars crowding West Valley neighborhoods, teens are losing valuable sleep as worsening traffic snarls their morning commutes. A failed bond delays relief.
Last night marked the first governing board meeting for the Buckeye Union High School District since the anticipated defeat of its proposed $155 million bond initiative. Bond approval would have funded numerous improvements over the next decade.
Although the bond issue was not formally listed on the agenda for discussion, Dr. Bebee briefly addressed its impending failure and outlined next steps during his superintendent's report.
Dr. Bebee explained the bond initiative's failure sets the district back by one year. Next week, the district will meet with election consultants.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO BOND FAILURE
The West Valley, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, faces a pressing need for more schools as classrooms struggle with overcrowding.
The bond would have addressed this issue with construction of a fourth school.
Voters tell us they did not know much about the bond.
Communication through social media is not one of the district's strengths. The BUHSD bond was highlighted four times on the district’s Facebook page and three times on Instagram.
District officials did take their message to the people by hosting three community meetings informing voters about the bond’s intended uses.
Here’s a look at what the community had to say about the bond failure on our West Valley Families Facebook page.
MORE HOMES. MORE CARS. LESS SLEEP FOR STUDENTS.
The principal of Estrella Foothills High School highlighted one of the issues the bond aimed to address: traffic flow at her campus, situated at the southern end of Estrella Parkway in Goodyear, Arizona.
Teenagers naturally struggle with early school start times due to their biological sleep cycles, often making it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m., according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. This leads to sleep deprivation which impacts their health, mood, and cognitive function. The issue is further exacerbated for some West Valley students who must wake even earlier due to worsening traffic in their growing community, facing longer commutes and a 7:30 a.m. start. Research from the CDC shows inadequate sleep negatively affects academic performance, with earlier wake-up times only adding to students' stress and fatigue.
Principal Kimberly Heinz notes that 70% of campus referrals are due to tardiness, primarily driven by morning traffic.
Listen.
Principal Heinz noted that Goodyear Police assist with traffic flow; however, no officers were observed on site this morning. The school encourages early arrivals through positive behavior incentives, like coupons for free hamburgers, while one governing board member suggested leveraging the school's free breakfast program to motivate students to arrive on time.
As of the latest results, the bond is failing at nearly 57%.
Also on the ballot was the election of three seats on the governing board. Board president Brian Turner holds the second-highest number of votes in the re-election race, with newcomers Sousa and Shelton also poised to be elected.
JEN’S TWO CENTS
Also during last night's Buckeye Union High School District governing board meeting, principals and department heads from all BUHSD schools celebrated their A ratings.
As we have done for several West Valley elementary and high school districts, we compiled the proficiency data for BUHSD.
Buckeye Union High School District saw an improvement in its ELA scores from 2022 to 2023 after purchasing and implementing a curriculum program called Educational Epiphany.