What does the future look like for Fountain Hills? What steps should be taken to get there? What obstacles stand in the way?

The Fountain Hills Times this week begins a series that explores those very questions, approaching the topic with input from local educators, realtors, businesspeople, Town employees, service organizations and average citizens.

Following the recent Vision Fountain Hills community survey (nearly 2,0000 participants) and community workshop (more than 100 participants), it was determined that three key areas are considered top priorities for Fountain Hills Residents: Economic growth, attracting new families and working professionals, and expanding the enrollment and quality of Fountain Hills schools.

A common thread runs through each of those top priorities; to thrive, Fountain Hills needs to be a family-friendly community with opportunities for working parents, their children and business owners looking to set up shop.

This week, The Times spoke with a pair of local leaders in education, Fountain Hills Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney and Fountain Hills Charter School Principal Lynda Rice.

Decline

Dr. Sweeney first worked for the Fountain Hills district from 2004 to 2007 before returning at the start of the 2015-16 school year. In other words, he was a part of FHUSD at the height of its student enrollment. He estimated the peak at around 2,490 students.

“At that time, the Ellman Project had been approved, was in the works, and the numbers estimated out of there were that we could expect 400-500 kids out of that development,” Sweeney said.

That development never came, however, with the economic downturn of 2008 putting a halt to many similar projects around the town, state and country.

“We’re projecting right around 1,500 to open, K-12, this fall,” Sweeney continued. “That’s almost a thousand student decline over a nine year period, and that’s huge.”

According to Rice, a similar impact has been felt at the local Charter School.

“Student population has been shrinking,” Rice said. “It’s been a slow decline over the years. We’re down about 30 students this year, which is quite a percentage with a smaller school.”

While Rice said the decline in enrollment is peppered throughout, she finds that the first through third grade group appears to have a heavier weight in students lost.

Exodus

At both FHUSD and FHCS, exit surveys have shown that local schools are not losing the majority of students to neighboring districts. Families have been moving out of the area, typically due to a job change, to find work or due to the inability to keep up with the higher cost of living in the area.

“The bulk is moving somewhere else,” Sweeney said. “That said, we still lose students to other entities…That number has actually been pretty steady, even compared to a decade ago. But it’s a bigger percentage now, so we feel it more than we used to.”

At the Charter School, students are being lost due to similar circumstances.

“When we lose kids, the families tell us that they don’t want to leave, but they don’t have the work here,” she added. “We have a lot of families who drive in from out of town because they still want their kids to go here, but it’s gotten to the point where they just can’t make that drive anymore. Of the families who left this year, not one has said they were not happy with the school. It’s been other reasons like work, moving out of state…things like that.

“On the other hand, we do have some new families who have registered who moved here because they were visiting, seeing friends or family, and loved it here.”

Obstacles

At the local district, Sweeney said that whether or not Fountain Hills is “family friendly” isn’t really part of the conversation.

“As a resident, it seems pretty family friendly to me, but our district leadership conversations aren’t about that,” Sweeney said. “Our conversation is that we wish there were more kids. I think the biggest driver there is housing prices. Especially for starter families with young kids, they’re generally priced out of the market.”

As for the more affordable housing in Fountain Hills, Sweeney said it doesn’t tend to be the kind of single family housing that can be found at a cheaper price elsewhere.

Rice said that, while family friendly activities exist, she’d like to see more of them.

“There’s not much for the kids to do,” she said. “Kids like to go to the movies, arcades, water parks and things like that,” Rice said. “When kids in town want to do something, it seems like it’s happening outside of the community.”

Sweeney said he feels that, in Fountain Hills, there are more activities and opportunities available for youngsters than many give the town credit for.

“From the opportunities local schools offer, to the activities offered by the Boys & Girls Club and the Town – and they’re all affordable – I think we have some pretty good offerings,” he said.

Sweeney also referred to “quality of life” bonuses that many forget about, saying that Fountain Hills is “about the safest place you’re going to find in the state.”

“Those elements are present, but either people don’t know about them or they aren’t enough to offset the property prices,” he added.

Opportunities

Along with housing prices, Sweeney suggested that more good-paying jobs available to young professionals could be a boon for the town.

“A broader economic base with more job opportunities available, I think that would be another incentive to help people get serious about living in Fountain Hills,” Sweeney said. “That’s huge. But that’s only one part of the whole picture.”

Sweeney said that, just as other areas of town can help to enhance the schools, the schools must strive to enhance the town in turn.

“We always ask ourselves what we can do to get better,” Sweeney said. “We need to be the best choice. If a family is looking at education to determine if they want to move to Fountain Hills, that’s on us. Our role in that is every bit as important as everybody else’s. We need to continue to improve and put that information out there. That might be the tipping piece that helps someone decide to move here.”

Another opportunity suggested by Rice was an influx of clubs and activities specifically geared at keeping youngsters busy, possibly with transportation provided to make the process as easy as possible for kids to get involved.

“We need more organizations that cater to children,” Rice said. “I know some of this stuff is expensive, but I think it could help.

“That, and more affordable housing. There are so many duplexes around here, which seems like a perfect opportunity for family housing. But I lived in a duplex when I first moved here and had to move out because the rent went up. But now I’m looking at that same duplex and it’s still vacant, which makes no sense. I think there’s this idea that affluent people live here, so everyone thinks the prices can be higher. A family should be able to afford living in a duplex and, in Fountain Hills, they can’t.”

Looking ahead

“There are advantages to being smaller,” Sweeney said, referencing the recent VisionFH survey and workshop. “With all these different groups working together, you can really get things done on a scale and timeline that’s much quicker than what can be done in Phoenix or Scottsdale.

“I’m very optimistic about what will come of this. This is not just an exercise to get people together and talk. The process has been to put together some really solid recommendations about how to address these various issues and I think the town will move forward on them.”

Rice agreed.

“There are so many retirement communities in Arizona and not nearly enough family communities,” she said. “I think young families should be able to enjoy the beauty of Fountain Hills just as much as the folks with more money who can afford to live here.”