To say that the school district must be fine because your children are doing well is lunacy.  A child doing well in an under-performing school district is likely not prepared to students who did well in excelling districts when those two students meet in college.  If you compare the curriculum in Maricopa with curriculum from other schools, MUSD does not come as close to meeting state standards.  This is apparent by their consistently low AIMS scores.  It's hard to pinpoint the reason for low AIMS scores.  It could be the administration, teachers who aren't in touch with the state standards, lack of supplies, or students who ate Twinkies for breakfast the day of the test.  It is almost impossible to lay blame on one particular individual.  However, when a district consistently performs poorly, the blame is somewhere.  I understand there has been improvement, but AIMS scores in Maricopa look nothing like they look in Kyrene and other charter schools in the Ahwatukee area.  Until that improves, the district will continue to lose students to more competitive districts.

As a kid who grew up in the Tempe/Kyrene school district I have to laugh.  We or our parents went through the same "stuff" that MUSD is going through, it is called growing pains.  As a kid, I remember hearing about the schools being overcrowded and all the other complaints.  Kyrene is what it is because it has had the time to GROW UP.  Try 20 plus years.  I have to agree Maricopa has come a long way in a short time. 

I myself was on the band wagon to send my little ones to school in the Kyrene school district until I was reminded by some very wise people that Kyrene was no better the MUSD back in the day, the difference is Kyrene has had the time to grow up and progress to what they are today.  Of course they are courting our children and families, because now they have wonderful schools and need the head count. 

I am not bashing anyones decision on choice of schools.  I think all our common denominators here are what works best and is best for our children.  It is great we have the choice to choose where we send our kids!!   

Our children will probably wrestle with the same tough decisions with our grandchildren and we will tell them to bus them to Maricopa, they have one heck of a school district with no overcrowding, spectacular teachers, and cutting edge technology!!!  (Not to mention they will be close to Grandma and Grandpa's house)  Haha....LOL

All kidding aside, it will always be a debate but we are talking about our kids.  Best wishes to you all in your school choices.  I truly have confidence in all of them Kyrene, Maricopa, and Legacy.  Hopefully we will all find the "right fit" for our children.

Kudos chevyguy you have some great points!!

Lot's of interesting opinions.  None right....none wrong. 

My daughter is going to start Kindergarten next fall and I've started looking into elementary schools.  I know for a fact that she won't be going to MUSD but a school in Kyrene.  Like some of the other posts, I am not going to send my kids to MUSD when I have the option of sending them to a much better school district.  In addition, we would never have bought in Maricopa if we didn't have access to that district. 

I'm thinking of sending her either to Sierra or Summit in the Kyrene district.  Does anyone send (or have sent) their kids to one of those schools and if so how are they?

I am all for better schools.  But, does it really make sense to send your kids up the '347 Speedway of Death' in a bus with no seat belts?

Seems to me that all the bus accidents happen in Maricopa with the MUSD buses.

And they don't have seat belts either.  How much is a child's life worth?

The law requires you to 'buckle up' yourself and kids in your car, yet the school bus is SEAT BELT FREE, except for the driver.

Why does the driver have a seat belt, but the kids don't?

I am not saying anything bad about any particular school district, as none of them have seat belts.

How much could seat belts add to the cost of a bus?

Everyone always says 'its for the kids', well seat belts should be FOR THE KIDS TOO.