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Old 12-13-2012, 07:32 AM
 
Location: Hard aground in the Sonoran Desert
4,866 posts, read 11,227,084 times
Reputation: 7128

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MD2NC View Post
Thanks for the info, I've looked all thru the Litchfield School District site and don't see any reference to fees for Kindergarten anywhere. Does anyone else know what the cost is?

Are there any other specific neighborhoods that people can recommend other than Verrado? That are in a good school area and have a community pool and are in my $1,500/mo budget for a 3 bedroom house.

Thanks again!
Litchfield Elementary School District is a public school district and there are not any "fees" to attend.

We live in Oasis at Canyon Trails which is on the west side of Goodyear (Citrus Rd and Yuma Rd) and has a community pool and rent well below your budget. It is a nice and quiet place to live and we've enjoyed living here for the last five years. The one downfall (outside of the commute to Palo Verde) is the elementary school district isn't the best but we do attend the best school in that district (Copper Trails Elementary).
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Old 12-13-2012, 07:38 AM
 
Location: Hard aground in the Sonoran Desert
4,866 posts, read 11,227,084 times
Reputation: 7128
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
Palo Verde is out in the middle of nowhere so to speak. The nearest really nice places with good schools, community facilities, etc are Verrado and Estrella. Tonopah is a ramshackle trailer village.
I drive out to Tonopah frequently to go to a farmers market out there but have never actually been into the town of Tonopah. Is there a town and any developments out there? Seems like there would be someplace closer than Verrado and Estrella for all those APS workers who don't want to commute.
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Old 12-13-2012, 10:00 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,076 posts, read 51,246,227 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LBTRS View Post
I drive out to Tonopah frequently to go to a farmers market out there but have never actually been into the town of Tonopah. Is there a town and any developments out there? Seems like there would be someplace closer than Verrado and Estrella for all those APS workers who don't want to commute.
There's quite a few mobiles scattered on acreage out that way - my kind of life style! And there is Wintersburg which is just a small crossroads place very near to PV. A former dormitory in Wintersburg is now apartments, I think, but otherwise not much in the way of what the OP is looking for that is for sure. The west side of Buckeye has some newer subdivisions down near Miller Road and south of MC85 as well. Overall Buckeye proper is not a highly desirable area but for the OP, it might work. With kids in Kindergarten and only being here for 6 months, I would not be getting too worked up over the schools myself. They are safe and possibly even new. There is plenty of shopping in the Buckeye area for the day to day and Goodyear is not far away.

I used to always stop at Tonopah Joe's when I was out that way for the chili.
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Old 12-14-2012, 07:28 AM
 
Location: Hyrule
8,390 posts, read 11,608,234 times
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I believe they have a few gated communities in Tonopah. I'm not sure what it looks like now as it's been a while but seemed like the ideal of a true freeway side desert city. I think the commute to Estrella would be worth it if you have little kids. I hear good things about that place. Not so much about Tonopah.
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Old 12-14-2012, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Avondale and Tempe, Arizona
2,852 posts, read 4,503,827 times
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Palo Verde is a long drive to and from anywhere, even the western suburbs.

Verrado would probably be the closest family-friendly community but even that is going to be a long commute.

I live in the northern part of Avondale and it has just about everything the OP is searching for, lots of shopping nearby without having to drive too far, but the trouble is the drivetime to work.

Just about anything close to Palo Verde is going to be painfully rural, boring, and not very attractive.
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Old 12-16-2012, 09:24 PM
 
Location: AZ
1,046 posts, read 3,484,880 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MD2NC View Post
Thanks for the info, I've looked all thru the Litchfield School District site and don't see any reference to fees for Kindergarten anywhere. Does anyone else know what the cost is?
I also looked at their site. It looks like they do charge. They call it "extended day". So free is counted as 8:30 to 11:30ish and extended is until 3:30.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LBTRS View Post
Litchfield Elementary School District is a public school district and there are not any "fees" to attend.
No fees for half day kindergarten. If you want to have your child in full day"extended day" it cost.

I think it was 3 years ago when my local school district, and many others in the metro area, went to paying for k. I've talked to the 2nd grade teachers this year and they can tell a significant difference. So I guess my only advice to you would be to adjust your budget to so your children can attend full day kindergarten. I think we pay about $250 a month for "extended day". AZ has a pretty horrible reputation on education and studies have shown that the early years are the most important. ....(conspiracy theory.. maybe the private prisons that fund AZ politicians have a say in it. Kids that don't go to full day kindergarten have a higher rate of incarceration.)

I guess my advice would be to call any school in the area you are looking and asking them. From what I have seen, if you can afford a $1500 rent you will probably live somewhere that charges for K.

Last edited by roundball; 12-16-2012 at 09:37 PM..
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Old 12-17-2012, 10:34 AM
 
9,091 posts, read 19,228,371 times
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Honestly, I'd pick Goodyear/Verrado/LP and then just deal with the drive

Tonopah is not a place I'd want to live, especially with kids ..... Tonopah Rob does have a nice farmers market, but overall there just isn't a lot there and it's very limited in what is offered in the area

For what it's worth here is a link to their district score cards
https://www10.ade.az.gov/ReportCard/...&ReportLevel=2

Here is the same for the Litchfield Elementary School District
https://www10.ade.az.gov/ReportCard/...&ReportLevel=2

The commute is a lot of miles, but it's fast - most of it will have a posted speed limit of 75mph and there isn't much traffic heading out of the city or back in at night ...... we've had friends who have worked out there and have lived in Goodyear .... i'd definitely focus on that area or verrado

A pool is nice, but unless heated it will be fairly cold typically until at least April

For what you are looking for I'd even avoid non-Verrado Buckeye .... the jump between quality of life and surrounding options is much higher in either goodyear or verrado to offset the additional drive
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