The Tucson Unified School District took the first steps toward closing schools in an attempt to right-size the district at Tuesday night’s Governing Board meeting.
Forming committees and adjusting school boundaries were part of the plan announced by TUSD general counsel Robert Ross, who spoke to the board Tuesday night, and went over state statutes on how to move forward.
Discussing the required process is first phase over the next seven months to explore, research and examine new district boundaries and evaluate which schools could be closed and consolidated due to declining enrollment. August could be the first time the public sees which schools are being considered for closure, the plan says. December is when the strategic consolidation plan goes to the board, according to slide 12 of Tucson night’s presentation.
The district closed 10 elementary and middle schools and one high school in 2012. Cragin, Manzo and Sewell Elementary schools were all on that list and spared 14 years ago.
“I realize the gravity and weight of what we are embarking on,” Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo told the board Tuesday night.
“I would not make a move without this board.”
Three of the four board members responded and asked questions about the preliminary plan. Jennifer Eckstrom and Natalie Luna Rose each recalled their experiences during previous closures.
“This is really triggering, having lived this,” Eckstrom said. “If we’re going to be fully committed to closing schools, our faces need to be fully up there to face our community.
“If we are going to be transparent, then we need to be transparent,” she said. “Who are on these committees? Are we looking at parents, community members? We need to do a better job than what happened years ago.”
Southern Arizona’s largest school district is projected to see a 3.3% decline from last year to about 35,000 students in 88 schools, according to Arizona Department of Education data.
That’s a nearly $8 million loss in per-pupil spending, according to TUSD’s revised budget. School closures and consolidations would save the district millions of dollars, district officials say.
The current decline mirrors the last quarter-century. TUSD data shows just over 60,000 students in 2000. By 2015, it was about 48,000. The falling numbers mean less money and have forced many Arizona districts to close neighborhood schools or right-size their districts.
“We are in a do-or-die struggle for enrollment,” Trujillo said in December.
“We have to really rethink the design of this district and we have to rethink ways that we’re going to position this district to be successful with enrollment, to be competitive and to turn the tide of enrollment loss,” he told Arizona Luminaria last fall.
Amphi will have question on November ballot
The Amphitheater Public Schools Governing Board voted 5-0 Tuesday night to ask voters in November for approval to sell or lease district property.
Amphi is 132 years old and includes 22 schools in pre-K through high school in north Tucson and Oro Valley. Enrollment data for last school year shows Amphi had about 10,500 students across its 112 square miles. The district will close four elementary schools over the summer.
In the general election, it will ask voters for approval to sell or lease those and additional properties, as districts are required to do by state law, said board member Matt Kopec.
As part of the general election, Amphi will also elect members to its board and the timing of the voter approval question made sense, Kopec said.
Read the whiteboard
✏️ Third-grade teacher Gabriela Gonzalez won the Esperanza Teacher Award from Chicanos por la Causa. The teacher at L.M. Prince Elementary in Amphitheater Public Schools won $5,000 and a $2,500 stipend for her school.
💐 University of Arizona students can get free counseling services beginning July 1. “Students have been asking for this because mental health care should be accessible to everyone,” said Associated Students of the University of Arizona Student Body President Adriana Grijalva, in a UA newsrelease. “Seeing this become reality shows that student voices matter.”
🏫 The Marana Unified School District turns 100 this month. Check out all the celebratory events here.
🗳️ Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed three Republican-backed education bills.
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