On Monday afternoon, the Tucson Unified School District recommended consolidating Hudlow Elementary School into Sewell Elementary School — the first two schools named as part of recommendations to right-size Southern Arizona’s largest school district.
Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said two weeks ago he would first meet in person first with principals, then faculty at each school recommended for the changes. Monday, Oct. 19, the district began informing up to 10 of its 88 schools that they will be closed or consolidated over the next two years.
“The district utilized a community advisory committee to evaluate multiple factors beyond basic enrollment and finances, including vacant classroom space, class size impact, access to arts, physical education, preschool, before-and after-school programs, transportation, and special programs such as Exceptional Education and Gifted and Talented Education,” TUSD said in a statement late Monday afternoon.
Speak out
Are you a staff member or one of the families affected by TUSD’s closure and consolidation recommendations? We want to talk with you. Email sconner@azluminaria.org or
text 520-991-5749.
Hudlow Elementary has preschool through fifth grade and is just over a mile away from Sewell, also preschool through grade 5 on the east side, near Fifth Street and Wilmot Road. If approved, the consolidation will happen next school year, the district said.
A Sewell family engagement meeting will be Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. in the library, the school website says. As of the 2025-26 school year, Sewell’s enrollment was listed as 169 and Hudlow at 162 students, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Both schools were built in 1959. W. Arthur Sewell started the Tucson High School band in 1919 and continued to lead it until 1950. Hudlow was named after Ulah Hudlow, who taught in the district from 1921 to 1955, when she retired, according to a history of TUSD on its website.
Families will receive a letter with more detailed information about the recommendations, including an invite to meet with Trujillo at an on-site school meeting, the superintendent said earlier this month.
The next step for school communities is the Oct. 27 governing board meeting, moved to Palo Verde High School to accommodate an anticipated larger crowd. That meeting will be followed by a Nov. 17 legally-mandated public hearing where the community can also comment and then a Dec. 8 vote by the TUSD Governing Board, which must approve or deny the recommendations.
Enrollment decline due to lower Pima County birth rates and families using Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to homeschool or attend private schools have cost the district revenue and caused the need to close, district officials say.
The district held four community meetings over the last five weeks to get feedback on TUSD demographics, enrollment and financial data. More than 300 people, including staff and community members attended the three in-person and one virtual meeting.
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