Before he could walk the halls of Cragin Elementary, Castiel Maske moved through them as a preschooler with his yellow walker.
Now in fourth grade, Castiel has been known to run through the school doors to Ms. Paz’s class.
Cragin is where Castiel learned to navigate physical barriers, develop independence and access support, says his mom, Erica Maske.
Most of all, he belongs, she said.
“That progress did not happen in isolation,” said Erica, who will talk about her son and his school at Tuesday night’s Tucson Unified School District Governing Board meeting.
Speak out
Public comment is welcome at the Tuesday, Oct. 27 TUSD Governing Board meeting at Palo Verde High School, 1302 S. Avenida Vega at 5:30 p.m. The meeting aims to answer and ask questions on the recommendation to close or consolidate 12 schools.
Castiel has worked hard and is determined, Erica said. And, his mom says the 9-year-old with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy has also found success because of the consistent support, resources, accommodations, and encouragement he has at Cragin.
Erica’s words are a plea for her son and about 180 students at Cragin, one of 12 schools TUSD has proposed closing or consolidating in an attempt to right-size Southern Arizona’s largest school district and save money.
TUSD officials propose Cragin should merge with Blenman Elementary, two miles south and east. That merger could save $660,556 a year, TUSD says.
“How do you put a price tag on a village that has helped a child with a disability find his independence?” Erica asks.
That is one sample question for the Tuesday night meeting at Palo Verde High School, where the board and likely hundreds of community members will get a financial and historical breakdown of the reconfiguration proposal, followed solely by public comments, up until the 10 p.m. meeting conclusion.
What TUSD says about the cost-savings of the proposed plan involving 10 of the 12 schools named so far:
- It needs to close a $27 million gap, Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernández told Arizona Luminaria.
- Proposed savings is $3.4 million to close five schools.
- Just over 40 full-time equivalent staff could lose jobs, including 15 teachers.
TUSD’s supporting agenda documents show different figures depending on which you look at. The numbers above come from the school consolidations financial overview.
As of Oct. 26, TUSD administrators have recommended eight elementary schools be merged or closed for the 2027-28 school year:
• Hudlow Elementary closing and merging into Sewell Elementary
• Dunham Elementary closing and merging into Marshall Elementary
• Cragin Elementary closing and merging into Blenman Elementary
• Collier Elementary closing and merging into Bloom Elementary
Two other proposals, both similar, are also on the table:
• Magee Middle School closing and merging into Sabino High School in the 2027-28 school year
• Secrist Middle School closing and merging into Santa Rita High School in the 2028-29 school year
A “secondary academy” to serve middle school students would be created at Sabino and Santa Rita, the district says. That means separate buildings, classes, lunch periods, and daily bell schedule specifically for middle school students. It does not include the mixing of middle school-aged students with high school students, TUSD said in a news release this week.
The proposal also includes transferring Secrist and Magee teachers and staff to Santa Rita and Sabino, respectively to “serve middle school students in the proposed secondary academy.”
The district began rolling out this plan on Monday, Oct. 19 to close or consolidate schools over the next two years to save money, district officials say. Last year, TUSD lost nearly $8 million in state funds because of lower enrollment. The decline is due to lower Pima County birth rates and families using Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to homeschool or attend private schools and have cost the district revenue, causing the need to close, district officials say.
Families at affected schools have received a letter with more detailed information about the recommendations, including an invite to meet with Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo at an on-site school meeting, the superintendent said earlier this month.
Over the last six weeks, the district held four community meetings, three in-person and one online, to gather feedback on TUSD demographics, enrollment and financial data. More than 300 people, including staff and community members attended the meetings.
The timeline to sort out and vote on the plan over the next five weeks includes a Nov. 10 governing board meeting studying the final two realignment proposals and a legally-mandated public hearing on Nov. 17. The board will vote on the recommendations on Dec. 8.
From 2010 to 2016, the district approved and closed 10 elementary and middle schools and one high school. Cragin and Sewell Elementary schools were on that list and spared 14 years ago.
The Cragin community rallied then too. And the Maske family has attended Cragin for decades.
“A child’s support system is not simply a collection of services that can be moved from one building to another,” Erica says. “It is also the relationships, trust, familiarity, and consistency built over years. You can relocate a classroom. You cannot simply relocate a child’s sense of belonging.”
The Maskes will join other Cragin families at tonight’s meeting where many students, staffers and the board all have questions about the plan based on numbers in the agenda documents, including:
• How does the proposal affect the district’s current “high financial risk” label from the Arizona Auditor General’s office?
• What happens to class sizes and teacher ratios?
• What happens to the 15% of kids the district estimates will not make the jump to their consolidated school?
• What is the process of selling school buildings and how long would it take for TUSD to see the revenues?
Castiel — one of seven family members, including his siblings, dad, two uncles and cousins who also attended Cragin Elementary — has a question for TUSD administrators:
“How do you put a price on memories, friendships and places where kids feel safe enough to grow?”
Arizona Luminaria’s Becky Pallack contributed to this story.
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