On Wednesday afternoon, the Tucson Unified School District recommended closing Steele Elementary and consolidating it with Booth-Fickett K-8 — the 15th and 16th schools named as part of recommendations to right-size Southern Arizona’s largest school district.
The two schools are among 16 of the district’s 88 schools named over the last 16 days for reconfiguration, pending approval by the Governing Board in December. The district confirmed Wednesday the list is complete.
• Steele has preschool through sixth grade and was built in 1960. As of last school year, it had 460 students and its capacity is 176, according to state education data. It earned a B grade last school year and has 62 staffers, its website says.
• Booth-Fickett K-8 has buildings built in 1950 and 1960. It has pre-K through eighth grade. As of last school year, it had 240 students and its capacity more than 1,300, according to state education data. It earned a C grade last school year and has 65 staffers, its website says.
The schools are about two miles apart on the east side with Broadway Boulevard and Sarnoff Drive as major cross streets.
The changes above are proposed to begin in the 2028-29 school year.
As of Nov. 4, TUSD administrators have recommended 10 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
• Magee Middle School closing and merging into Sabino High School
Also in 2028-29:
• Secrist Middle School closing and merging into Santa Rita High School
• Cavett Elementary closing and merging into Utterback Middle School
A middle-high school proposal would establish a middle school “secondary academy” within the receiving high school, TUSD said. That means separate buildings, classes, lunch periods, and a daily bell schedule specifically for middle school students and does not include the “mixing” of middle school-aged students with high school students. Middle school teachers and staff would transfer to the receiving high schools, the district says.
Here’s how the recommendations have rolled out over the last 16 days:
Oct. 28
• Cavett Elementary School was built in 1956; had 169 students and 32% full; 44 staffers; Grade: C.
• Utterback Middle School was built in 1957; had 264 students and 19.6% full; 55 staffers; Grade: C.
The schools are less than a half-mile apart in the southwest part of the district with the major cross streets at Kino Parkway and 36th Street.
Oct. 26
• Secrist Middle School was built in 1972; just under 209 students and 31.8% full, according to the state; 61 staffers, Grade: C.
• Santa Rita High School was built in 1967; had 365 students and is 14% full according to the state; 91 staffers; Grade: B.
Oct. 23
• Collier Elementary was built in 1973; 93 current students and 38% full; 33 staffers; Grade: B.
• Bloom Elementary was built in 1972; 280 current students and 60% full; 60 staffers; Grade: B.
Both schools are on the northeast side of Tucson with major cross streets at Bear Canyon and Tanque Verde roads and about four miles apart.
Oct. 22
• Magee Middle School was built in 1963; 266 students and 35% full; Grade: B.
• Sabino High School was built in 1971; 767 students and 42% full; 109 staffers; Grade: A.
Both schools are on Tucson’s far east side — think Speedway Boulevard and Houghton Road. and about eight miles apart. For its first decade, Sabino was a junior and senior high school, but that ended in 1982 as part of the desegregation settlement agreement.
Oct. 21
• Cragin Elementary was built in 1950; 177 students and 38% full; 44 staffers; Grade: D.
• Blenman Elementary was built in 1942; 288 students and 41% full; 45 staffers; Grade: B.
Cragin and Blenman Elementary schools are in central Tucson near Country Club and Grant roads and about two miles apart.
Oct. 20
• Dunham Elementary was built in 1973; 124 students and 41% full; 38 staffers; Grade: A.
• Marshall Elementary was built in 1963. 199 students and 43% full; 57 staffers; Grade B.
Both Dunham and Marshall are on 29th Street on the far east side — less than a mile apart.
Oct. 19
• Hudlow Elementary was built in 1959; 132 students and 30% full; 44 staffers; Grade: D.
• Sewell Elementary was built in 1959; 125 students and 47% full; 40 staffers; Grade: B.
Hudlow and Sewell are about a two-mile commute from each other, near East Fifth Street and Wilmot Road.
School info above includes the current attendance and full rate as reported by TUSD at the Tuesday meeting and the year constructed from the Arizona School Facilities Portal. The letter grade posted last April is the most recent for the state accountability model used to annually measure school performance by the Arizona Department of Education. Staffing numbers are sourced from the TUSD webpages of each school for this school year and include part-time and full-time workers.
Enrollment 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. Last year, TUSD lost nearly $8 million in state funds because of lower enrollment.
Since late September, 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 Tuesday, Nov. 10 governing board meeting to study the three most recent realignment proposals and a legally-mandated public hearing on Nov. 17. The board is scheduled to 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 were on that list and spared 14 years ago.
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