Tucson Unified superintendent adds Steele Elementary to school consolidation plan

Families connected to Steele Elementary and Booth Fickett K to 8 School could see a major change in where students attend school beginning in August 2028. Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo is recommending that Steele close and its students join Booth Fickett, part of a broader effort to reduce unused space and adjust the district’s facilities to declining enrollment. The campuses are roughly two miles apart on Tucson’s east side, near Broadway Boulevard and Sarnoff Drive.

The recommendation announced Wednesday adds the 15th and 16th schools to TUSD’s proposed consolidation list. District officials said the list is now complete, with 16 of the district’s 88 schools identified for closure, merger or reconfiguration. The Governing Board has not approved the plan, and no final decision is expected until a scheduled vote on Dec. 8. Until then, the recommendations remain subject to public review and board action.

Steele serves preschool through sixth grade and was built in 1960. State education data showed 460 students enrolled there during the last school year, even though the campus has capacity for 176 students, according to the figures provided. The school received a B grade under Arizona’s most recent accountability system and lists 62 staff members. Booth Fickett has buildings dating to 1950 and 1960, serves prekindergarten through eighth grade, and had 240 students last school year. Its state listed capacity is more than 1,300 students. Booth Fickett received a C grade and has 65 staff members.

The proposed Steele and Booth Fickett consolidation is part of a set of recommendations extending across elementary, middle and high schools. For the 2027 to 2028 school year, TUSD has recommended closing Hudlow Elementary and moving students to Sewell Elementary, Dunham Elementary into Marshall Elementary, Cragin Elementary into Blenman Elementary, Collier Elementary into Bloom Elementary, and Magee Middle School into Sabino High School. For 2028 to 2029, the district has proposed moving Secrist Middle School into Santa Rita High School, Cavett Elementary into Utterback Middle School, and Steele Elementary into Booth Fickett.

The middle school recommendations would not place younger students into ordinary high school settings, district officials said. Instead, the receiving high schools would create separate middle school secondary academies, with distinct buildings, classes, lunch periods and daily schedules. Middle school teachers and other staff would transfer to the receiving high schools under the proposal. The schools involved vary widely in enrollment and utilization. Secrist had just under 209 students and was listed at 31.8 percent capacity, while Santa Rita had 365 students and was at 14 percent capacity. Cavett had 169 students and was 32 percent full, while Utterback had 264 students and was 19.6 percent full.

TUSD says the recommendations are driven by shrinking enrollment, which has reduced the district’s state funding and left many campuses operating well below their intended capacity. Officials attributed the decline to lower birth rates in Pima County as well as families using Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to homeschool or enroll children in private schools. The district lost nearly $8 million in state funding last year because of lower enrollment. Administrators and a community advisory committee considered enrollment, finances, class sizes, transportation and access to programs while evaluating possible campus changes.

The latest proposals follow four community meetings held since late September, including three in person and one online. More than 300 staff members and community residents attended those sessions, where the district presented information about demographics, enrollment and finances. The wider consolidation effort also follows a previous round of school closures. Between 2010 and 2016, the district approved the closure of 10 elementary and middle schools and one high school. Cragin and Sewell were among the schools considered at that time but ultimately remained open, making their appearance on the current list especially significant for those communities.

Residents will have several opportunities to weigh in before the board votes. The Governing Board is scheduled to review the three newest realignment proposals at its Nov. 10 meeting. A legally required public hearing is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Sahuaro High School, where community members can express support, raise concerns or question how the proposed changes would affect students and staff. The board’s Dec. 8 meeting is expected to be the point at which members decide whether to approve the recommendations.

If approved, the changes would give affected families and employees additional time before most of the consolidations begin. The 2027 to 2028 mergers would come first, followed by the Steele, Secrist and Cavett changes in the 2028 to 2029 school year. For Steele families, the decision could affect transportation, daily routines, school programs and the size and organization of the receiving campus. For the district, the proposals represent an attempt to align buildings and staffing with the number of students TUSD serves, while officials continue to face the challenge of preserving educational access during a prolonged enrollment and budget squeeze.