TUSD board approves bond projects and public engagement plan for school consolidations

For Tucson families, students and school employees, the Tucson Unified School District board has approved two decisions that could affect daily transportation and the future organization of neighborhood schools. The board authorized a plan to purchase 20 smaller buses and approved a public engagement timeline for possible school consolidations, grade reconfigurations, program changes and other investments. The bus purchase is tied to immediate operational needs, while the community meetings are the first step before TUSD can bring forward a formal proposal on how to respond to declining enrollment and financial pressure.

The bus purchase will use money from TUSD’s $480 million bond program, which voters approved in 2023. The district’s Bond Oversight Committee recommended the purchase along with a project to repair and upgrade pavement and parking areas at Sabino High School. The Sabino project has an estimated cost of $660,000 and received unanimous board approval, with the vote recorded as 5-0. The 20 buses will cost $2.4 million in total, or approximately $121,000 each, and will run on gasoline. Each vehicle will seat 14 passengers.

TUSD officials said the smaller buses are intended to better match the district’s current ridership needs. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said they would be especially useful for student activities, including field trips and competitions. Charlotte Carter, the district’s bond program manager, said the vehicles could also help with a persistent staffing problem. Because the 14 passenger buses do not require drivers to hold commercial driver’s licenses, she said TUSD expects they may be easier to staff as the district works through a shortage of bus drivers.

The purchase also prompted questions about the district’s environmental commitments. Board member Ravi Shah asked whether the district’s sustainability consultants had examined the gasoline buses in light of the climate action goals the board adopted roughly two years ago. Carter pointed to TUSD’s ongoing electric bus pilot, which the district is continuing to monitor for data. She also said the infrastructure needed to support electric buses remains an important consideration in deciding how to expand the fleet. The discussion leaves the electric pilot in place while the district moves forward with the smaller gasoline vehicles.

The second major decision involved how TUSD will hear from residents before considering school consolidations and grade level changes. Enrollment has been declining, and Trujillo has repeatedly cited that trend while discussing the district budget. Those enrollment losses, combined with financial constraints, have led TUSD to examine whether schools should be consolidated, whether grade levels should be reorganized, and whether some programs should be changed or relocated. District officials must engage the public before presenting a proposal for those changes.

The board’s approval of the engagement timeline passed by a 3-2 vote, after a discussion over the proposed meeting schedule and the purpose of the process. Board President Jennifer Eckstrom objected that the governing board had not been consulted about the meeting dates and times. She said meetings scheduled at 4 or 4:30 p.m. on a Wednesday could be difficult for residents to attend, while expressing appreciation for the inclusion of a Saturday meeting. TUSD has not yet posted the dates and times of the community sessions.

Trujillo said he wants the meetings to draw large crowds and provide a meaningful opportunity for residents to participate. Shah questioned whether the sessions could become focused mainly on whether a particular person’s school would close, rather than on how the district could improve its overall plan. Concerns about school closures often center on individual campuses and neighborhoods, but the board member said the process should also seek ideas for strengthening potential benefits and reducing harmful effects across TUSD.

Bill De La Cruz of De La Cruz Leadership Solutions, who presented the engagement approach, said the meetings will give residents access to shared data and allow them to examine different scenarios. Those scenarios may include repurposing schools, consolidating programs and changing how grade levels are arranged. He said participants will not be asked to choose a school or make a final recommendation. Instead, the stated goal is to help residents consider what might serve the district as a whole, recognizing that decisions at one campus could affect families, staff and programs elsewhere in Tucson.

The district’s next steps will therefore involve publishing the meeting schedule and beginning discussions before any consolidation or reconfiguration proposal comes to the board. Residents will be asked to respond to information and possible “moves,” rather than vote immediately on a specific campus closure. At the same time, TUSD will proceed with the bond funded Sabino pavement work and the 20 bus purchase. Together, the decisions reflect two different pressures facing the district: maintaining services and student activities with the fleet it has now, while determining how its schools and programs should be organized for a smaller enrollment in the future.