TUSD sees school closures as a chance to enhance remaining schools

For Tucson families, teachers and neighborhoods built around local schools, Tucson Unified School District’s possible closure of as many as 10 campuses could reshape daily life across the city. The district is asking residents to help define what must be protected and improved before school names are proposed and the governing board makes final decisions. Officials say the goal is not simply to reduce the number of buildings, but to create stronger schools for the students who remain.

The first of three community meetings was held Monday in the gym at Sahuaro High School as part of a process called “Reimagining our Schools Together.” About 300 people had reserved spots for the meeting, while roughly 100 attended and additional residents arrived without reservations and were placed on a waiting list. The sessions are intended to give families, educators and other community members a direct opportunity to describe the programs, services and traditions they believe TUSD should preserve during consolidation.

The district says its enrollment decline has left more than 26,000 unused seats throughout its schools. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo attributed the trend to several factors, including lower birth rates, smaller kindergarten classes, population shifts, the growth of charter schools and the availability of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, which help some families attend private schools. With fewer students generating funding, many schools are operating with budget pressure. District officials argue that keeping too many underfilled campuses open can reduce the resources available to students and teachers at the schools that remain.

Trujillo presented consolidation as a possible way to redirect money now spent maintaining half-empty buildings. He said the district could use those savings for fuller extracurricular offerings, additional resources, stronger teaching and learning, and improvements to school facilities. He also pointed to concrete needs such as band uniforms, musical instruments and football uniforms. The broader promise is that remaining schools could have more robust programs and services rather than spreading limited funding across buildings with large amounts of unused space.

That vision is competing with fears about what students and neighborhoods could lose. Residents at the meeting raised concerns about abandoned school buildings, larger class sizes, transportation difficulties and the effect closures could have on students’ mental health. Schools often serve as more than places for classes. They can provide stability for children, support for parents and a gathering point for neighborhoods. For families with long histories in TUSD, the possibility of closure also carries an emotional cost that cannot be measured only by enrollment or operating expenses.

Danielle Applegate, a TUSD teacher who works at two schools and whose children attended the district, said participating in the meeting mattered because the district is tied to both her livelihood and her family. She said she loves her schools and her work, and wants to understand what TUSD can do to keep more children enrolled. Her comments reflect a central challenge for the district: closures are intended to strengthen the system, but if families respond by leaving, consolidation could accelerate the enrollment decline officials are trying to address.

That concern was also raised by Kristin Strong, a curriculum service provider at Santa Rita, who said she was worried about inaccurate information circulating about her school. Strong said Santa Rita has been rumored to be closing for years and expressed concern that a closure could send its students to the Vail School District. She questioned whether that outcome would help TUSD or Tucson. Trujillo said the district does not want a cycle in which closing and consolidating schools drives families away. The district will therefore need to persuade residents that its plan can improve educational opportunities without weakening trust or pushing more students into other systems.

Community feedback will be collected from all three meetings and sent to an advisory committee and the TUSD governing board. Trujillo said the responses could directly influence the recommendations. If residents strongly support protecting a particular offering, such as preschool, that preference would weigh heavily in what the superintendent presents to the board. The process is meant to develop a shared vision before specific campuses are identified, rather than asking residents to respond only after a closure list has already been prepared.

The district expects possible school names to be released around the middle of next month, according to Trujillo, with the governing board scheduled to vote on a closure list at its Dec. 8 meeting. The first group of schools would close during the 2027 to 2028 school year, followed by another round the following year. Two additional community sessions were scheduled during the same week as Monday’s meeting, giving Tucson residents more chances to raise concerns and describe the programs they consider essential. The decisions ahead will determine not only which buildings remain open, but also whether TUSD can turn a painful reduction in its footprint into schools that families believe are worth choosing and keeping.