Families are pushing back on a Tucson Unified School District proposal to close five schools next year, a plan Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo says would save about $7 million and help the shrinking district grow again.

The schools would merge into nearby campuses starting in the 2027-28 school year:

• Hudlow Elementary into Sewell Elementary
• Dunham Elementary into Marshall Elementary
• Cragin Elementary into Blenman Elementary
• Collier Elementary into Bloom Elementary
• Magee Middle School into Sabino High School

The district also recommended two more consolidations for the 2028-29 school year: Secrist Middle School into Santa Rita High School, and Cavett Elementary School into Utterback Middle School to form a K-8 school. Trujillo said more consolidations could be announced.

Trujillo addressed the gravity of the decision during an Oct. 27 news conference, describing the process as emotional and heartbreaking.

“Schools are magical places,” Trujillo said. “They’re communities, they’re living, breathing communities that have been a point of pride in these neighborhoods for years.”

Enrollment in the district has dropped by more than 20,000 students since 1999, according to TUSD data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. The proposal calls for closing or consolidating schools to make better use of district buildings as enrollment drops.

“I don’t want to be here discussing this. Our board doesn’t want to be here discussing this. Our communities don’t want to be here discussing this, but TUSD is not in a vacuum facing these challenges,” Trujillo said, explaining that public schools in cities across the U.S. are facing the same challenges and executing similar plans.

National Center for Education Statistics data shows 571 public schools closed nationwide from 2021 through 2022.

“It is a function of legislation, partly, that is anti-public school and has done everything possible to bust out the traditional public schools (and) expansion of vouchers or the expansion of ... private and charter schools that don’t have to play by the same rules that the public schools do,” Trujillo said.

The district released the recommendations over a week, spacing out the announcements so Trujillo could visit each affected school and talk with staff.

The affected schools were carefully selected, Trujillo said, based on factors including underutilization of facilities and enrollment.

“What we are rolling out tonight is an aggressive reconfiguration of the district, not aimed at budget stabilization, but aimed two ways,” Trujillo said. “Number one, growing this district again. Secondly, and actually equally as important, creating a superior and excellent academic product for our students better than what we’re able to do now.”

At the governing board meeting after the news conference, Trujillo said the plan includes investments in child care and transportation, including free before- and after-school care and express bus routes to get students to and from school faster.

The plan has drawn backlash from families who don’t want to leave their schools. A petition circulating online asks the governing board to reject the plan and keep Collier Elementary School open. The petition’s website acknowledges the district’s struggles but describes the consolidation plan as anything but a solution.

“We understand that TUSD is facing difficult decisions as enrollment declines and financial pressures grow,” the petition said. “We recognize that these challenges are real. But closing neighborhood schools should never be treated as a simple numbers game, especially when the consequences will be felt by children, families, and communities for years to come.”

Bridgette Patterson’s children attend Cragin Elementary, where she serves as president of the Parent Teacher Organization. She attended the meeting to share her thoughts with the board.

“Cragin closing would affect more than our students. It would impact a neighborhood, community partnerships and years of investments made in our school. We strongly encourage every governing board member to come out and visit Cragin before making a decision,” Patterson said. “Walk our campus, explore our classrooms, playgrounds and gardens and see firsthand everything our school has to offer.”

Trujillo said the suggestions in the consolidation package would immediately save an estimated $7 million, with an additional $17 million to $18 million of projected savings in bond dollars.

“Our goal is to better utilize the funding that we have available, the resources that we have available to put them in areas where we have a greater concentration of employees and students to better serve them,” Trujillo said. “That is hard to do when we’re spending millions of dollars in facilities that are underutilized.”

More information will be available in the coming weeks, as the governing board will be presented with the finalized reconfiguration plan on Nov. 10, in advance of a Nov. 17 public hearing. The board will vote on its final decision Dec. 8.

Nya Belcastro is a University of Arizona student and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at nya2005@arizona.edu.

Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.