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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The superintendent of Tucson’s largest school district outlined how it will decide which schools could close or merge.
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On Thursday, Aug. 27, Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo spoke to the media for more than an hour. He answered questions about the closure and consolidation process, following the approval of the process’s timeline in a board meeting on Tuesday
He said he aims to target six to eight schools that will be affected but ultimately wants to address how to attract more parents to the district through the district’s academic product, facilities, and after-school care.
“I know that’s out there – there’s a deficit; we have to close x number of schools; that’s only part of it. We have to address the root cause, which is enrollment decline,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo said declining birth rates, families moving to cheaper areas, open enrollment, competition from charter schools, and loss of funding led TUSD to look at grade band adjustments, consolidations, or closures.
“It’s not to say that these factors are an excuse for the district not to get better, but they are factors that have contributed to a pretty sizeable enrollment loss,” Trujillo said.
The district has put together a school reconfiguration committee of 22 community members and stakeholders, which Trujillo said was put together with the goal of having a “sphere of influence” in all facets of the community.
The committee will assess current data in a meeting on Saturday and eventually, after vetting feedback from the community, help to shape a final proposal of which schools will be affected.
The criteria members will look at in Saturday’s meeting: financial data such as operating costs versus revenue generated by each school, capture rate for the surrounding community (meaning how much neighborhood attendance there is at their local public school), neighborhood demographics, and facility utilization.
“So what it’s not going to be is just picking names of schools; it’s actually picking data to come up with schools that are struggling in these areas and of course have had successive years of enrollment loss,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo said the data will be made public on the district’s website after the meeting so the community can be informed ahead of September’s engagement meetings.
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- Monday, Sept. 21– Sahuaro High library
- Wednesday, Sept. 23 — Cholla High library
- Saturday, Sept. 26 — Catalina High library
Trujillo said he wants to give the community the opportunity to give feedback and find out what they need from the district or what the district should be aware of throughout the process, a priority after how he said closures were handled in 2010 and 2012.
“It wasn’t a clear process,” Trujillo said.
Jim Byrne, with the Tucson Educators Association, said many had flashbacks when this was announced, even though it is not yet known which schools are being considered.
“It’s a disruption,” Byrne said. “It’s those relationships that they have built and that consistency and the stability in their life is super important to them.”
Trujillo said he will not name any schools under consideration for consolidation or closure at the community meetings. He said he will have open communication about possibilities and gather feedback, but wants to be present when a short list is announced.
“They deserve the right of me sitting in front of them and taking the questions and taking the pain, the parents deserve that from me,” Trujillo said.
Byrne, who is part of the advisory committee, said he believes the process can still be productive.
“As awful as the horror that we are up against and the monsters that we are up against trying to kill public schools. This district is hanging in there, slugging it out,” Byrne said.
Trujillo said he expects the data to become public after Saturday’s meeting, by Monday at the latest.
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