TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) —
The Tucson Unified School District is considering consolidating, reconfiguring, or closing as many as 6 to 10 schools over the next few years as it faces declining enrollment and growing financial pressure.
TUSD has seen enrollment drop for years, with district officials pointing to declining birth rates and school vouchers from charter schools as partial causes. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said the district is launching a community engagement plan to determine the best path forward.
Read More: TUSD board approves bond projects and public engagement plan for school consolidations
"They are factors that have contributed to a pretty sizable enrollment loss that is going to continue on into the future," Trujillo stated. "So we're forced to reimagine ourselves, and that's why we are here. How can we reconfigure ourselves in a way where we can become more competitive, where we can position ourselves to grow?"
The affected schools could potentially face 3 different scenarios:
- Reconfiguration: A restructuring of the school and its resources. This could potentially mean grade removal or downsizing (EX: K-8 School downsized to K-5)
- Consolidation: Two or more schools are merged, with students being fed into the merged school, along with resources allocated to the new merged school.
- Closure: The district deems that a school cannot continue running at its current capacity, with no other alternatives to keep it running, and decides to close operations.
This is not the first time TUSD has faced school closures. The district closed 9 campuses in 2010 and 11 schools in 2012.
Trujillo says the district is forming an advisory committee made up of members who will represent multiple different backgrounds and professions in the community and will work with the superintendent's administration to review schools across the district, monitoring financial costs, operating budgets, and revenue for each campus. Trujillo said academic and support programming will also factor into the review.
"We're also going to look at the presence of programming, before and after school programming, preschool, academic programs like gifted and talented, special education, English as a second language learner, emerging bilingual programs, all of those matter," Trujillo said.
The district will hold multiple public meetings in September, giving families across the district an opportunity to weigh in.
The meetings will be held on these dates:
- Mon. Sept. 21st: Sahuaro High Library
- Wed. Sept. 23rd: Cholla High Library
- Sat. Sept. 26th: Catalina High Library
"We wanted a process that would give us an opportunity to engage the community in a very meaningful way and to be able to take their feedback, engage with them, and hear directly from them," Trujillo said.
Trujillo will notify families of potential closures in October before presenting his proposal for potential reconfiguration, consolidations, or closures. The governing board is tentatively scheduled to hold a final vote on the potential closures in a public meeting in December.
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JJ McKinney joined KGUN 9 in July of 2025 as a multimedia journalist. He graduated from Colorado State University in May of 2025 with a degree in journalism and media communications and a minor in law. With a background in investigative reporting and documentary filmmaking, JJ is dedicated to giving a platform to the voices of his community. Share your story ideas and important issues with JJ by emailing jj.mckinney@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
