Parents concerned about classroom overcrowding after board votes to close 2 Scottsdale schools

PHOENIX — Now that the Scottsdale Unified School District voted to close Pima Elementary and Echo Canyon schools in 2026, many parents are worried about where their children will learn next.

The SUSD board voted 3–2 on Tuesday to shut down the schools because of low enrollment and budget concerns. Pima Elementary School has 296 students, while Echo Canyon School has 264.

Melissa Mach, a parent and PTO member, said she hasn’t chosen another school yet because she worries about future closures, as well as overcrowding.

“Looking at this as a parent, there are seven other schools in Phase Two that have potential there for closure,” Mach told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “Am I picking a school that also is going to be closed? Or … am I going to a school that has enrollment manageable now, but then, next year, after seven more schools are closed, are we overcrowding?”

Phase Two of SUSD’s plan could close seven more schools.

Mother says school closures caused her family problems

Ashley Johnson has one child at Pima Elementary School. She said the process that set the school closures in motion went by so quickly she had to scramble to find another school for her child to attend next year.

“I know that, in the past couple of years, they’ve actually just invested over $18 million into rebuilding Pima and kind of bringing it up to date, making those facilities better for the students,” Johnson said. “Now, that $18 million is basically just flushed down the toilet.”

Another parent impacted by the school closures is Emily Bonneau, whose child is in preschool.

Although she suggested keeping the preschool program in the Echo Canyon School building, she said she never received confirmation.

“They have no actual set repurposing plan in the works really for Echo Canyon, and they don’t meet again until mid-January. Open enrollment for that program starts at the beginning of January,” Bonneau said.

She said there’s already a waitlist for other preschools in the district, and now she’s worried about overcrowding and a larger teacher-to-student ratio.

“The only other school that was open was the one that’s like way up in North Scottsdale and I said that’s not acceptable to have to drive my daughter 35 minutes each way just so that she can be in this program,” Bonneau said.

As school closures approach, how many families are enrolling elsewhere?

According to the district, 12% of Pima Elementary School families and 17% of Echo Canyon School families have already enrolled elsewhere.

SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel said during the meeting that the next steps are creating a plan for families transitioning to other schools and redrawing district boundaries.

“We’ll be scheduling on-site information sessions at both schools. We’ll be launching the boundary process and procedures, and we’ll be assigning that concierge’s point of contact, so people know who they’ll be working with,” Menzel said.

What impact do ESA vouchers have on Scottsdale school closures?

He also said a part of the problem is Scottsdale’s rising home prices and Empowerment Scholarship Account vouchers.

“The cost of housing in Scottsdale is expensive, and so it’s prohibitive for some young families to live in Scottsdale. During that same period of time, we’ve had a proliferation of choice and charters in the universal voucher expansion … In 2010, we had 71% of the students who lived in our boundaries attended Scottsdale Unified. This past year, 56% are attending Scottsdale Unified,” he said.

The ESA program allows parents to receive 90% of what their child would have gotten from taxes if they attended public school to use on schooling of their choice.

Board member Matthew Pittinsky explained his “yes” vote.

“Voting yes to close these schools in the upcoming budget is incredibly difficult. I also believe it is the right thing to do… Each time I heard from Pima and Echo Canyon families, especially the Girl Scouts, I thought we can’t do this. Then I faced a plain stubborn fact. SUSD is nearly 25% smaller than we were 15 years ago. That is the equivalent of 10 elementary schools smaller.”

Board member Amy Carney voted “no.”

“I understand that hard decisions and changes need to be made. But I believe the board should have first voted to even explore repurposing… This process has been flawed,” she said.

Menzel told KTAR News that two more schools will close before the 2027–2028 school year.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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