2 more suburban Phoenix districts consider school closures as downsizing trend continues

PHOENIX – Two more Valley districts are considering school closure plans, with a total of three campuses potentially on the chopping block.

Peoria Unified School District and Gilbert Public Schools are the latest Phoenix-area districts to look at downsizing.

This comes after the Scottsdale Unified and Kyrene districts approve plans last month to close a total of eight schools due to budget issues and low enrollment and Phoenix’s Isaac School District shuttered two campuses last summer.

What is the Peoria Unified school closure situation?

The Peoria Unified School District Governing Board is set to discuss a proposal to close Kachina and Pioneer elementary schools for the first time on Thursday.

For now, the board will decide whether to authorize community meetings and further discussions about the potential school closures.

The district said it has to reduce its maintenance and operations budget by $21 million after voters rejected an override in November.

Kachina (5304 W. Crocus Drive) and Pioneer (6315 W. Port Au Prince Lane) are located about 1.5 miles apart in Glendale.

The district is discussing options that would repurpose both campuses and move the students to Canyon and Foothills elementary schools. If the plan is adopted, all seventh and eighth graders at the four elementary schools would relocate to Cactus High School, which would add those grade levels to keep up with enrollment trends.

Which Gilbert Public Schools campus might close?

Meanwhile, the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board will make its final decision on whether to close its Pioneer Elementary at a Jan. 27 meeting. According to the district, the decision would be based on low enrollment, with the school down to 268 students.

If Gilbert’s Pioneer (1535 N. Greenfield Road) is closed, the students would be disbursed under new boundaries among Carol Rae, Harris and Val Vista Lakes elementary schools.

In a previous board meeting, Gilbert Public Schools revealed that Pioneer had a small population for its size, with an average of seven students per classroom.

Another factor is that the school would require over $2 million in construction costs next year if it stays open.

Overall, the district would save $2,588,100 in costs by closing the school.

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

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