TUSD to announce schools up for closure in coming weeks

In a closure timeline update, Trujillo said the 31-person advisory committee helping to create the plan met Thursday, Oct. 1 to review final scenarios and combinations of closures and consolidation plans. His team will assess whether their recommendations are practical given space, transportation and budget constraints, he said, before notifying principals, faculty and families if their schools are at risk starting the week of Oct. 19.

“(Parents) are going to receive a letter from me, and in that letter there will be a date that I will be returning to their school to answer their questions and present more detailed information on the proposal that would affect their school,” Trujillo said Tuesday. “That sets up October 27, where our board will look in a very very detailed way at the administration's proposal for reconfiguration and consolidation.”

The late-October meeting was moved from its usual location at Duffy Community Center to Palo Verde High School, 1302 S Avenida Vega, due to high attendance expectations.

The governing board meeting, solely dedicated to the proposal, will feature a three-part presentation before opening it up to public comment: a historical analysis of the 2012 closures on finances and enrollment; major concerns and recommendations district leaders heard during community listening sessions in September; and school-by-school data and projected impact, including enrollment, class sizes, transportation, program carryover and more.

Any remaining time after the study session will be dedicated to call to the audience.TUSD governing board meetings end by 10 p.m.

The public will have another chance to share opinions with the board in November during a legally mandated public hearing. The board is expected to vote on the plan in December.