Magee students to be sent to Sabino High School in new closure proposal

Magee, 8300 E. Speedway, is nearly eight miles from Sabino High School, 5000 N. Bowes Rd. The new system at Sabino High School would start next school year.

“I recognize that the closure of a school is a painful moment for a community,” Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo wrote to Magee families in an email, the same language as other letters families have received from schools proposed for closure. “Though difficult in the beginning, the consolidation process also represents an opportunity for our district to provide your children with a more exceptional academic experience, better access to extracurricular activities and programs, and more robust student support services.”

If passed, it would be the first school serving grades six through 12.

In early 2010, TUSD officials explored the idea to consolidate Carson Middle School with Santa Rita High School into a combined seventh through twelfth grade campus on the Santa Rita site.

The district faced significant pushback from parents and logistical hurdles regarding the mixing of middle and high school-aged students, and did not move forward.

“Please note that our proposal seeks to establish a middle school ‘secondary academy’ within Sabino HS,” the district said in a second email to parents Thursday evening. “This recommendation includes a separate building, separate classes, separate lunch periods, and a separate daily bell schedule specifically for middle school students and does not include the ‘mixing’ for middle school students with high school students.”

School data

Magee has an enrollment utilization rate of 35%, according to district data, which refers to how many students are enrolled in a school compared to the physical capacity or design limit of that school building. It has an 80% classroom utilization rate, the percentage of classrooms that are being used of the total classrooms on campus, and a 30% capture rate for students in its area. The school, designed for 875, had 270 students in the 2024-25 school year.

Magee also had a 14.3% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year and a 3.3% decline in attendance daily membership revenue, which is government funding calculated and distributed based on the average number of students enrolled and physically in class over the first 100 days, over the course of three school years.

Sabino High has a 42% enrollment utilization rate, 57% classroom utilization rate and 34% capture rate. In the 2024-25 school year, Sabino, designed for 2,000, had 794 students.

The district is announcing a recommended “sending school and a receiving school” change each day this week. TUSD spokesperson Karla Escamilla told the Star that Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo is meeting with principals after school ends for the day, then communicating with school staff before sending a letter to school families who would be affected by the changes.

The district announced Monday that Hudlow Elementary School is up for closure, followed by Dunham Elementary on Tuesday and Cragin Elementary on Wednesday.

Next steps

The TUSD Governing Board will review part of the district’s consolidation plan at its next meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 27. The meeting will take place at Palo Verde High School, 1302 S. Avenida Vega, instead of its normal location at Duffy Community Center, due to high attendance expectations.

During an online governing board meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20, Trujillo said the Governing Board members would review six “scenarios” of school closures and consolidations at the next governing board meeting.

“There are two additional scenarios being recommended for 2028-29 that we want to return to the community advisory committee,” he said. “We’re adding some stuff, so we want to get their feedback.”

Those two scenarios will be discussed in a second part of the study session in a Governing Board meeting on Nov. 10. TUSD spokesperson Escamilla clarified to the Star a “scenario” could include a closure and consolidation, just a closure or a grade-level change.

The Oct. 27 meeting will feature a three-part presentation before opening it up to public comment, Trujillo said earlier this month: a historical analysis of the district's 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 a 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 on Nov. 17 during a legally mandated public hearing before the board votes Dec. 8.

Magee history

Magee opened in December 1963 for a cost of $871,843, according to a 2023 TUSD historical essay.

The school was named after Joseph W. Magee, a math and commercial course teacher at Safford Junior High and Tucson High. In 1949, Magee was appointed purchasing agent and controller, and in 1952, business manager. He is credited with designing a modern accounting system for the school district and starting the Tucson Teachers Federal Credit Union.