Over two hours after the end of the school day, Tucson Unified School District announced Hudlow Elementary School as its first school up for closure.
The district announced Monday afternoon that students at Hudlow, 502 N. Caribe Ave., will be sent to Sewell Elementary School, 425 N. Sahuara Ave., for the 2027-28 school year as part of its consolidation process. Hudlow is near East Broadway and North Kolb Road and Sewell is near East Broadway and North Wilmot Road.
The district told media it would announce a recommended “sending school and a receiving school” each day starting Monday.
“As a reminder, this proposed consolidation is only a recommendation at this time,” TUSD spokesperson Karla Escamilla said in an email. “The Governing Board of the Tucson Unified School District will not be taking any action on this recommendation until its December 8th meeting.”
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Hudlow has an enrollment utilization rate of 30%, 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 a 94% classroom utilization rate, the percentage of classrooms that are actually being used of the total classrooms on campus, and a 35% capture rate for students in its area. The school, designed for 450, had 165 students in the 2024-25 school year.
Sewell Elementary has a 47% enrollment utilization rate, 93% classroom utilization rate and 82% capture rate. In the 2024-25 school year, the elementary, designed for 350, had 170 students.
District officials and a 31-person advisory committee made up of community members, staff and county and city staff evaluated “multiple factors beyond basic enrollment and finances, including vacant classroom space, class size impact, access to arts, physical education, preschool, before-and after-school programs, transportation, and special programs,” Escamilla said in an email.
The TUSD governing board will review 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.
The meeting will feature a three-part presentation before opening it up to public comment, Trujillo said earlier this month: 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 before the board votes Dec. 7.
Hudlow history
Hudlow opened in November 1959 for an original cost of $299,366, a TUSD historical essay from 2023 says. Ulah Hudlow, who the school is named after, began working in 1921 at Drachman School, now known as Drachman Montessori K-8 Magnet School.
She later taught at Roskruge K-8 and University Heights Elementary School, where she was principal until her retirement. University Heights, 1201 N. Park Ave., permanently closed in 1978 as part of a federal desegregation court settlement. Years after its closure, the property was converted into student apartments.
