TUSD parents pitch alternatives to school closures

Her teachers don’t make students do “boring stuff,” she told the Tucson Unified School District governing board Tuesday evening, and “there is no meanness.”

“If anyone does something bad, they get into tiniest bit of trouble in the world,” she said. “I love Collier. Please do not close Collier. If I could tell one thing to the people in charge, even if you disagree, please don't close us down.”

Jade was among several students, parents and educators last week who urged the board to reconsider proposed school closures.

Some families, however, came with more than pleas to keep their school open; they presented alternative plans they hope could help their schools rebuild enrollment and remain part of the district.

Collier parents and faculty members want to transform the school into an environmental learning campus, Cragin families are asking for more time to improve academically and rebuild enrollment, and Hudlow families want the district to pause its closure plans while nearby housing developments are built and reconsider consolidating Sewell Elementary into Hudlow instead.

Alexis Cervantes, Jade’s mother and the Collier PTA president, told the board her daughter was “immediately welcomed, supported, and loved” when she started kindergarten. She also has twins she plans to send to the school once they’re old enough.

“Collier has something you can't measure on a spreadsheet: generations of families who have attended the same school, parents, children, siblings, and grandchildren,” she said. “You're not just closing a school; you're ending a legacy. When you call Collier underutilized, you're talking about a building. We're talking about our children's lives.”

Cervantes said Collier families have attended district meetings, circulated petitions and developed alternatives to closure. She asked whether the district would seriously evaluate their proposal before the board’s Dec. 8 meeting, when members are expected to vote on the closure recommendations.

Collier’s proposal

Collier parents have developed a 15-page proposal to transform the school into an environmental learning campus focused on the Sonoran Desert. As of now, the school is proposed to consolidate into Bloom Elementary, about four miles away.

The goal is to attract families who might otherwise enroll their children in charter schools or Tanque Verde Unified School District.

“We don't want to lose this community that means so much to so many people, and so I started thinking about what I love particularly about this area of Tucson and this neighborhood,” said parent Amanda Kaiser, who led the proposal. “This area just seemed so well suited to a Sonoran Desert focused educational program.”

Collier, located on Bear Canyon Road near Tanque Verde Road, is close to Tanque Verde Creek and Sabino Creek. Kaiser said its close proximity could allow teachers to incorporate environmental learning into core subjects.

That could include desert ecology, native species, pollinators, geology, weather, water cycles and habitat restoration in science classes, along with mapping, geometry, and water-use calculations in math.

Kaiser believes a unique program like this could be a way to save the school and help it excel.

“We've kind of gone through all the subject areas and talked about how we could incorporate specifically Sonoran Desert environmental learning,” Kaiser said. “I wholeheartedly believe that we have the resources and the drive to make this school happen.”

Cragin’s proposal

Cragin Elementary families are asking the district for more time to rebuild enrollment and continue improving academically. As of now, the school is proposed to consolidate into Blenman Elementary, about 2 miles away.

Wendy Goodman, a retired TUSD teacher of 44 years, told the board she believes the district made a commitment a couple of years ago to give the school a chance to improve.

Under the school’s previous administration, Goodman said, enrollment and academic performance declined. The school received a D letter grade from the Arizona Department of Education in the 2024-25 school year, after receiving C grades for the previous two years.

But during current principal Jeannette Apaez-Gutierrez’s first year last school year, Cragin’s letter grade improved to a B.

“We lost a lot of families from the Cragin neighborhood because of the ineffective administration, and we haven't had a chance to get those families back,” Goodman said.

She said staff morale has declined, and some employees wanted to leave, but they were encouraged to stay and give the new principal a chance.

“We got a new administrator who's incredible … I think that the faculty and the staff and the parents should be granted a couple of more years to rebuild,” she said.

The Cragin community wants to work with the district and governing board on a two-to-three-year improvement plan, according to a proposal submitted last week.

“This is a request for partnership, accountability and time — not for an exemption from performance or fiscal expectations,” the proposal says.

A voluntary PTO survey of 40 families found that 60% of respondents would choose an option outside TUSD if Cragin closed. Meanwhile, 95% said they would be willing to work with a new K-6 or K-8 model.

“Cragin is not failing. Cragin is improving. Cragin is moving forward; it's not moving backwards,” parent Kathleen Shooshtari told the board. “Please give our school the opportunity to continue building on its success.”

Hudlow’s proposal

Some Hudlow Elementary families say they will ask the district to give the school more time to see whether planned housing developments in the area could help increase enrollment.

They also want the district to reconsider its proposed consolidation of Sewell Elementary into Hudlow, arguing that Hudlow has enough capacity to accommodate Sewell students. Sewell and Hudlow are about 2 miles apart.

“KB Homes is going to be building 133 homes off of Jessica, and that will hopefully bring new young families,” Hudlow parent Karima Wicks told the Star. The development is near St. Joseph’s Hospital, 350 N. Wilmot Road, on Tucson’s east side.

Hudlow has a capacity of 450 students, compared with Sewell’s 350, Wicks said, giving Hudlow room to accommodate additional students.

“Hudlow could easily accommodate the kids,” she said. Wicks said she’s encouraging neighbors to speak at the governing board’s Nov. 17 meeting at Sahuaro High School, which will focus on a public hearing dedicated to the closure plan.

Superintendent considering proposals

Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo told the Star Friday that every meeting with families has been full of pleas to not shut down their schools.

“They've all been incredibly difficult,” he said. Collier, however, is the first school community he’s seen give a solution-based proposal.

“It's very well researched and its central focus on environmental learning opportunities would be an extension of one of our core values here at TUSD, and it's something that we proudly support at the Cooper Environmental Learning Center over in Gates Pass,” Trujillo said.

Often referred to as Camp Cooper, the learning center features an outdoor classroom and educational camp located on 10 acres of Sonoran Desert land. It’s operated through a partnership between the University of Arizona College of Education and TUSD.

“I do think it does warrant very serious consideration and discussion,” Trujillo said. The Cragin proposal makes valid arguments too, he said, but “a less than stellar or mediocre or even poorly performing administrator is a small piece of the overall puzzle.”

"I think it's fair to say, ‘Hey, give us another couple of years, give us some enrollment targets,’” he said. “I can't guarantee what the school board is going to do, I do think that in all fairness and openness to these two communities, they warrant discussion with our board. They are on the table in terms of our school board members reviewing them.”

For Hudlow, however, and other school communities requesting a swap or pause, it gets harder to consider.

“One of the things that we try not to do is pit schools against each other. It's already a difficult process as it is,” he said. “This one really came down to facilities. We had already invested almost two million into the Sewell building with new HVAC and new central controls. We had already gotten approved for a brand new roof … that is unfortunately what we had to look at when we had two buildings so close in so many of the other different categories.”