Nine Tucson Unified School District campuses show the clearest signs of financial and enrollment distress, as officials weigh closing, consolidating or changing grade levels for as many as 10 of its schools, an analysis by the Star of district data shows.
The district has not released a list of which schools are being considered, and any final decisions will go through the district's governing board, with a vote planned for December. But the Star's analysis based on TUSD data shows a clear group of campuses running financial and enrollment deficits — the same pressures district officials have cited in pushing for changes.
The nine schools are:
– Safford K-8 School
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– Santa Rita High School
– Collier Elementary School
– Booth-Fickett Math and Science K-8
– Utterback Middle School
– Catalina High School
– Magee Middle School
– Secrist Middle School
– Lawrence 3-8 School
Combined, six of the nine schools have over 6,500 empty seats.
While based on district-provided data, the Star's findings don't account for special programs or other factors TUSD could consider when deciding the fate of schools being scrutinized.
The Arizona Daily Star cross-examined TUSD data from the district’s reconfiguration webpage. The nine schools show the most red-flags based on six factors shown above. The chart was made on Excel.
Here’s a breakdown of the nine schools’ red flags:
– Safford K-8, which flagged five of the Star’s six red flags, has a classroom utilization below 50%, enrollment utilization of 31.6% of its 1,125 enrollment capacity, leaving 700-plus seats unfilled, capture rate less than 20%, a 22% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and a 3.5% 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.
– Santa Rita High School, which flagged four of the Star's six red flags, has a classroom utilization between 51% to 60%, enrollment utilization of 15.5% of its 2,375 enrollment capacity, leaving about 2,000 seats empty, a "fair" facility conditions index rating on a five-point scale from unsuitable to great, and a 38% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
– Collier Elementary School, which flagged four of the Star’s six red flags, has a classroom utilization below 50%, enrollment utilization of 27.5% of its 400 enrollment capacity, with nearly 300 seats unfilled, capture rate of 21-40% and a 54.2% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
– Booth-Fickett Math and Science K-8, which flagged four of the Star’s six red flags, has a classroom utilization below 50%, enrollment utilization of 21.5% of its 1,625 enrollment capacity, with about 1,270 seats open, a 27.4% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and an 8.6% decline in attendance daily membership revenue over the course of three school years.
– Utterback Middle School, which flagged three of the Star’s six red flags, has a classroom utilization between 51% to 60%, enrollment utilization of 24.1% of its 1,075 enrollment capacity, leaving about 800 seats vacant, and an 8.2% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
– Catalina High School, which flagged three of the Star’s six red flags, has an enrollment utilization of 27.4% of its 2,150 enrollment capacity, with more than 1,500 seats empty, a 24.5% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and a 3.8% decline in attendance daily membership revenue over the course of three school years.
TUSD Headquarters, 220 West Sixth Street, on Sep. 10.
– Magee Middle School, which flagged three of the Star’s six red flags, has a capture rate of 21-40%, a 14.3% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and a 3.3% decline in attendance daily membership revenue over the course of three school years.
– Secrist Middle School, which flagged three of the Star’s six red flags, has a "poor" facility conditions index rating on a five-point scale from unsuitable to great, a 19.3% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and a 3.6% decline in attendance daily membership revenue over the course of three school years.
– Lawrence 3-8 School, which flagged three of the Star’s six red flags, has a "fair" facility conditions index rating on a five-point scale from unsuitable to great, a 3.9% spending deficit for the 2025-26 school year, and a 5.2% decline in attendance daily membership revenue over the course of three school years.
Five of the nine schools are on Tucson's east side, where Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo has said the district struggles to gain students.
“About 40% of homeowners inside the TUSD boundary on the east side are about 55 years old. They’re not a K-12 school-going family (population),” Trujillo told KGUN9 in May last year.
The district also loses thousands of students to neighboring districts on the east and north sides of the city.
In the 2025-26 school year, Vail Unified School District gained 883 students from TUSD's boundary and lost 251 to TUSD, for a net gain of 631, the district said. In 2024-25, the net gain was 511.
According to Arizona Department of Education data, Catalina Foothills Unified School District gained 1,608 students from TUSD's boundary while losing 101 to TUSD, for a net gain of 1,507 in the 2025-26 school year. Tanque Verde School District similarly gained 1,134 students from TUSD's boundary while losing 61, for a net gain of 1,073.
Going forward
The district plans to phase in changes over the next few years rather than all at once, Trujillo said at an August press conference. If only minimal renovations are needed, the district could consolidate, close or change grade levels at some schools as soon as the 2027-28 school year. If more renovations are needed, changes at certain schools would be delayed by a few years.
The district will hold community meetings at Sahuaro, Cholla and Catalina high schools later this month. The meetings are open to all TUSD families, community members and staff members who want to voice concerns about the possible school closures.
At an August board meeting, Trujillo said the plan would be led by himself; consultant Bill de la Cruz of De La Cruz Leadership Solutions; and a reconfiguration advisory committee made up of 31 Tucsonans, including parents, educators and school representatives, local government representatives, community members, and business and union leaders.
After September's community meetings, the district will begin notifying school communities of potential changes in October and November, ahead of a final vote expected in December.
