Gilbert Public Schools is considering closing one of its elementary campuses at the end of this school year. The proposal fits into a trend of other districts that have closed schools due to declines in enrollment.
The district’s governing board is set to vote on the future of Pioneer Elementary School on Jan. 27. At a meeting last month, Assistant Superintendent Jason Martin said Pioneer has been the smallest elementary school in the district for the past three years and has the lowest space utilization.
“You could currently take all the students in Pioneer Elementary and if you evenly distributed them throughout the classrooms at Pioneer, it would average seven students per classroom," Martin said.
The school currently has only two classes per grade level.
“Within the next year or two we will have, if Pioneer Elementary were to stay open, a grade level or two that would start to only have one class per grade level, which we know makes it incredibly hard when trying to meet all of the diverse needs of our student learners," Martin said.
In late 2025, Kyrene and Scottsdale announced school closures in their districts for similar reasons.
Recent figures from the state Department of Education show total enrollment in traditional public schools at 868,690. That compares with 928,526 five years ago and 962,277 a decade ago.
-
Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling was in Phoenix Wednesday, visiting one of the campuses of West-MEC — a public career and technical education school district. -
The Democratic candidate running to be the state’s next schools chief is facing allegations her campaign brought politics too close to Arizona classrooms. -
The Tucson Unified School District is considering closing up to 10 schools in the coming years. The district has hired a consultant to help it figure out the next steps and a final decision is expected later this year. -
Pima County and the University of Arizona have teamed up to offer a new curriculum focused on air quality monitoring. -
Climate change is prolonging the heat season in Phoenix. That means dangerous temperatures are stretching longer into the school year in the fall and spring. An ASU program is helping schools adapt.
