The student population at six elementary schools in Maricopa is expected to grow. | note thanun/Unsplash
The student population at six elementary schools in Maricopa is expected to grow. | note thanun/Unsplash
The Maricopa Unified School District (MUSD) is looking into possible changes to the attendance boundaries for its six elementary schools.
Officials cited the need to account for recent student population growth and prepare for future growth, according to InMaricopa.com. Tracey Pastor, the district's assistant superintendent of administrative services, said four elementary schools would be affected by the plans being considered. These schools are Butterfield, Maricopa, Saddleback, and Santa Cruz. The four schools each feature 43 classrooms and a capacity for 956 students.
In contrast, the elementary school in Pima Butte has 21 classrooms with a capacity for 506 students and the school in Santa Rosa has 24 classrooms and a capacity for 603 students.
A grid bordered by Porter, White and Parker, Smith Enke, and Honeycutt roads is being studied, InMaricopa.com reported. The proposed plan aims to split the grid and move 140 students from Santa Cruz to Butterfield.
"If we can move half the students in that grid from Santa Cruz to Butterfield, that is the best-case scenario for Santa Cruz," Pastor said. "We are trying to get all six schools within the 85 to 95% capacity range before we are ready for a new school. That’s the perfect scenario.
"The School Facilities Board doesn't allow us to build when just one school is over capacity. They look collectively across the district, and it is our responsibility to share growth across our six schools. That's why we monitor growth across the district and plan in advance rather than trying to react."
Santa Cruz has the largest student population in the district – 794 – according to InMaricopa.com. That population is projected to grow to 1,177 by the 2026 school year if the district's boundaries are not changed. Saddleback's population is projected to reach 1,064 students in five years – 108 beyond its capacity.
"Saddleback and Santa Cruz are the two we are most concerned about," Pastor said. "They are the two with the most students now, but what is more concerning is projected to happen in two or three years from now."
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