Gilbert Public Schools Faces Decision on Potential School Closure Amid Declining Enrollment
In a move reflecting broader trends in education, Gilbert Public Schools may shutter one of its elementary schools at the close of this academic year due to dwindling student numbers. The district’s governing board is scheduled to make a final decision on January 27 regarding the fate of Pioneer Elementary School.
During a meeting held last month, Assistant Superintendent Jason Martin highlighted that Pioneer has consistently been the district’s smallest elementary school over the past three years, with its classrooms being underutilized. Martin stated, “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.”
Currently, Pioneer Elementary maintains two classes for each grade. However, Martin cautioned that this could reduce further, stating, “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.”
This potential closure is not an isolated case. Other school districts, such as Kyrene and Scottsdale, have also recently announced school closures due to similar challenges.
Statewide enrollment data from the Department of Education underscores this trend, with traditional public school attendance figures dropping from 962,277 a decade ago to 928,526 five years ago, and further to 868,690 in the present day.
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