A budget committee has recommended that Florence Unified School District, which serves San Tan Valley next door to Queen Creek, combine two middle schools and stop using three elementary campuses to close a gap of $5 million to $7 million in next year's maintenance and operations budget, SanTanValley.com reported Wednesday.
The committee presented its recommendations to the Governing Board on Oct. 13. The board took no vote and received the report as an information item, with members saying they had a lot to weigh.
The proposal
Under the plan, San Tan Mountain Middle School would merge with Walker Butte Middle School on the Walker Butte campus. Students would be moved out of Copper Basin and San Tan Heights elementary schools and out of either Circle Cross Ranch or Skyline Ranch. All five schools are in the San Tan Valley area.
The committee did not say where the elementary students would go. If the board approves the changes, district staff would work out receiving schools, attendance boundaries, staffing and the placement of special programs. The committee also recommended relocating Florence Middle School students out of buildings with heavy repair needs and into available space next to another Florence campus.
The committee cited aging buildings, falling enrollment at most schools and a 36% drop in the birth rate between 2017 and 2022. A presenter said most district buildings are running at roughly half their capacity. The committee's model estimated about $5 million in savings from the mergers, which the presenter called a conservative figure because it assumed some families would leave the district.
A four-day school week was presented as another option, with estimated savings of about $679,000 in fuel, substitute and utility costs. The committee said that figure could shrink if the district had to cover meals, training or child care on the fifth day, or if families left.
