Marana School District considers closure of Thornydale Elementary

The Marana Unified School District is considering closing Thornydale Elementary, citing declining enrollment.

The closure, should the Governing Board approve it, would not occur until June 2019 and students would be re-assigned to either Quail Run Elementary School or Butterfield Elementary School.

Thornydale Elementary, built in 1974, is designed to serve as many as 600 students, according to the Arizona School Facilities Board. But over the last eight years, the population has dwindled to about 300, the Marana school district said.

The infusion of students would boost enrollment at Butterfield and Quail Run, both of which were operating under 70 percent capacity in 2017, according to a School Facilities Board report.

“As state budgets have also steadily declined and costs associated with building maintenance and utilities have continued to increase, school enrollment is vitally important to the sustainability of a school,” the district said in a news release.

The Governing Board will host a public forum on March 27 to hear arguments for and against the closure at 6 p.m. in the school cafeteria, 7651 N. Old Father Road.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Those unable to attend the forum can submit a written statement to the school principal or email the Governing Board at MUSD6@maranausd.org

The Governing Board could take up the matter for a final vote on April 12 at 7 p.m. at the Marana Municipal Complex, 11555 W. Civic Drive.

Should the district move forward with the closure, transportation for Thornydale students to Quail Run and Butterfield would be provided — both are within a 2-mile radius. Students can also open enroll to other Marana schools.

The Marana district anticipates that all Thornydale teachers, staff, and administrators will continue to have a position due to attrition at other school sites as well as the opening of a new K-8 school in Dove Mountain in the fall of 2019.

The planned Dove Mountain school is in a different region of the district that is growing, and growth is expected to continue in the future, whereas there is no plan for future home growth in the Thornydale area, said Marana District spokeswoman Tamara Crawley.