These metro Phoenix districts closing schools amid enrollment decline
School districts across the valley are downsizing, repurposing buildings or closing schools altogether to adapt to changing demographics.
Falling birth rates, the growth of Arizona’s school voucher program and high home prices are among the reasons districts are losing student numbers.
Closing schools may be the most effective solution for districts to address budget shortfalls resulting from fewer students, but closures present significant challenges. School closures in the Kyrenia School District meant families were separated between two different schools and students were left behind their trusted teachers and friends.
Closing schools is usually a last resort for the district, according to Mesa Public Schools superintendent Matthew Strom. Mesa Public Schools is Arizona’s largest district, with more than 53,000 students in 82 schools. To avoid school closures, the district is leasing its land and partnering with community groups and businesses to address budget shortfalls.
But not every school district in the Valley has been able to buck the trend.
Roosevelt Elementary School District closes five schools
Roosevelt Elementary School District in December 2024 Voted to close five schools Until the 2025-26 school year. The closures are in response to a years-long trend of declining enrollment and a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall, according to district director Dani Portillo.
The area was named after Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Maxine O. Bush Elementary School, CJ Jorgensen Service Learning Academy, VH Lassen Science and Nutrition Academy, and John R. Davis Elementary School.
The district planned to reuse Lassen, Davis and Jorgensen and reopen Bush as an attraction school for the 2026-27 or 2027-28 school year. District officials also said they hope to turn MLK Jr. into an early childhood center.
Cave Creek Unified School District closed one school
In February 2025, Cave Creek Unified School District decided to close Desert Sun Academy in July of that year.
The school district has lost nearly a quarter of its students in the past five years, due in part to the expansion of Arizona’s universal voucher program.
About 100 children living within Cave Creek Unified borders received vouchers before the voucher program expands to all Arizona students in 2022. That number later grew to nearly 1,000, according to state data.
Phoenix Elementary School District closes two schools
Phoenix Elementary School District in March 2025 announced that he would have to close schools To avoid falling into the hands of the state. The board voted unanimously to close two elementary schools: Heard Elementary School and Dunbar School the following school year.
Enrollment has declined nearly 29% in downtown Phoenix over the past decade due to “low birth rates, limited affordable housing, and declining families,” according to the district.
Dunbar School was built specifically for Black students in 1925 during the school segregation policy. The school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Phoenix Register of Historic Property.
Scottsdale Unified School District announces two school closures
Scottsdale Unified School District school board in December 2025 It was decided to close two primary schoolsPima Elementary School and Echo Canyon Elementary School both cite changing demographics as the reason for the closures.
Scottsdale Unified’s demographic study found that multifamily housing built in south Scottsdale, where Pima and Echo Canyon are located, is less likely to attract families.
The board announced plans to reuse the schools and assign new boundaries to the district.
Kyrenia School District is closing six schools
In December 2025, the Kyrenia School District voted to close six schools by the 2027-28 school year; This marks the first time the district has closed a school in its 137-year history.
The district’s decision was prompted by a steady decline in enrollment for more than two decades and an estimated loss of $7 million in funding over the next five years due to the decline.
Three primary schools will close in the upcoming 2026-27 school year: Kyrene de la Colina, Kyrene de la Estrella and Kyrene de las Manitas. Kyrene Traditional Academy, Kyrene Akimel A-al and Kyrene del Pueblo will close in the 2027-28 academic year.
Reporters Madeleine Parrish and Alexandra Hardle contributed to this story.
This article was first published in Arizona Republic: Which Arizona school districts are closing schools in 2026?
