by Zach Richter Today Publications

Thunder Mountain Middle School and Gold Canyon Elementary will close their doors on July 1.

Before the votes occurred, Dr. Chad Wilson, AJUSD superintendent spoke of the long arduous process that lead the district to this point. "It is not something that is done lightly, but it is something we need to do," he said. He then went on to thank all of the staff for their hard work and contributions to the district over the years.

With these votes GCES and TMMS students will be redistributed throughout the district. Elementary schools will switch to a K-6 model and the remaining middle school, Desert Shadows, will become a 7/8 school.

The closures comes in response to a management and operations budget override that failed to pass by less than 250 votes last Nov. They are also a result of a six percent drop in enrollment for the 2009-2010 school year. Six percent might not sound like much, but it translates into a loss of roughly 1.5 million dollars in federal funding for the district.

The board decided to close the schools to deal with budgetary concerns instead of slashing jobs from schools across the district. Despite being closed, the buildings will not be sold, rather they will be leased out in hopes of reopening them when the district begins growing again.

Closing the schools means cutting out more administrative and maintenance jobs and leaving as many teaching positions intact as possible. What's more, the closures allow the district to keep the very best and brightest teachers due to the reduction in teaching spots available. The resources from the closed schools will be redistributed to schools receiving new students to further minimize costs.
Unfortunately class sizes will increase, though according to Dr. Wilson, not nearly as much as if the schools do not close. The maximum number of students per classroom under the new plan will be 35 in grades seven and eight and 30 in the lower grades. If the schools weren't closed, more teachers will have to be let go and class sizes could balloon  up to 40 students per class.

The schools were picked for potential closure due to their small sizes, age, and location. Starting in the fall, elementary age students living in Gold Canyon will attend Peralta Trails Elementary School.  Former GCES students living in the area east of Idaho Rd. west of Tomahawk, north of Southern and south of Broadway will now attend Four Peaks Elementary. Minor redistricting means students will spend less time on buses and more time learning.

With the closure of TMMS, Desert Shadows  will become a new school serving grades 7/8. The school will be given a new name and identity so everyone feels at home. Classes will begin at 7:25 a.m. and end at 2:10 p.m. which is consistent with Apache Junction High School start times.

For more information on what this means for your student check out http://www.ajusd.org/collegereadiness/.