In response to explosive residential growth on the city’s eastern edge, Maricopa Unified School District is pursuing a boundary adjustment that would shift students currently zoned for Casa Grande schools into the MUSD system, placing them closer to neighborhood schools and aligning district boundaries with city limits.

“This is about serving students where they live,” said MUSD Superintendent Dr. Tracey Lopeman during a school board meeting Wednesday. “As the population grows, it makes sense to adjust boundaries so students who live in Maricopa go to a school in MUSD.”

Currently, a swath of land within the city of Maricopa falls under the jurisdiction of the Casa Grande Elementary and Casa Grande Union High School Districts. As a result, students living in neighborhoods near Desert Sunrise High School are forced to commute up to 25 miles to attend their assigned schools in Casa Grande, even though MUSD schools lie just 1 to 3 miles away.

According to district projections, housing developments in the area, including those in the Cortona neighborhood, are expected to bring in more than 2,500 students over the next decade. Next year alone, 107 students are expected from the newly developed area. That number will climb to 160 the following year. Desert Sunrise High School, already built and located within Maricopa city limits, ironically remains outside the MUSD boundaries due to a long-standing overlap with Casa Grande’s school districts.

Dr. Lopeman emphasized that the district has been working closely with a demographer to analyze development trends and enrollment projections. The findings highlight the disconnect between city and school district boundaries, particularly in high-growth areas.

“We’re hitting all four of our strategic plan metrics,” Lopeman said, referencing MUSD’s goal to establish both physical and financial capacity for growth. “This initiative aligns resources with community needs and upholds our commitment to local families.”

Under an Arizona law, the proposed change qualifies as a “minor boundary adjustment,” a legal process limited to two instances per district. The transition requires majority approval from voters in the affected area, as well as endorsements from all three governing boards: MUSD, Casa Grande Elementary and Casa Grande Union High School Districts.

A virtual public forum is scheduled for May 6 at 6 p.m. over Zoom. A link will be made available before that. Following that, the MUSD board will sign a memorandum of understanding May 14. The next step is collecting signatures for a formal petition, which must be submitted to both state and county agencies by Nov. 1.

If the timeline holds, the new boundaries will take effect in July 2026, just in time for the opening of a new K–8 school in the Sorento neighborhood, just 3 miles from the area in question.