MUSD prepares for district-wide growth

According to Jacob Harmon, the district’s Chief Financial Officer, Maricopa Unified School District is expected to grow by 231 elementary students next year.

To accommodate for the growth, the district received seven portable classrooms on June 14 and await installation at the six MUSD elementary schools.

Superintendent Dr. Tracey Lopeman said the portable buildings are a pre-emptive strike against the growth.

“We’re gradually stepping into accommodating our growth,” Lopeman said in a Governing Board meeting on Jan. 25. “We’re walking carefully and slowly into this purchase of 14 classrooms this year.”

Without the seven portables, MUSD elementary schools would be 14 classrooms short for the 2023-2024 school year and 46 short for 2024-2025.

But even with the projected district-wide growth, MUSD may not qualify for a seventh elementary school until the 2027-2028 school year.

The Arizona School Facilities Board determines when additional schools are needed by classroom square footage, instead of student population.

The total elementary-school classroom capacity according to SFB is 4,933 students across the six elementary schools.

“Our goal is to have SFB agree with our growth projections and approve funding for an elementary school,” Harmon said.

Moving forward, the district plans to keep the portables in their back pocket, and possibly purchase a few more, depending on student population growth.

“We have potential to grow so much over the next 10 years,” Harmon said. “Especially at the elementary and high school levels, that we could potentially re-use these.”

“It gives us the confidence that we aren’t overinvesting in this. We have a plan already in place, and a timeline,” Lopeman added.