Cave Creek Unified moves to consolidate schools, shift sixth grade amid mounting shortfall

Superintendent Bill Dolezal and district financial staff told the Cave Creek Unified School District governing board on Feb. 11 that the district is overspending its maintenance and operations budget and must align schools and staffing to available revenue. The board approved a proposal to close Desert Sun Academy effective July 1, 2025, and voted to reconfigure Sonoran Trails Middle School to serve grades 6–8. The transcript does not record a clear, final tally for the Lone Mountain Elementary School closure motion.

Why it matters: Administrators said the district’s current expenditures already exceed the available maintenance-and-operations (M&O) funding and that continuing to rely on one‑time or capital funds would leave too little reserve for essential capital work, technology replacement and emergencies. The proposed consolidations and the grade reconfiguration are intended to reduce recurring operating costs and stabilize ongoing finances.

District finance presentation and shortfall projections

Chief financial staff summarized multiple revenue and spending lines that drove the recommendation. District officials reported year‑to‑date M&O expenditures of about $30.8 million and said carryforward (unspent prior‑year M&O) currently stands at roughly $3.7 million. Superintendent Dolezal and district finance staff described the practice in recent years of shifting district additional assistance (DAA, the state capital allocation) into M&O to cover operating needs; administration proposed reducing that shift from about $2.0 million historically to $1.2 million for the coming year.

District presentations included modeled scenarios…