Cave Creek Unified District proposes closing Desert Sun Academy and Lone Mountain amid enrollment decline

Cave Creek Unified District staff recommended on Tuesday that the governing board close two elementary campuses — Desert Sun Academy and Lone Mountain — reconfigure the district’s elementary schools to a K–5 model and rezone students to nearby schools, as administrators outlined financial and capacity data at a public forum.

The recommendation, presented by Frank Henderson, assistant superintendent of human resources, and by the district’s chief financial officer, will go to the governing board for action after additional public meetings; administrators said the proposal is intended to reduce persistent budget shortfalls caused by declining enrollment.

The presentation said district elementary capacity is being used at about 47 percent overall and described Desert Sun Academy’s current usage at roughly 25 percent. “Most of our sites are below 50% usage,” Frank Henderson said while summarizing the committee’s findings. The district recommended moving to a K–5 configuration, which staff said would raise average utilization toward 60 percent while accounting for an expected loss of some students after closures.

Why it matters

District officials said the recommendation responds to sustained enrollment declines that have outpaced prior demographic projections and strained the maintenance and operations budget. The district’s financial overview cited Arizona’s per‑pupil base funding and local adjustments; the presentation noted a state base figure of $5,013 per student and described how the district’s weighted funding and expenditures interact with enrollment changes.

What the administration proposed

- Convert all elementary schools to K–5. - Close Desert Sun Academy (DSA); rezoned students from DSA would be assigned to Horseshoe Trails. - Close Lone Mountain; its boundary area would be split between Black Mountain and Desert Willow. - Move Black Mountain to K–5 and keep Desert Willow and Horseshoe Trails as K–5 campuses. - Demolish a previously closed middle school building (referred to in the presentation as “Dams”) and submit that request to the Schools Facilities Division for approval. - Absorb a self‑contained special education program (referred to in the presentation as “Palace”) into Horseshoe Trails.

Administrators said they factored several items into the recommendation: per‑student spending by campus, physical seating capacity and current usage, the Schools Facilities Division’s percentage of facility cost coverage for each building, specialty programs that attract nonresident open‑enrollment students, and geographic considerations where a campus might be closer to a neighboring district than to other Cave Creek schools.

Financial rationale and enrollment projections

The district presented five years of maintenance and operations (M&O) spending that it said remained near $32 million annually. Using current enrollment counts and historical trends, staff showed scenarios for lost revenue if students leave after a closure; the presentation referenced an estimated 12.5 percent student loss figure that other districts have used after closures and said the district’s demographer projects roughly a 1 percent decline next year but that recent years have shown declines in the 5–9 percent range with one year exceeding 9 percent.

The CFO noted that dropping students reduces state funding and that fixed building and staffing costs mean lower utilization produces higher per‑pupil expenses. Administrators estimated that closing a single school would result in savings on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars (administration cited about $650,000 for closing Lone Mountain as an example) but said closing only one campus would likely not be sufficient to stabilize the budget long term.

Community reaction at the forum

Nineteen speakers were scheduled to comment at the forum. Parents, teachers and PTO leaders urged the district to pursue alternatives to closure, offered marketing and programmatic ideas, and stressed the social and instructional impacts on students.

Tanya Novella, a parent and staff relative, said Desert Sun Academy is “an invaluable asset” and warned that closing a fully state‑funded campus could undermine future community support for bonds and overrides. Laura Bowles, a DSA parent, asked directly: “Where are those resources being allocated?” and said displaced families need clearer assurances about academic quality and program continuity.

Teachers and PTO leaders urged the district to explore other structural models. Lisa Visno, a DSA immersion teacher, described long‑running rumors about closure that she said hampered recruitment and retention and argued for a longer‑term strategic plan to grow enrollment, including suggestions such as grade‑banded campuses and expanded STEAM or immersion programming.

Administration responses and next steps

District staff answered questions about transportation, uniforms and staffing. Transportation staff said buses would continue to pick up students in current areas (for example, Rio Verde) and that route changes would be evaluated. On staffing, administration said it did not predict an immediate reduction in force based on current staffing models and natural attrition but noted that certified teachers have priority over emergency or non‑certified employees if reductions were necessary.

Administrators said the recommendation is advisory and that the board could change course. The district scheduled additional public engagement: another community forum at Lone Mountain Elementary the next evening and a public meeting at the Fine Arts Center on Monday, January 13; the governing board is set to consider final action at its business meeting on January 28, when administration will bring a formal recommendation.

What remains unresolved

Administrators acknowledged several risks and contingencies: potential student loss after closures, the cost to maintain closed properties while a repurposing plan is developed, and the degree to which consolidation would enable competitive teacher salaries or program expansion. The district said repurposing planning will include a separate committee to avoid leaving closed buildings unattended and to mitigate potential effects on nearby property values.

The forum closed with the district encouraging continued community feedback before the board’s January 28 meeting.