Mesa committee hears proposed boundary changes to move Wilson students into Franklin model and neighboring elementary schools

Mesa Unified District officials and the Planning and Boundary and Design Committee (PABDAC) held the third and final public hearing on proposed attendance-boundary changes affecting Wilson, Madison, Jefferson and Johnson elementary schools and the possible expansion of a Franklin-model campus onto the Wilson site.

The hearing, led by PABDAC chair Dr. Laura Metcalfe and district chief of staff Justin Wing, presented enrollment projections and a draft boundary map that would shift portions of Wilson’s current neighborhood into adjacent elementary schools and reserve the Wilson campus as a Franklin-model site if parents and the governing board support that option. PABDAC will consider public input before making a recommendation to the governing board in late October; the committee holds a virtual meeting on Sept. 29 to review materials.

PABDAC and district staff said the proposal responds to multi-year enrollment declines locally and nationally. Justin Wing, identified as the district’s chief of staff, told attendees that Wilson’s enrollment has fallen substantially in recent years and that the district is trying to “maximize our campuses” to avoid school closures other districts are already facing. District presenters showed a five-year decline at Wilson of about 40 percent and said Madison’s enrollment fell from about 469 students in 2021–22…