The Peoria Unified School District governing board voted Sept. 23 unanimously to close open enrollment at these schools.
Current enrollment at Liberty High School is 2,505. It is projected to hit 2,537 this school year. Maximum capacity at this school is 2,496.
Current enrollment at Sunset Heights Elementary School is 1,081. It is projected to hit 1,166 this school year. Maximum capacity at this school is 1,120.
Current enrollment at Lake Pleasant Elementary School is 1,115. It is projected to hit 1,489 in the 2023-24 school year. Maximum capacity at this school is 1,472.
PUSD Director of Research and Planning Mike Maas said the district’s northern area is growing fast, particularly the area that feeds into Lake Pleasant Elementary School, 31501 N. Westland Road.
“Lake Pleasant [Elementary School] is getting all the growth. It is all growing outside of the Vistancia core. It is expanding around the outside and that all feeds to Lake Pleasant, and that is why Lake Pleasant growth is occurring in that area,” Maas said. “On the other hand, Vistancia [Elementary School] is contained and wrapped around Lake Pleasant [Elementary School] so it doesn’t get the growth the others do.”
PUSD has an open enrollment policy that allows parents to enroll their children in any school within the district, allows resident students to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state and allows nonresident students to enroll in any school within the district, pursuant to Arizona state law.
The governing board has the power to close open enrollment at schools with a majority vote. They will revisit capacity issues at these schools a year from now and determine whether to keep open enrollment closed or make a change.
Despite the closure of open enrollment at Lake Pleasant and Sunset Heights elementary schools as well as Liberty High School, there are some exceptions. These schools can only accept open enrollment students who fall into the following categories:
• Students returning to the school from the prior year;
• Siblings of students already enrolled;
• Students whose parent are employed by the school or district;
• Students in foster care or who qualify under McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
The district uses various metrics to determine open enrollment changes.
The district commissioned two consulting firms — thinkSMART planning and Applied Economics — to study enrollment and capacity at district schools.
Think Smart Planning, in February 2020, provided a facility use model that estimated each school’s capacity.
Applied Economics, in March 2021, provided an annual demographic and enrollment analysis which estimates the future enrollment of each district school.
Other factors included housing growth.
The 2020 Census count revealed Peoria’s population increased 27% to 191,000 during the past 10 years, and nowhere was this increase more evident than in the Mesquite District, which saw explosive growth during the past 10 years.
The northern most Peoria council district, which runs roughly from Happy Valley Road north to Lake Pleasant, now has a population of 47,209, making up nearly 25% of the city’s residents. The second most populous district is the Willow District, just south of Mesquite at Pinnacle Peak Road, with a population of 31,846.
PUSD President David Sandoval said it is time to consider a bond to fund new facilities and realigning school boundaries.
“As we continue to grow in our northern schools, I think it is prudent to start having discussions around realigning our boundaries ... and then discussions around taking a look at the possibilities of going out for a bond in 2022 or the following year. That is an area that has been needed since I was elected in 2015,” he said. “We are seeing the impact of not being able to pass a bond. It’s hitting us now and if we don’t invest now, the pain is going to be much greater.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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