Gilbert school board votes to close Pioneer Elementary 

By Tom Blodgett
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The Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board voted Jan. 27 to close Pioneer Elementary School at the school year's end, concluding a months-long process that district leaders said was driven by declining enrollment and broader demographic shifts. 

The board also approved a series of attendance boundary adjustments intended to absorb displaced students into neighboring schools, 

 The motion to close Pioneer came with visible emotion from board members, who acknowledged the impact on students, staff and families at the more than 40-year-old campus.  

Board Member Jill Humphreys, who made the motion, became emotional as she spoke about the loss of a neighborhood school. 

"In Arizona, we talk a lot about school choice, but I wish we would talk more about choice schools,” she said. “What does it take to put a wonderful school in the middle of every community that meets the needs of our students? And I see Pioneer as a choice school.” 

District administrators stressed that the decision was not a reflection of the school’s performance but of enrollment realities facing the district and public education more broadly.  

Superintendent Shane McCord said the closure was “not something that we take lightly” and emphasized that Pioneer staff and students would be supported through the transition. He also praised Principal Ames Singley for guiding the school community through the process. 

 Elementary Education Executive Director Jason Martin detailed the factors that led to the recommendation, pointing to declining birth rates, housing affordability, increased competition from charter schools and expanded voucher programs, and a steady drop in Pioneer’s enrollment over the past three years.  

He told the board that projections showed Pioneer could soon be reduced to a single section per grade if it remained open, limiting academic and programmatic options for students. 

 Following the closure vote, the board approved changes to elementary attendance boundaries for the 2026–27 school year, expanding the boundaries of Carol Rae Ranch, Harris and Val Vista Lakes elementary schools to accommodate former Pioneer students.  

Martin said the district revised its original proposal after receiving feedback during public meetings and online, particularly from families in the Dana Park and Heritage Acres areas who preferred to remain aligned with Val Vista Lakes Elementary and Greenfield Junior High. 

 The board then approved corresponding junior high boundary changes affecting Mesquite and Greenfield junior high schools.  

Martin said the district’s goal is to have elementary schools feed cleanly into a single junior high whenever possible, while also honoring Gilbert’s open enrollment policy. He noted that current seventh graders affected by the changes would continue receiving transportation so they would not have to switch schools midstream. 

 In a final action related to the closure, the board adopted a formal resolution to close the Pioneer Elementary site at 1535 N. Greenfield Road, contingent on approval by the Arizona School Facilities Board, as required by state law.  

District leaders said no specific plans have been made yet for the future use of the property but committed to maintaining security, landscaping and monitoring at the site after the school closes. 

Board members thanked district staff for the extensive outreach and planning involved, noting the absence of contentious public reaction during the process.  

While acknowledging the broader statewide trend of school closures tied to enrollment declines, board members emphasized their commitment to supporting public education and the families affected by the decision. 

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Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).