New Dashboard Reveals Real-Time Updates on Arizona School Closures

By Staff Reporter |

A newly launched dashboard is providing insights into school closures across Arizona. Developed by the Common Sense Institute (CSI), a nonpartisan organization focused on Arizona’s economic research, this tool offers critical data regarding educational trends in the state.

Since January, several schools have closed or consolidated, particularly in Maricopa, Navajo, and Yavapai counties. School districts affected include Cave Creek, Phoenix Elementary, Mesa Unified, and others. Notable closures involve Lone Mountain Elementary School and Dunbar School, among others.

The dashboard’s data draws from sources such as the Auditor General and the Arizona Department of Education. Additionally, CSI has released a line graph tracking spending, inflation, enrollment, and student proficiency in math and reading from 2010 to 2024, aggregating information from the Arizona State Library and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

Glenn Farley, CSI’s director of policy and research, highlighted troubling trends in public school enrollment. “The notion that enrollment would grow indefinitely has proven to be incorrect,” he noted. The organization found that enrollment peaked over a decade ago, as alternative education options gain popularity, contributing to the closures.

Significant disparities have emerged in Arizona’s public school system. While educational spending has surged by 80% since 2010, student proficiencies in math and reading have declined by 13% and 9%, respectively. Enrollment has also decreased by 1% during the same timeframe. Notably, spending has outpaced inflation, which rose only 36% in comparison to the rapid increase in education expenditures.

CSI’s research indicates a demographic shift impacting the school-aged population since around 2020. Public kindergarten enrollment has decreased by 13%, contrasting with a small 3% growth in overall public school enrollment.

The state’s school choice program, known as the Empowerment Scholarship Account program, has seen growth, now enrolling over 87,200 students. CSI underscored that demographic changes alone do not explain the shifts in school-aged populations. Charter school enrollment nearly doubled from 2020 to 2022, and private schools reported growth in 55% of cases during the 2021-2022 school year. The surge in homeschooling, which spiked from 2% to 11% during the pandemic, has stabilized around 6% recently.

A corresponding CSI report emphasizes that current enrollment disparities signal a disconnect between funding, student enrollment, and educational outcomes. The report argues that while alternative schooling options have thrived, Arizona’s district public schools face ongoing challenges. “Despite increasing funding and resources, the capacity and enrollment mismatch remains critical,” the report states.