The consolidation of campuses has emerged over the past school year as a possible solution to help several issues in the Fountain Hills Unified School District. The District’s Facility Use Advisory Committee proposed a consolidation plan back in June, but Superintendent Dr. Cain Jagodzinski said FHUSD is slowing down their timeline.

“I feel that a move of this magnitude requires additional time to explore every consideration and impact this may have on students, families and the community,” Jagodzinski said in a newsletter email. “Therefore, any consolidation plan would not go into effect until the 2024-25 school year at the earliest. We plan to reconvene the Facilities Use Advisory Committee in the next month and continue to explore options for us to reimagine our model.”

Consolidation would primarily be considered due to declining enrollment and it’s appealing because it will cut down significantly on district maintenance costs. The proposed plan would close McDowell Mountain Elementary School and consolidate students in PreK-5 at the current middle school campus, and put grades 6-12 on the high school campus, which is the model FHUSD used from its inception until 2002.

Maintenance is constant, but last October, the School Board had an assessment done by Gordian. Gordian identified needs at all three school sites, with MMES needing approximately $2.76 million for “high urgency” needs, and approximately $1 million on “moderate urgency” needs.

“The committee concluded that future capital expenditures would be better spent on upgrading the current FHMS and FHHS facilities, especially considering available space at the high school that will readily accommodate grades 6-8 and the evident enrollment trends in the district,” Jagodzinski said. “The committee’s goal was to recommend a consolidation plan to the Governing Board if the Board chooses to move forward with consolidation…McDowell Mountain Elementary School, the oldest active building, would close and be repurposed. At this time, the Governing Board has not moved forward with any consolidation plan.”

The Facilities Use Advisory Committee met eight times between its creation by the Governing Board on Feb. 9 and June 7, 2022. The committee was led by interim superintendent Dr. Patrick Sweeney and made up of staff from each school, parents and neighbors to McDowell Mountain, as well as the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Education Division.

All meetings were open to the public and held in accordance with Arizona's Open Meeting Law. Agendas and minutes from each meeting are available on the District’s website (fountainhillsschools.org) under the Governing Board tab, and visitors can view drafted maps for the consolidation plan on the same page of the district’s website.

FHHS had nearly 1,000 students enrolled when the middle school moved to the new campus in 2002. FHHS’ enrollment fluctuates at around 500 students currently, and there are several vacant rooms that can be used if the schools consolidate.

“If the decision is made in the future to explore consolidation further, we will ensure that students, parents and the community have input,” Jagodzinski said.