TUSD Recommends Closing Steele Elementary School

Tucson Unified School District proposes closing Steele Elementary and moving its students to Booth-Fickett K-8, one of eight schools recommended for closure.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Secondary Education

Photograph of a low tan stucco school building with a covered walkway and empty playground beneath a palo verde tree, with desert mountains behind it. — Tucson Unified School District recommended closing Steele Elementary School on Tuesday, moving its students to Booth-Fickett K-8 beginning in the 2028-29 school year. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Tucson Unified School District has recommended closing Steele Elementary School, with its students sent to Booth-Fickett K-8 beginning in the 2028-29 school year. Steele joins seven other TUSD schools recommended for closure.

Why it matters

Steele's enrollment and classroom use are far below its capacity, a pattern the district cites among its reasons for consolidating campuses. The proposal would reshape where families in the Tucson area send their children for elementary and K-8 education.

Steele Elementary has a 41% capture rate and 100% classroom utilization, while Booth-Fickett K-8 has a 43% capture rate and 25% classroom utilization. Whether the closure proceeds and how the Steele campus will be used afterward has not been determined.

The players

Tucson Unified School District

The Tucson-area public school district that serves the city's students and oversees the campuses under review for consolidation.

The details

Steele Elementary, located at 700 S. Sarnoff Drive, is about three miles from Booth-Fickett K-8 at 450 S. Montego Drive. Steele opened in 1961 at a cost of $459,165.

The 2024-25 school year showed Steele with 215 students and Booth-Fickett with 250.
The proposed transition of Steele students to Booth-Fickett would begin in the 2028-29 school year.

Season Trajectory

The Steele recommendation is one of eight TUSD school closures under review, shaping how the district allocates its campuses across the city. It extends a pattern of consolidation driven by enrollment levels well below building capacity.

Families with children at Steele Elementary would move to Booth-Fickett K-8, roughly three miles away, beginning in the 2028-29 school year. The change would affect daily commutes and school choice for households in the Steele attendance area.

The takeaway

Families in the Steele and Booth-Fickett areas should watch for the district's final decision and any transition details ahead of the 2028-29 school year. Planning early for school transportation and enrollment changes can ease the move.