CCUSD may accept more students
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – If parents living in an unorganized area outside Cave Creek Unified School District want their children going to schools within the district, those schools will greet them with open arms.

But the final decision will be in the hands of out‑of‑district voters this November.

The CCUSD governing board on Aug. 8 unanimously voted to accept as many as 800 students over the next 10 years from the Troon and Rio Verde “unorganized areas” if voters in those communities signal a desire to join the school district.

Troon and Rio Verde parents originally hoped to create a “transportation district” to cover the cost of bussing students to district schools, but those plans were scuttled because Arizona law requires residents of areas outside a school district to either join an existing district or form one of their own.

CCUSD has been anticipating adding students since its last enrollment projection earlier this year.

The district already serves some students from the unorganized area through open enrollment. Currently, the state pays the school district for those students.

District officials plan to meet with out‑of‑district parents at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the new Sonoran Trails Middle School library.

Reach the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com.