Mesa Public Schools cuts almost 150 jobs to cope with declining enrollment

Posted by author February 13, 2025 Jobs

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Mesa Public Schools will cut 147 staff positions due to an anticipated loss of 1,800 students in the 2025-26 school year.
The district, the largest in Arizona, has experienced a 12% enrollment decline over the past decade.
The eliminated positions include 42 certified staff, such as teachers and counselors, and 105 classified staff, like custodians and instructional assistants.

Mesa Public Schools will be cutting nearly 150 staff positions across its schools, the Governing Board decided.

The cuts were announced at a board meeting Tuesday and stem from an anticipated loss of 1,800 students in the 2025-26 school year, although estimates go as high as 2,000 kids.

The district — the largest in the state by student population — has seen a roughly 12% decrease in enrollment over the past decade. The district estimated a 1,000-student reduction for the current school year, although that number ended up closer to 1,500.

Of the 147 eliminated positions, 42 are certified staff jobs, and three are administrative positions, according to district records.

At the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Justin Wing thanked staff members who announced their retirements or resignations early this year because it helped mitigate the reduction of force. The retirements and resignations included a combination of both classified and certified staff members.

Certified staff includes teachers, psychologists and counselors. Classified staff includes crossing guards, instructional assistants and custodians.

Wing said cut staff were notified by early February. He said the reduction of force procedures considered past discipline and performance. It also takes into account if a program will be eliminated.

Wing said staff members terminated during the process are eligible to apply for open positions in the future.

The board only voted on the reduction of force for the certified positions, as opposed to the classified positions.

That’s because Arizona law requires a formal reduction of force for certified staff but not classified staff. Wing said the district would continue making classified staff adjustments.

At a board meeting on Jan. 28, nearly 70 current and former students and community members asked the district not to cut the general music program for fourth, fifth and sixth graders. A petition also gathered over 3,000 signatures. The proposed cuts were also in response to budget challenges brought on by shirking enrollment.

After the outcry, the board voted to allocate $1.3 million from a rainy day fund to continue the general music program for one more year.