Despite Enrollment Losses, TUSD President Eckstrom Outlines Gains for its 39,000 Students

Tucson Unified School District Board President Jennifer Eckstrom is seeking another term to focus on district gains, student services and the need to change public perceptions of Tucson’s second-largest school system.

Looking ahead, Eckstrom said her priorities include boosting literacy, math achievement, strong partnerships with local tribes, flexible paths to graduation and reduced screen time in classrooms.

Eckstrom spoke at the June 29, 2026, meeting of Democrats of Greater Tucson to highlight major accomplishments during her first term, including paid parental leave for staff, campus repairs, expanded career education, summer school meals, new music and arts programs, and pilot programs to keep students enrolled.

She acknowledged serious challenges, including declining enrollment, a budget deficit and the $42 million annual drain caused by the corrupt ESA school voucher program.

Eckstrom, a former South Tucson mayor, is running for a second term. She was the top vote-getter in the 2022 election. Six candidates have filed statements of interest for two open seats on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Many improvements

She also pointed to Tre’Davon Rhodes, a University of Arizona student and TUSD graduate, as a fellow candidate whose perspective will strengthen the board.

“He’s young. He’s a student. He’s been through TUSD his whole life,” Eckstrom said. “We need to give young people a chance to become leaders in this city.”

She said TUSD became the first Arizona school district to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave for employees. The policy helps staff members who are starting families, adopting children or caring for newborns with medical needs.

Eckstrom also cited a student-led climate action plan, a reduction in duplicated student testing and a partnership with Pima County Attorney Laura Conover’s office to make gun locks available through TUSD schools.

“Gun locks save lives,” Eckstrom said.

The district’s voter-approved $480 million bond package was another centerpiece of Eckstrom’s presentation. She said the bond is funding long-delayed improvements across the district, like air-conditioning replacements, water and sewer line repairs, security upgrades, kitchen renovations, parking lot paving, electric buses and new athletic fields.

More than 150 bond projects have been completed, she said, with about 100 more planned for the summer. New buildings have been approved for Rincon/University High School and Davis Bilingual Elementary School, and upgrades are planned at Camp Cooper.

Eckstrom also pointed to a $45 million maintenance and operations override approved by voters last year. She said the override helped raise teacher and staff pay, expand career and technical education, increase preschool scholarships and bring physical education to every elementary and K-8 school.

She said the district’s career and technical education programs are among TUSD’s strongest assets and deserve more public attention. “Those programs are the gems of TUSD,” Eckstrom said.

She cited sports medicine at Cholla High School, dental and culinary programs at Sabino and Santa Rita, and a new welding program planned for Sabino. Students in those programs can graduate with certificates that help them get jobs immediately, she said.

“These are great ways to bridge the gap of kids not wanting to go to college or who aren’t able to and need to work right away after high school,” Eckstrom said.

Eckstrom said TUSD is also trying new approaches to keep students in school. The district will launch a four-day school week pilot at Palo Verde High School. She said the Palo Verde plan responds to students who need time to work, support their families, complete internships, care for siblings or recover from demanding schedules.

The school day will be longer, but students will not lose instructional time, she said. Students who want to come to campus on Fridays can do so.

Eckstrom said TUSD has expanded response-to-intervention teachers who work with small groups of students in reading and math. She also said every school now has some form of music and arts instruction, with students learning recorders, violins, ukuleles, band, orchestra, mariachi or visual and performing arts, depending on the campus.

Food insecurity is another area where Eckstrom said TUSD is providing essential services. The district offers summer breakfast and lunch to anyone under 18 and has a five-year USDA grant to provide free meals to all TUSD students during the school year.

“Kids sometimes, this is the only way that they get food,” Eckstrom said.

Top challenge: declining enrollment

Eckstrom acknowledged serious challenges, including declining enrollment, dropped from a peak of 60,000 students around 2000. She said the district must do more to tell families what its schools offer.

“I feel like we don’t do a good job as a school district promoting what we have in these schools,” Eckstrom said. “I’ve visited all 88 schools, including our early childhood education centers, and there’s something for everybody at these schools.”

“The same thing isn’t working,” Eckstrom said. “We need to continue to be innovative. We need to look at pilot programs and see what’s going to attract kids to our district.”

Eckstrom said she is not seeking higher office and wants another term to focus on students.

“I’m willing to fight for our kids and change the way people think about TUSD,” she said.