It was a bittersweet day at Pioneer Elementary School in the Peoria Unified School District. Students, staff and parents celebrated the last day of school, saying goodbye to their 50-year-old school before it closes.
In March, the Peoria Unified Governing Board voted to close two schools, Pioneer Elementary and Kachina Elementary, and reconfigure others as they faced a budget deficit. Pioneer Elementary will be converted into an alternative pathways campus, and the board plans to go to the voters in the fall to either sell or lease Kachina Elementary’s campus.
The district is only one of six school districts in the Valley to choose to close campuses at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. Since 2024, there have been a total of 11 districts that made the decision to close some campuses due to lower enrollment and budget gaps.
In the video player above, ABC15’s Education Reporter Elenee Dao goes into Pioneer Elementary’s last day of school, speaking to students, parents and educators about their bittersweet goodbye and their hopes for the future.
