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Several former schools in the Tucson Unified School District currently sit empty and city leaders want to see those buildings reused.
Tucson City Council members today discussed moving forward with a proposal to offer incentives to developers of former TUSD schools sites.
Tucson Unified School District has closed 19 schools since 2010 due to budget cuts or population changes.
Most of those buildings are leased or reused by TUSD for other purposes. Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said he wants to prevent blight and vandalism in neighborhoods where schools have been shuttered.
“I know we all believe schools are community assets, but a closed school is a liability," Rothschild said. "Its within everyone’s interest to see these properties returned to productive use as housing, community centers, or schools. We want to work with Tucson Unified School District to get this done.”
Council members voted to present a plan to TUSD’s governing board to make it faster and easier for developers to build on TUSD school sites. After that, the council could vote on a final version of the proposal.
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