Roosevelt School District board votes to close 5 Phoenix schools, but not without opposition

PHOENIX – The Roosevelt School District Governing Board voted to close down five schools in south Phoenix during a special meeting on Thursday evening.

The adopted plan calls for one of the shuttered elementary schools to reopen with a new focus in a few years and the others to be repurposed to create additional services for the community.

The agenda item, which includes a redrawn boundary map, passed by a 4-1 margin.

Dissenting Roosevelt School District board member explains vote

Lawrence Robinson was the only board member who voted no. He told KTAR News 92.3 FM afterward he thought the board, which will have three new members next year, acted rashly and without the typical level of public participation.

“This is a weird, peculiar process rushed in the holidays when people weren’t looking. And there’s a reason for that: They didn’t want transparency,” he said.

He also thinks the scope of the closures is too extreme.

“I voted no because there are so many other options,” he said. “We did not have to close this many schools, this abruptly, without a real plan for what we’ll do next.”

Why did Roosevelt School District board vote to close schools?

The rest of the Roosevelt School District Governing Board, however, felt it had to take action to address budget shortfalls and declining enrollment as the state’s universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) voucher program siphons away funding and students.

Board President Shelley Jackson told KTAR News it was a “painful” move and addressed concerns that the shuttered campuses would be converted to charter or private schools.

“Our community is strong and we believe in repurposing those buildings for things like health care community services, but charters and privates are not an option,” she vowed.

What comes next for Roosevelt School District?

The Roosevelt School District was established in 1912. It currently serves more than 7,500 pre-K through eighth grade students at 18 campuses and has approximately 1,200 employees, according to the district website.

It spans the area of south Phoenix from the Salt River to South Mountain between 35th Avenue and 40th Street. Thursday’s vote means the educators and pupils from five schools will be transferred to different campuses within the district.

“The district has committed to moving the teachers along with every single student and making sure that families and relationships continue, so every school actually goes with the next school, including the teachers,” Jackson said.

The district is retaining ownership of the campus land and buildings and plans to lease the vacated properties to community services providers.

The following two schools have at least partial plans for repurposing, per the agenda item:

• Maxine O. Bush Elementary School will reopen for the 2026-27 or 2027-28 school year with a magnet/specialized focus. The Bush enrollment area will be merged with the Cloves C. Campbell Sr. Elementary School boundary.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School will become a district early childhood center and house community services as selected by the community. The King enrollment area will be merged with the Percy L. Julian School boundary.

The other three campuses on the chopping block will be repurposed based upon data and community input, the district said, with enrollment boundaries changing as follows:

• V.H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition will be closed and merged with Ignacio Conchos Elementary School.

• C.J. Jorgensen Academy of Service Learning will be closed and merged with Ed and Verma Pastor Elementary School.

• John R. Davis Elementary School will be closed and merged with Sunland STEAM Academy.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz McNair contributed to this report.

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