South Phoenix school district may close several campuses in effort to save money

PHOENIX — A south Phoenix school district board will vote Thursday on whether to close five of its schools in an effort to boost educational outcomes and spending efficiency.

If approved, the Roosevelt School District will shutter the following schools:

• John R. Davis Elementary School
• V.H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition
• C.J. Jorgensen Academy of Service Learning
• Maxine O. Bush Elementary School
• Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

Why could south Phoenix school district close schools?

The plan was recommended by Roosevelt Superintendent Dani Portillo.

She said it is intended to increase quality at the Roosevelt’s remaining schools, describing the district as stretched too thin when it comes to spending and the number of students and staff.

The south Phoenix school district also faces a structural budget shortfall of around $5 million. It is using reserve funds to backfill the budget for now, but Portillo said those funds will run out.

“So as we are redistributing our funds, we’ll be able to provide for other campuses that are going without with more resources than they have as our dollars are currently spread over 18 locations,” Portillo said.

While Portillo did recommend the plan, the closure must be approved by the district board. That vote will happen Thursday in a public meeting.

Students who attend schools that would close would be brought into other district schools. One of the schools on the closure list, Maxine O. Bush, would be set to reopen within a few years.

What other issues is south Phoenix school district dealing with?

Roosevelt’s budget is half of the reason why this plan is being recommended; the other half is declining enrollment in the south Phoenix school district.

Portillo said Roosevelt’s enrollment has declined since 2007 and around half of the students they could serve go to schools outside the district.

It’s a problem Arizona state Sen. Catherine Miranda said is partially caused by Arizona’s expanded ESA program. That program allows families to receive state education money and spend it at private schools or for homeschooling expenses.

“We’re just trying to create some accountability around the budgeting of these vouchers that are just handed out,” Miranda said. “It highly impacted our south Phoenix schools.”

Portillo said that around 900 students in the district’s zip codes receive ESA vouchers.

What would happen to the schools if closed?

If the Roosevelt board does approve the closures, the south Phoenix school district will retain ownership of the campus land and buildings.

Portillo said that creates an opportunity to create more services for the surrounding community.

Currently, the schools — besides Bush — are set to be shifted to provide other resources and operated by partners.

While it’s not clear exactly what they could become, one school is being envisioned as a new child care and preschool center.

Portillo described it as a win-win for the district and potential operators of those buildings.

“We can utilize this public building for what’s best but also take some of that leasing revenue to also offset some of the costs of things we want to do for kids,” Portillo said.

South Phoenix school district vote is imminent

Miranda hopes the Roosevelt board approves the plan.

“If this plan does not move forward, we’re going into a worst-case scenario here,” she said.

The senator also said she wants to find ways to slow down the timeline for budgets and community input on district changes, believing the community would have benefited from more time to work on this plan.

In Portillo’s view, it would be irresponsible to leave the schools open because of their economic burden on the district.

“But I do trust that [the board will] do what’s best for the children, and I’ll absolutely respect what their decision is,” Portillo said.