Roosevelt School District votes to close 5 schools in south Phoenix
PHOENIX - The Roosevelt School District is closing down five schools after a vote from the Roosevelt School District Governing Board tonight.
The decision comes in response to the school district's 5-million dollar budget deficit.
The meeting went for hours and this was not a unanimous vote.
One board member voted against the proposal.
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Phoenix school district proposing school closures amid budget crunch: here's what to know
Officials with a South Phoenix school district have released a proposal to close five schools within its boundaries. Here's what to know about the plan, and how it can affect some students.
Five schools within Roosevelt School District will close down: Maxine O. Bush Elementary School, C.J. Jorgensen Academy of Service Learning, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, V.H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition, and John R Davis Elementary School.
The vote passed 4 to 1.
Board member Lawrence Robinson voted against the closures.
"I feel like we're not being listened to by our electees. The elected leaders are not paying attention to the most core values that we have, so maybe we're going to really have to change the institutions and the people that we elect to them," Robinson said.
Some community members in attendance agreed with him.
Shawn Pearson, a grandmother, commented, "I think the decision was a very drastic decision without solutions in place and so my real concern is how our families are going to respond to this vote. Will they even be part of Roosevelt School District after this vote because the community was not truly included?"
There were also attendees in support of the school closures.
"In the last two years, it's from a "D" school up to a "B" school so we're making progress. So by downgrading and making it one, it will help the school better," said Deborah Thompson, a community member.
Shelley Jackson, Governing Board President, explained her vote:
"I voted yes tonight because I believe that every dollar should go back into our students and our students deserve the best possibility of a future through education as possible and we can't do that when we're stretching our resources across so many schools," she said.
Beginning August 2025, all students currently at King will go to Percy L. Julian School.
Students at Bush will go to Cloves C. Campbell Sr. Elementary School.
Students at Lassen will go to Ignacio Conchos Elementary School.
Students at Jorgensen will go to Ed and Verma Pastor Elementary School, and students at Davis will go to Sunland STEAM Academy.
The board determined teachers will not lose their jobs. They will just move schools.
However, it's unclear what will happen to administrators.