Special to the Arizona Informant Newspaper
Earlier this week the Roosevelt School Board held its’ monthly meeting to discuss district
business. This month’s meeting was not the routine gathering of the members. Several
community members came out to voice their displeasure with the decision of the board to
consider closing 5 of the schools in the district. Declining enrollment due to an inordinate
number of charter schools in the area, parents electing to use vouchers and outside school
districts, namely Kyrene school district busing students out of the area are the main reasons for the board’s action.
With the district facing a multi-million-dollar deficit, school closures are one of the options on the table presented by district Superintendent Dr. Dani Portillo. In a letter to the Roosevelt Families dated November 7, Portillo stated “At our Governing Board meetings, the Board received multiple presentations highlighting enrollment trends, financial updates, academic progress, facility conditions and usage and other key indicators. All of these underscore the negative consequences of not taking immediate action to preserve and strengthen academic programming while also resolving the districts’ deficit so that we don’t rely on our reserve
funding.”
Portillo continued, “After considering all sources of data…. I am recommending the Governing
Board vote to consolidate certain campuses.” The recommendations are as follows:
*Closing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School and send students to Dr. Percy L. Julian School
*Closing Maxine O. Bush School and send students to Cloves C. Campbell, Sr. School
*Closing C.J. Jorgensen Academy of Learning Service and send students to Ed and Verma
Pastor School
*Closing V. H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition and send students to Ignacio Conchos
School
*Closing John R, Davis School and send students to Sunland Steam Academy
Several community members stood at the podium to encourage the Board to consider the rich
history of the schools and the need for the district to do a better job of retaining the students in the area. In the letter to the community, Superintendent Portillo encouraged the community to attend the Call to the Public meeting on Tuesday, November 19, and a special Governing Board meeting vote to close and consolidate schools on Thursday, November 21. Both meetings will take place at the Verna McClain Wellness Center,1030 East Baseline Road at 5:30 pm. For more information visit the District website “rsd66.org”.
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