5 south Phoenix schools to close; data shows students are leaving the district [Video]

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As ESA vouchers become more popular, public schools continue to see lower enrollment, impacting district budgets and forcing school closures.

Late Thursday, Roosevelt School Elementary District board members approved shutting down five schools due to low enrollment amid a $5 million budget deficit.

About 1,500 students and staff will now be moving to five other schools within the district, with teachers transferring with the students.

“I just don’t think that the schools should ever close down,” one grandmother said.

The five schools that will not reopen next school year are Maxine O. Bush, John R. Davis, CJ Jorgensen Academy of Service Learning, Martin Luther King Jr. and V.H. Lassen Academy of Science and Nutrition.

“This has been extremely difficult, there have been a lot of tears shed, meetings, heartbreak along the way,” said Governing Board President Shelley Jackson.

Jackson said the district has cut about $6 million from the budget.

“Even though we are keeping teachers, we …