SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Sierra Vista Unified School District Governing Board voted three to two on Tuesday in favor of closing Joyce Clark Middle School effective next school year.
"I've been on the board a long time and I’ve dealt with some pretty tough things. This is the hardest so far," Hollie Sheriff said.
The district has to cut its budget by $5 million due to declining enrollment. The alternative option was to close two more elementary schools.
"That's not bringing the most money back into the system when we close it, it's because there's not as many people, there's not as many children in the middle school," Steve Conroy said.
The vote means the district’s only middle school will close, leaving students and staff questioning where they will go.
"I'm really struggling with any of these decisions, and I would not be doing what's in the best interest of this district to have us go into this, and then we have to be firing people middle of the year next year, because we cannot be out of budget," Superintendent Terri Romo said.
Prior to the vote, Romo announced the district’s recommendation to close Village Meadows Elementary School. This is the third school closure recommendation in the last six months.
"Our days of hoping that we can fix this, are done," Terri Romo said. "We have to do something very major to get us through this. Sometimes you have to dismantle."
Tuesday's meeting may have ended the process for the closure of Joyce Clark Middle School, but it has started a new one since a recommendation was made to close another elementary school. The district will host a town hall in the coming week to get community input and answer questions.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
----
——-
Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
