By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Sierra Vista Unified School District Governing Board voted to close and consolidate another school during a meeting on Tuesday, May 12.
Read more Arizona community college graduates earn $9,100 more annually, report shows
The board voted 4-1 to consolidate Village Meadows with Pueblo Del Sol Elementary, and voted on two other action items during the short meeting.
The board approved the Town & Country Elementary relocation plan by a 5-0 vote.
Town & Country will relocate to the campus of Joyce Clark Middle, which the board voted to close last month. The new school will be a K-8 school and will be called Town & Country Neighborhood School.
The current Town & Country campus will be renamed Clark Community Campus and will serve as the district’s support offices.
The third and final action item was reconfiguring the elementary and middle school grade levels into K-8. It passed 5-0 but was just a procedural action needed to send the changes to the state.
Last month, the governing board decided to close Joyce Clark, the district’s lone middle school.
The 3-2 vote, which came during a meeting on Tuesday, April 21, had been expected for months as the district faces a $5 million budget deficit.
After the decision was made, some parents walked out immediately, with some yelling out, “wrong decision.”
13 News spoke with a parent and her child, who was expecting to attend Joyce Clark in the next school year.
“Very disappointing because from my experience with middle school, it’s a stepping stone,” Viretta Kirk, the parent of incoming seventh grader Pyper Stacey said. “They’re basically robbing all of the children in this school system of that experience.”
Read more Portion of Grant Road to be closed for months; businesses to stay open
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
- Sierra Vista Unified facing $4 million budget deficit
- Sierra Vista community discusses possible school consolidation
- Sierra Vista Unified decides on school consolidation
- Sierra Vista may lose its only middle school
- Sierra Vista school expands as district faces closures
- Superintendent reveals financial ‘cliff’ behind school closures
Stacey said, “I know several hundred kids that wanted to go to that school, and they wanted to go there with their friends, and it’s disappointing that they’re not going to go because they’re closing it.”
SVUSD Superintendent Terri Romo recommended the closure and said that she struggled making this decision, but stood firm that this was a fiscally-responsible action that will help SVUSD in the long run.
“These are the darkest days of my 30-year career,” Romo said. “I’ve dedicated my career to Cochise County, the majority of it here. I was a student here. I’ve dedicated my life to public education. We have to do something very major to get us through this.”
During the meeting, the board members discussed how they struggled to make their decision because they understood how much the community cares about the school.
SVUSD Superintendent Terri Romo previously told 13 News that the district was looking to close Joyce Clark and move to a K-8 setup.
Late last year, the board voted to consolidate Bella Vista Elementary but warned that it would likely not be enough to close the district’s deficit.
The district has said that funding cuts and dwindling enrollment left it in the red. Over the past decade, the SVUSD has lost more than 2,000 students.
Are you streaming 13 News?
Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.
Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.
If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.
Read more Arizona faces high fire danger as hot, dry weather continues
You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.