Tag: ESA vouchers

by Madeline Armstrong   Roosevelt School District in South Phoenix is considering closing five schools amid a deficit that a school official blames on universal school choice and low enrollment. District data suggests a different story. Superintendent Dani Portillo has cited declining birth rates and the expansion of ESA vouchers as the reason for low revenue. The district is facing an almost $5 million deficit with the forecasted $77.9 million expense outpacing the $74.8 million anticipated revenue. There are 36 alternative non-district schools in the area that parents can use ESA funds to enroll their children in. Roosevelt, by comparison, has 18 schools. According to Portillo, there are approximately 900 students currently using ESA funding within the district’s boundaries to attend other schools. However, universal school choice wasn’t enacted until July 2022 and the district’s enrollment has increased by more than 300 students since then, breaking a 10-year decline. According to financial reporting from the district, the reliance on COVID-19 pandemic relief funds may be the bigger reason contributing to the budget deficit. The Roosevelt School District received more than $67 million in ESSER funds, which were awarded between March 2020-21, and have since been tapped dry. In a public…