PHOENIX – The Isaac School District Governing Board voted not to close down two Phoenix elementary schools on Thursday night, but it was overruled by a state official.
P.T. Coe Elementary School and Moya Elementary School will both close due to a decrease in enrollment and financial issues. The school district’s boundary lines will be redrawn.
The board voted to not close the schools, 4-1; however, the state-appointed receiver, Keith Kenny, had the jurisdiction to override that decision.
TONIGHT: The Isaac School District, which has faced massive economic shortfalls to the tune of $28 million, will vote on the closure of two schools at a district governing board meeting. @KTAR923. pic.twitter.com/AGPBmE8pYT
— Balin Overstolz (@balin_om) May 15, 2025
“They are places with deep meaning … histories that span generations,” Interim Superintendent Dr. Lily Mesa-Lema said. “The recommendation to close the two schools and change our boundaries is based in two harsh realities.”
She said those realities are a need to cut spending and the declining enrollment of students.
“The action is long overdue … What we’re doing now is a necessary course correction,” Mesa-Lema added.
The closures come after the district faced a nearly $28 million budget crisis and are part of an effort to cut spending. As of May 8, the school had $8 million dollars in its cash balance, according to district Chief Financial officer Jim Serbin.
“I appreciate all the effort that has gone into this, but I don’t want to be in this position again,” board member Harry Garewal Jr. said of the efforts to get ISD’s finances back on track.
Garewal was the only person to vote yes, arguing keeping the schools open could lead to the inability to pay teachers.
“It’s to save the district,” Garewal said. “Is it about brick and mortar or is it about our kids?”
Garewal said keeping the schools open could also threaten the whole district. He claimed the district cannot rely on selling bonds as a financial solution.
Isaac School District Chief Financial officer Jim Serbin said the district won’t be able to increase its budget and instead should focus on spending cuts.
Mesa-Lema also said since the district has more facilities than it can afford to maintain, the answer to the solution is the districting reducing its size.
“How do we function more efficiently?” Mesa-Lema said rhetorically.
Board president Patricia Jimenez voted not to close down the school because she worries private schools would replace closed-down public schools.
“I am committed to fighting for them,” Jimenez said of public schools. “I want to personally apologize,” she directed toward the ISD community. Jimenez said the district should have been aware it was overspending.
The district also voted to lease out space to “STEER,” a Phoenix education company the district has already worked with to provide services to students with disabilities. This move will both bring in some money while lowering transportation costs.
According to district data from February, P.T. Coe had an enrollment of 425 students, Moya had 374 students, and the online academy had 238 students.
The State Board of Education in January appointed a third-party receiver to oversee the district’s operations, including finances, after a massive budget shortfall was revealed.
The budget situation threatened the district’s ability to pay teachers and keep schools open, but the crisis was averted through several funding solutions.
A recent report from the state-appointed receiver now overseeing ISD’s finances says the district’s overspending was tied to mismanagement of federal pandemic relief funds, or “ESSER” grants.
That includes overspending on campus safety systems including “cameras, intercoms and door access,” and spending in other areas.
The report also says the Issac School District leaders failed to react to warning signs of a financial crisis as early as 2020.
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