Gilbert Public Schools has decided to close one of its elementary schools due to declines in enrollment.
The governing board voted unanimously Tuesday to shut down Pioneer Elementary School, which has been around for more than 40 years. It’s been the smallest elementary school in the district for the past three years and has the lowest space use.
Before the vote, board member Jill Humphreys gave an emotional thank you to the staff at Pioneer for all the work they put in.
“And my commitment as an individual is to continue to work hard to support our public schools where every student can attend and I’m sorry that we have to make this decision," Humphreys said. "I'm grateful for the graciousness of that community in going along with this hard decision."
Assistant Superintendent Jason Martin highlighted some of the challenges that led to the closure, pointing to a lack of housing affordability and more school choice.
“Not only do we have charter schools but we also now have the ESA vouchers too that are competing," Martin said. "With the birth rate, we have less students in our boundaries and in our East Valley area than we did 10, 20 years ago.”
The closure is expected to save the district about $2.5 million. There are no immediate plans for the future of the building, but an administrator said they would keep the property maintained while it’s not in use.
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