Superintendent says Joyce Clark faces possible consolidation as enrollment falls; board to hold town hall before April vote

Sierra Vista Unified District Superintendent Terry Romo told the governing board at a work session that the district’s long-term enrollment decline has created a budget shortfall that may require consolidating campuses, potentially including Joyce Clark Middle School (JCMS).

"Tonight is the start of a conversation, not the end," Romo said, adding, "There will be no vote at this evening." She described the session as informational and said the board will consider a formal recommendation at its regular meeting in April.

Romo said the district has lost more than 2,000 students over the last decade and that there are roughly 3,000 empty seats districtwide. She told the board that state funding follows enrollment and that personnel costs comprise the vast majority of the district’s operating budget. "When you have too few students, it really spreads out our resources too thin," Romo said.

Romo laid out two options for middle-grade students for the 2026–27 school year. Under the first option, incoming seventh graders would remain at their elementary campuses (a K–7 model for next year) while current eighth graders would remain together as an eighth-grade cohort at the JCMS facility. Under the second option families could choose to send eighth graders to Buena High School while seventh graders remain at elementary sites. Romo said some facilities constraints mean not every property can be sold and that parts of the JCMS campus sit on federally donated land, which complicates disposal.

Romo read an email from Vivian McDowell, a seventh‑grade student at JCMS, who urged officials to consider how moving grades would affect electives, extracurriculars and friendships. "I understand your proposal to shut down my current school because of low enrollment, but I do have some worries," the message said as read by Romo.

Romo gave concrete enrollment and budget figures from the district’s analysis: JCMS has about 220 students registered for next year in a building that can hold near 900; district staff estimated roughly $5,000,000 in additional cuts would be required under the most pessimistic enrollment scenarios. She also said the recent closure of Bella Vista produced roughly $1,000,000 in annual savings and that similar or larger savings could result from further consolidation.

Board members pressed for more detail about program continuity (honors and algebra access), special education staffing and transportation. Romo said the district will preserve special‑education services and strive to keep counselors and nurses in place, and that staffing placements from the prior closure allowed the district to avoid terminating classroom teachers. She noted that a smaller cohort limits the number of electives available and that any shared or cross‑site arrangements would need to be defined in follow-up planning.

Romo announced concrete next steps: the district will survey families and staff (parental permission will be required for student surveys) and hold a town hall for community questions and feedback before the board’s April meeting. She proposed the town hall on Monday, April 6 at 5:30 p.m. (to be held in the conference center) and said the governing board will consider a formal vote at its April 21 meeting; she reiterated that no decision would be made at the work session.

Romo also warned that failing to address the budget shortfall could expose the district to increased state oversight. "If you go to the auditor general’s website, the last kind of place is called receivership," she said, describing a state-appointed financial manager who would assume decision-making power if the district becomes fiscally noncompliant.

Romo closed by urging families to attend an April 1 enrollment fair and to participate in the forthcoming survey and town hall so the board and administration have robust community input before any formal action.

The board did not vote at the work session. The superintendent said she will return a recommendation and supporting data to the board at its regular April meeting for a formal decision.