The Kansas City school board voted Wednesday night to close 29 of the district’s 61 schools, which will result in 700 of its 3,000 employees being laid off, including 285 teachers.

The plan passed by a 5-4 vote. Superintendent John Covington said while the decision to close nearly half of the district’s schools was difficult, it was “unquestionably the right thing to do.” He cited a major decrease in enrollment over the last decade as reason to close the schools. The 18,000 students enrolled in the district is about half of what it was a decade ago and only a quarter of its peak in the late 1960s.

The district is making the cuts in an attempt to remain out of bankruptcy, according to local reports.  The schools will be closed at the end of this school year.