FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - In the district’s third workshop on the hot topic, Broward school board members stood by the need to shutter even more campuses while community members continue rallying against the planned vote to close several schools.
With about three months left before board members make the final decision on several potential school closures, Broward officials remain adamant that it’s a tough but necessary decision in light of multiple tumultuous years that has seen hundreds of students depart the district’s school system, leading to an 11,000-student shortfall every year.
“None of us want to be here, none of us want to be in the position to close schools,” said Broward School Board Member Sarah Leonardi.
There are 10 schools on the chopping block:
- Silver Lakes Elementary
- Dolphin Bay Elementary
- Oakridge Elementary
- Hollywood Park Elementary
- Walter C. Young Middle
- William Dandy Middle
- Lloyd Estates Elementary
- Banyan Elementary
- Coral Springs Elementary
- Forest Glen Middle
Members on the school board have argued that there’s no sense in putting money toward campuses that have seen their student enrollment numbers dissipate.
“We want to spend money educating your children and we don’t wanna spend money managing facilities that we don’t need,” said Broward School Board Member Dr. Allen Zeman.
District officials have cited a host of underlying factors that have led to enrollment shortfalls all over Broward County, including declining birthrates, lower immigration and the rising cost of living in South Florida.
“We’re going down with the number of children that are school age. And that number, just so you can remember something real easy, is 20%, which also means if you started with 204 schools in 2022, we would be closing 41 schools just to keep up with declining school-age population,” said Zeman.
The board has been holding several workshops with members of the community to discuss concerns over the proposed closures.
At each turn, the community has come out staunchly opposed to the board’s suggested closures.
“Teachers know children, staff know families and the children feel welcomed, supported and connected,” said a speaker at Tuesday’s meeting.
“These are children — they’re not statistics, they’re not just stats,” said another speaker.
The public outcry pushed for officials to provide more clarity as to why even more closures are necessary after six campuses were shuttered just a year ago and what measures have been taken to make the district more attractive to keep families invested for their educational future.
“What alternatives were considered, what was actually done to retain or grow enrollment? What worked, what didn’t and where is the analysis showing all the factors that were considered?” said a speaker.
The final vote on the potential closures is scheduled for Dec. 15.
Before board members make that decision, several more workshops will be held for concerned residents to voice their thoughts.
To learn more about when each of those workshops will be held, click here.
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