The Broward County School Board on Wednesday decided the fate of seven public schools amid declining enrollment in the district.
Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said the district has lost more than 40,000 students in the past 10 years, which is more than $30 million worth of revenue the district would collect if it had those students.
“There’s other cost saving measures but closing schools is something we have to do,” Hepburn said.
The board decided on Wednesday to close the following schools:
- Sunshine Elementary
- Palm Cove Elementary
- Panther Run Elementary
- North Fork Elementary
- Plantation Middle School
- Seagull Alternative High School
The superintendent says closing these six schools will help save the district about $8 million a year.
“We’re trying to make sure Broward County Public Schools is sustainable for the future,” Hepburn said.
Bair Middle School was also up for closure, but after an eleventh-hour effort by students and supporters to sway the vote, board members ultimately decided to keep its doors open.
“We must show up and speak out and protect the schools that shape our children’s futures, including mine,” said student advocate Mikyle Sukoo. “Bair shaped mines.”
Jeannette Marcel, a Bair alum, has a daughter who is a student there.
“She loves it. She’s come out of her shell, she’s on honor roll every single year,” Marcel said.
In the last year and a half, Marcel said she went to meetings and took time off from work to try and save her daughter’s school.
“Bair Middle opened the doors for me to graduate early, to walk into the profession that I’m in now, I’m a single mom, and I’m able to support my children in this economy,” Marcel said. “I just want to make sure that Bair is there not just for her but for my 4th grader, who will be there in a few years as well.”
The school board voted to adopt the Superintendent’s recommendation to consolidate:
- Sunshine Elementary School into Fairway Elementary School
- Panther Run Elementary School into Chapel Trail Elementary School and Silver Palms Elementary School
- Palm Cove Elementary School into Lakeside Elementary School and Pines Lakes Elementary School
- North Fork Elementary School into Croissant Park Elementary School, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, and Walker Elementary School
- Plantation Middle School into Plantation High School and reconfigure Plantation High School as a 6-12 school
- Seagull Alternative High School into Whiddon-Rogers Education Center.
“We continue to have decline in enrollment, even in this school year, and we are expecting that in future school years also,” Hepburn said. “It’s a tough decision, but it’s the decision we have to make to really ensure the quality of learning opportunities our students receive day in and day out does not change.”
The closed schools will still remain open for other district uses. Discussions about how the transition process will work starts Thursday.
“We will definitely make sure schools have told kids to help with that conversation and messaging. And work to make sure we can make things as transparent for families so there isn’t confusion when it comes to what school they’re selecting,” Dr. Valerie Wanza said.
