(The Center Square) – Parents and community activists turned out by the dozens pleading to the Broward County School Board to keep their schools open amid declines in enrollment.
Schools are more than just a place to educate children, they are the heart of communities, supporters said at a workshop to discuss possible school closings or consolidations. The Florida district is sixth largest in the nation.
School board members expressed sympathy Tuesday with those concerns, but said the reality of enrollment drops due to charter schools, private school vouchers and shifting enrollment patterns will likely lead to closing schools.
Too many school buildings that are underused will sap funding from instructional programs, board members said.
“We want to spend our money on students, not on buildings,” board member Allen Zemen said.
The drop of 10,000 students since 2024 is the equivalent enrollment of 15 elementary schools, Zemen pointed out.
School administrators have recommended closing from seven to 10 schools. Zemen said the number should be even higher.
“I would like to see five or 10 more schools,” closed, he said. “I am going to argue that there is some value in thinking very hard this year about ripping the Band-Aid off and doing more. We’ve got to make bold moves.”
Zemen even proposed selling the school system headquarters in downtown Ft. Lauderdale and moving the offices to a more “humble” location.
“This is not the center of our county and it is not, I think, an efficient use of taxpayer dollars,” he said. “I am tired of people looking at a glass palace and wondering why we are spending money here when we could be spending money in schools.”
Although the decision to close schools is difficult, the current number is not sustainable, board member Rebecca Thompson said.
“We didn’t adapt quickly enough to the shifting educational landscape, the growth of taxpayer funded vouchers, the expansion of charter schools and the shifting enrollment patterns,” she said. “We consistently under-invested in maintaining our buildings and programs in ways that could have brought our families back and kept the families we have.”
It is the responsibility of the board and school administration to “finally face this reality head on,” she added.
