What will it take to bring more students back to Broward County Public Schools? That鈥檚 the question the district is asking the community to help answer.
There are more than 50,000 empty seats across BCPS, the result of years of eroding support for traditional public schools, as families choose alternatives for their children and as state regulators divert more public funding to charter, private and homeschool options.
What to do about the worsening enrollment crisis is one of the biggest challenges the district has faced in recent years, forcing BPCS officials to confront a harsh reality: that the district has about 40 more schools than it strictly needs.
READ MORE: Broward officials have a lot of opinions on school consolidation. Here's five takeaways
As part of the initiative, Superintendent Howard Hepburn has closing three schools and making major changes to dozens more. That would include converting some K-5 schools into K-8 schools, redrawing school boundaries, and expanding choice programs that would allow families living outside a school鈥檚 traditional boundaries to apply for a spot.
Under the most recent proposal, the schools identified for potential closure are:
- Broward Estates Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale
- Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach
- Oakridge Elementary School in Hollywood
In a plan titled the Superintendent鈥檚 Considerations, the slate of potential changes are meant to right-size the district 鈥� to more effectively use BCPS鈥檚 dwindling resources; to respond to program requests made by parents; to replicate innovative models; and to compete with the charter and private schools that are pulling thousands of students out of traditional classrooms.
South Region Superintendent Alan Strauss gave the example of a cluster of campuses in the county's southeast, where there鈥檚 a higher concentration of charter schools pulling students out of the district. Strauss noted there are 330 middle school-aged students who are zoned for Olsen Middle School, but only a fraction of them actually attend it.
鈥淥ut of those 330, only 75 of those students opt to go to Olsen Middle School, with the remainder pretty much going to the surrounding charter schools,鈥� Strauss said. 鈥淭wo blocks away from Hollywood Central [Elementary] sits a K-8 charter school.鈥�
In drafting the proposals for school closures and program changes, district staff considered a number of factors, including school enrollment, school grades, the capacity of neighboring schools, and the state of campus facilities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for us to compete better by offering more innovative programs,鈥� said Superintendent Howard Hepburn. 鈥淩eally listen to the community about what their needs are. Change grade configurations. Some full choice options. Just to recapture our market share. Because when we have kids in our buildings, it equals additional funding.鈥�
The district has also floated a more drastic plan that鈥檚 meant to match the number of seats to the number of schools in the district. Under the proposal titled the Total District Realignment, the cuts needed to reduce the district's footprint to a 1:1 seat to student ratio would mean closing the equivalent of 42 schools across the county. That鈥檚 based on a district-wide average of the number of empty seats per school.
The total district realignment plan would also entail eliminating all magnet programs and school choice assignments.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some upside and some downside to this option,鈥� Hepburn said. 鈥淲e will be at high capacity in all of our schools with this option. Also, being fiscally stable or fiscally responsible, with the opportunity to regain probably tens of millions of dollars with that option. But the drawback also is we鈥檙e limiting our choice opportunities for our students.鈥�
The proposals are still under development and district staff are actively seeking community input to shape them, including by hosting a series of upcoming town halls May 6 - 9.
Hepburn will present an updated proposal to the Broward County School Board during a board workshop on May 14. A final vote by the board is slated for June 18.
IF YOU GO
Broward County is hosting a series of town halls on May 6 - 9, to get community input on the Redefining Our Schools initiative.
The meetings are being held across the district, to give students, parents, educators and residents the chance to hear directly from BCPS officials and to share their perspectives.
The events will be livestreamed . More information is available on the district鈥檚 .
Redefining Our Schools town halls are scheduled for:
Monday May 6, 2024 at 6 pm
Fort Lauderdale High School
1600 N.E. Fourth Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305
Tuesday May 7, 2024 at 6 pm
Charles W. Flanagan High School
12800 Taft St.
Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
Wednesday May 8, 2024 at 6 pm
Western High School
1200 S.W. 136 Ave.
Davie, FL 33325
Thursday May 9, 2024 at 6 pm
Deerfield Beach High School
910 Buck Pride Way
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
