Months ago, the Broward County School Board directed the district to close at least five schools as part of its “Redefining Schools” program.
The move is designed to “right-size” the district, as declining enrollment has created situations in which the district spends more money to keep some schools open than it does on actual academic instruction at those under-enrolled schools. The process is still ongoing, and on Tuesday, board members sparred on the topic at a workshop meeting.
“Make the board vote,” said board chair Lori Alhadeff at one point, urging movement on the selection of schools to be repurposed or closed.
So on one hand, impatience with the process, and on the other, questioning whether the results are already baked in because the district presented a list of the most under-enrolled schools, implying to some that they’re on the chopping block.
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“Are we having these community meetings, which we have seven more to go, to really have the community help us to narrow the schools down or are we already narrowing the schools, and if we are, what is the point of having these meetings?” asked board member Jeff Holness.
Monday night at Dillard High School, the district held the first of eight community feedback meetings. The superintendent pledged not to make any decisions until the public has its say.
“You know what I learned last night at Dillard is that the community is not against closing schools, they want to be involved, they want to be heard and they’re willing to deal with schools closing, they want to make sure, though, that what’s left is great education,” said board member Allen Zeman.
“That’s the biggest concern I’ve heard from our community, they’re trying to bus us out of our area,” said board member Debbi Hixon.
Board member Dan Foganholi warned that closing schools creates an opportunity for charter schools to swoop in.
“And I really want the superintendent to think about this, our staff to think about this, because if I’m outside listening to this board meeting, I’m starting paperwork right now to start a charter school in Dania Beach if you close that school, ‘cause if I open one up, I’m cleaning up, every city you close a school in, you want to bus kids out to a different community, I’m starting a charter school in that city and I will clean up,” said Foganholi, referring to Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach.
That school was designed for 2,500 students, but only has about 700 right now. Dania Beach city manager Ana Garcia spoke up at the meeting in defense of Olsen Middle, saying the city is interested in partnering with the district to create an Emergency Operations Center on the campus, and also said the city has plans to invest $10 million to build athletic facilities on the school’s vacant field, suggesting a sports magnet program could be created there.
“And we have money that we would like to invest in the school, so the school stays open and it’s a win-win for everyone,” Garcia said.
Board member Sarah Leonardi says the school district should be emphasizing the enhanced education opportunities that come with the redefining schools project.
“And by only talking about closing schools, we are sending a message to our community that we are closing down, any major corporation that announces that they’re closing offices, people don’t think, oh, that business is doing well,” said Leonardi, urging the district to stop sending a negative message.
So when will the public know which schools are being shut down, which are being radically changed, and what new academic programs are being created? Not until November.
