Broward school proposal aims to gain $6.7 million without closing schools

Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis | May 14, 2024

Broward schools’ latest plan to deal with dwindling enrollment may be to compete rather than close.

Superintendent Howard Hepburn has dropped his proposals to close three schools in 2025 and to remove the Montessori magnet program from Virginia Shuman Young in Fort Lauderdale, to the relief of those who fought against those changes.

His latest proposal would change or reconfigure four schools in hopes of winning back students who have left for charter, private or home school options. District schools have about 54,000 more seats than students due to years of declining enrollment.

The School Board plans to discuss the ideas at a workshop scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Hepburn’s current proposals could generate up to $6.7 million in state funds if the district is able to recapture students from four low-enrolled schools that are proposed for major changes. The proposals were included in the earlier plan, but no dollars figure were associated with them until Hepburn released the newest plan Friday.

Among the ideas still being considered:

• Convert Pines Middle in Pembroke Pines into a 6-12 collegiate academy similar to the successful Millennium 6-12 in Tamarac. The proposal seeks to increase enrollment by 123 students, which could increase revenues by $1.1 million.
• Change Silver Shores Elementary in Miramar from a neighborhood boundary school to a full-choice school with a yet-to-be-determined theme where students would apply to get in. Recapturing 205 students from charter, private or home schools would net $1.85 million.
• Convert Hollywood Central Elementary into a K-8 school. If the district can attract 278 students from non-district schools, that would mean $2.5 million.
• Change North Fork Elementary in Fort Lauderdale from a neighborhood boundary school to a full-choice “commuter school” where parents drop off and pick up their kids before and after work. If the school can increase enrollment by 143 students, it would add nearly $1.3 million in state funds.

“When we bring more students back into our schools it equates to recurring revenues every year, versus trying to close a school when we have an abundance of students we can recapture,” Hepburn said at a town hall last week.

The new proposal doesn’t give any dollar figures related to attracting students back to the low-enrolled Bennett Elementary in Fort Lauderdale.

Hepburn initially proposed moving the Virginia Shuman Young Montessori program there since Bennett is adjacent to Sunrise Middle in Fort Lauderdale, which also has a Montessori program. That idea faced vocal opposition from about 200 parents at a Fort Lauderdale town hall last week and is no longer being recommended.

The district is still considering a program addition to Bennett but hasn’t provided any details on what that might be.

“I absolutely think with the right program and the right resources and support from the district it’s entirely possible” to attract more students to Bennett and other under enrolled schools, said Erin Gohl, a member of the Fort Lauderdale Education Advisory Board and president of the Virginia Shuman Young PTA.

The superintendent is no longer recommending closing Oakridge Elementary in Hollywood, Olsen Middle in Dania Beach or Broward Estates Elementary in Lauderhill for the 2025-26 school year, although the School Board can make any changes it wants.

The proposals for Olsen and Oakridge drew fierce opposition from parents and elected officials in the area.

They noted that Oakridge is 76% full and didn’t meet the district’s definition of being under enrolled, while Olsen has increased enrollment by about 100 students this year, and 10,000 new housing units have been approved for Dania Beach.

“I am thankful that the School District created opportunity for community feedback, and pivoted once city leadership and the community highlighted factors about Olsen Middle and Oakridge Elementary that the new superintendent may not have been aware of,” Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Levy said he supports converting Hollywood Central into a K-8.

“In Hollywood, K-8’s are very popular,” he said. “The charters have brought them in very successfully and we have been urging the school district to think about that for our public schools as well.”

Still, School Board member Allen Zeman told the Sun Sentinel he has concerns about agreeing to only select parts of Hepburn’s initial proposal.

He said he opposes turning Hollywood Central into a K-8 without also reducing middle school enrollment elsewhere, and now closing Olsen Middle isn’t a recommendation. Zeman said he thinks some schools will still need to close to deal with the district’s enrollment problem.

“I would have preferred the superintendent bring us a handful of options with the pros and cons of each one,” he said. “The School Board has the statutory authority to close schools or shift programs or repurpose schools. Had we had that information, we could make those decisions on a case-by-case basis that makes greater sense to our community.”

However, Zeman, who is not up for reelection this year, acknowledged Thursday night at a meeting in Hollywood that School Board elections for five seats may make it difficult for the board to close schools.

“It’s difficult to make real big changes at a time when everyone is out campaigning, so it may make sense to take two years of change and do it all next year,” he said Thursday night.