FORT LAUDERDALE – The Broward Schoo Board reversed course on Tuesday and decide to repurpose schools instead of closing some.
Faced with declining enrollment and fewer dollars, the board in June had asked Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn to close at least five schools.
They reviewed a proposal based on months of public outreach and meetings and after two hours scrapped the plans to close schools.
“We so appreciate the meetings with the community,” Coconut Creek Mayor Sandra Welch said.
Instead they decided to make the following changes, which will be up for a vote in January and take effect for the 2025-2026 academic school year.
- Pines Middle School would become a sixth through 12th grade collegiate academy
- Silver Lakes and Silver Shores in Miramar would combine.
- Silver Shores would become a full choice school.
- Reconfigure Hollywood Central Elementary, Coral Cove Elementary in Miramar and Coconut Creek Elementary to K-8 schools.
- Consider changing Broward Estates elementary in Fort Lauderdale into a full service early learning center. Kids would be absorbed at Martin Luther king Junor Elementary Montessori.
The district is hoping those changes will attract students back from private and charter schools .
Board member llen zeman said it doesn’t solve the problem.
“The big challenge is stitching 239 campuses and 206 schools to serve 197,000 students when we used to have 250 ,000 students,” he said.
The district is the sixth largest in the state.
The superintendent says there will be more changes ahead after the vote
“It could mean possibly closing schools and more programs,” he said.
