Broward school district officials hold first of 8 town halls to discuss potential options for several schools – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) – Broward school district officials held a town hall to hear from community members on potential options for several dozen schools.

Wednesday’s meeting, held in Miramar, is the first of eight expected in the coming weeks to discuss the second phase of Redefining Our Schools, which evaluates enrollment numbers, academic programs and school resources.

“It’s critical, because we want to get feedback from our families and our communities,” said Dr. Angela Fulton, Deputy Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools.

With enrollment numbers down across the county, district officials said meetings like this one are important.

“We just really want to make decisions that are going to be best for the greater good of Broward schools, so we can provide better opportunities for all of our students,” said Fulton.

The first meeting focused on a handful of schools, including Fairway Elementary and Glades Middle. Those schools, as well as more than 30 others, need to be addressed.

But so far, officials are only listening before making a decision.

“There are no predetermined choices that we have at this time, but there are many options on the table,” said Fulton. “Of course, the one option is possibly closing down some of our under-enrolled schools. Some other options are repurposing our schools, bringing more programs into some of our schools, changing some of the programs.”

Some of those students in the affected schools wanted their voices heard. They also joined the packed gym to provide their insight.

“This is my sincere petition: that every measure that can be taken to keep the doors open, allowing further development of great minds, of future leaders,” said elementary school student Liam Mitchell.

“Glades is a perfect school, which has nothing that needs to be shut down,” said middle school student Angelo Russo.

School officials know that their tough decision could impact families across the county.

“These type of enrollment changes, they aren’t unique to Broward County,” said a parent at the meeting.

The district said compared to last school year, they’ve lost nearly 10,000 students, resulting in a $90 million funding decrease in funding.

“It doesn’t look like that enrollment is going to be recaptured in the near future, which is why we need to make some decisions right now for the students that we are serving,” said Fulton.

Following these town hall meetings, officials will hold a workshop and then will make a final decision before the end of the year.

Any changes are expected to take effect in the next school year.

For more information on the Redefining Our Schools Initiative, click here.

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