Broward Schools' superintendent and staff toured several county schools Monday as the district is trying to figure out how they will deal with under-enrollment as fewer families with children are choosing Broward as their home.
School leaders hopped on a school bus to tour the schools they called repurposed, or buildings that could soon be closed or sold. The Broward superintendent warned parents that tough decisions will have to be made, though there's no plan yet — but it could include some kids getting transferred out of their school.
"We are not bringing in children into this county. It's an adult growth," Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata said. "The birth rate is under two, which is considered almost flat."
The district has about 60,000 empty seats, with enrollment down by 3,000 students this year, Licata said.
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"Your full-choice schools that have no boundaries, or our technical centers we could expand as well. There are a lot of that out there. There are also K-8s instituted properly, opened four in the last five years," Licata said. "So there is a lot of good stuff going on. We just don’t have the budget anymore to endure a loss of thousands and thousands of kids every year."
Another challenge leaders face is students not choosing public schools.
"What can we do to get them to go to a school we have, that we operate? And how can we replicate the successes without infringing on the local communities?" Licata said.
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The superintendent plans to host town halls to get community input. But their transformational plan could include buildings getting converted into affordable housing, properties could be sold, and kids could be moved out of buildings. Their last resort will be to close down schools, according to Licata.
Officials say they hope to have this plan in place by next August.
