Two years into an ambitious plan to deal with plummeting enrollment in Broward County schools, and days after announcing the closure of six schools, the district's chief told WLRN he did not know how many more would be shut — but said they are "halfway there" in saving the $100 million targeted.
Broward County Public Schools has more than 236,00 students and some 300 schools — but 50,000 empty seats. Districts get government funding based on student headcount and Broward faces a budget hole of $94 million due to having 10,000 fewer students than it did last year.
In five years, the district predicts a projected loss of over 25,000 students.
Other school districts in the country and state, including Miami-Dade County Public Schools, are confronting the same issue. Recent data from the state shows that immigration enforcement is also leading to a chill in Florida's K-12 enrollment.
READ MORE: Broward school board approves a mix of school closures, boundary changes
This week Broward County schools wrapped up the second phase of the 'Redefining Our Schools' initiative closing six schools — at an estimated saving of up to $10 million annually — while repurposing and consolidating various others. In an interview with WLRN at Hallandale Beach High, Superintendent Howard Hepburn outlined next steps for the long-term project and the closed schools.
"We'll work with the community on some of those campuses, but our staff is going to occupy many of those spaces," he told WLRN. "In addition, some municipalities and nonprofits want to rent out spaces in some of these campuses."
He also spoke of other steps the district is taking to tighten the belt, played down Governor Ron DeSantis' claims that the district is a 'disaster' and had a message for students and family fearful for immigration enforcement in the community.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
WLRN: With the six schools that were voted to close, what's going to happen to those campuses?
HEPBURN: Various things. We'll work with the community on some of those campuses, but our staff is going to occupy many of those spaces. We're emptying out the headquarters for the district office, the Kathleen C. Wright building [in Fort Lauderdale], and so we're emptying out a majority of those floors and transitioning those departments and divisions into open space in those campuses. In addition, some municipalities and nonprofits want to rent out spaces in some of these campuses.
So what's going to happen to K.C. Wright building?
We're gonna lease out floors. So that's the initial plan. Unless the board directs us otherwise, we have probably about two or three board members that may possibly want to put surplus it and put it up for sale, but I think the majority of the board wants to keep it right now.
Is the district working towards a certain number of schools you hope to close by the end of the 'Redefining' process? And how many years would that take?
That's going to be all dependent on board direction. We'll work at the behest of the board on that. We're going to come back to the board in May and talk about other underenrolled schools, their projection over the next five to 10 years, and then talk about potential next steps. At that time, the board members can say, 'Hey, rip the bandaid off. Let's all do this at one time' or take that methodical step and really identify what schools can we close now, based on... if the school nextdoor has room to absorb those kids. Those are some of the complexities that we have to think about where we're closing schools.
There's no end goal of saying, 'We're entering phase three. We have to get it done in eight phases?'
No, we haven't determined the length of how many phases. We do have a projected decline in enrollment that we already have for [the next] five years. Our demographers do a great job in working with the state and local cities to understand the trends of school age kids that are coming into to the region or leaving the region.
"We don't ask for immigration status. We want you to enroll. It is a safe and secure space for learning."Howard Hepburn
Board member Rebecca Thompson advocated for a more rip-the-bandaid-off approach to close multiple schools at once, while member Debbie Hixon said the incremental approach is more palatable for families and communities. Talk to me about both of these approaches and ultimately, which do you think is more beneficial for the district?
Either is beneficial for the district. I understand both perspectives and going a little bit more methodical and I also understand the strategy of just going all at once. I think Ms. Thompson's approach is more about the community wanting to just do it all at once and get this over [with] and not have a level of uncertainty in the future of wondering, 'Hey, next year or two years from now, is my school going to close?'
And Ms. Hixon's is proposing that methodical approach in allowing us to an analyze our enrollment and projection over a certain amount of years, every year. I think you probably actually can do a little bit of both. We have to analyze enrollment and projection for every school, every year, anyway.
The board decided to keep Bair Middle School in Sunrise open, with parents, students and educators at the board meeting this week advocating for their school. Broward Estates — which closed last year — also drew lots of public support. What made the difference in choosing to keep Bair open and closing Broward Estates?
Well, I think it's because of the collaboration, the partnership that the City of Sunrise committed to in [Wednesday's] meeting and also previously talking to us and some of the board members too about their commitment financially occupying space on Bair Middle School's campus, which takes off open seats from that campus, therefore increasing the occupancy percentage of our of our students on that campus.
[With] Broward Estates we didn't get any partnership from the city as far as taking up space or utilizing space on that campus.
Recent state data shows that student enrollment has plummeted even more than expected because of the immigration crackdown. Four students have been detained by Immigration Customs Enforcement in Minnesota and the superintendent of that school system said it's creating trauma for her community. What do you want to tell immigrant families and students who call Broward County home and are maybe feeling fearful?
Number one, we're obligated to educate every student that comes to our door. We don't ask for immigration status. We want you to enroll. It is a safe and secure space for learning. In order for anybody to enter our campus that aren't currently our staff and our school resource officers, they have to show court orders from a court in order to talk to any staff or any students on our campus.
What we don't want is students sitting at home and falling behind. It's been about a year, going on two years, where I know a lot of families have been impacted. Come back to school, make sure you're taking advantage of the wonderful learning opportunities that we're offering so you can live out your dreams. Staying home is just gonna stifle their educational opportunities and also their future. We are a safe space for learning.
READ MORE: 'Anxiety' in South Florida schools after Trump administration greenlights ICE raids
"I think the [Gov. Ron DeSantis] was talking in generalities. He mentioned several other school districts too. I don't think he's targeting Broward County Public Schools."Superintendent Howard Hepburn.
The district's goal is to save $100 million, not only through school closures, but other tightening measures. How far or how close is it to that goal?
I think we're a little bit less than halfway there. My projection is we're going to get there. There's certain things that we're doing.
Number one, we're tightening up on overtime. We're reviewing every contract. We have hundreds of contracts in our district and many of them are large dollar amounts and we're examining every contract with a fine tooth comb. If it's not adding value to students and staff, we're canceling it.
We're also looking at attrition. We just had a hiring freeze for this semester because we know we're going to have a continued decline. We don't want to bring in new staff and ultimately have to release them in a couple of months. So that hiring freeze is going to save us probably about $18 million. And then we're going to have to also lay off targeted staff. And when I say targeted, it's going to be based on district office staff — we're not touching our schools. Our schools are sacred to us and want to maintain the level of service that we provide our kids in our schools.
How about principals and vice principals?
They're essential part of the school. Leadership matters when it comes to school. So when I say school, I'm not just talking about teachers. I'm talking about principals, as well.
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently called Broward schools a "disaster" after a number of financial scandals in the district, but you also invited the state to look at the district's finances. How would this affect how you plan for phase three of redefining?
Well, first I would say, I think the governor was talking in generalities. He mentioned several other school districts too. I don't think he's targeting Broward County Public Schools. We are a back-to-back 'A' school district, no 'D' and 'F' rated schools, highest graduation rate in 25 years and designated as a high performing district by the state on metrics... So we're doing what we need to do for long-term stability to ensure all the accomplishments that I just listed continue.
Tell me about the school we're in right now. Hallandale Beach High also has some changes coming next school year.
We're actually transitioning it to a four-day school week for students. We're transitioning in a rigorous academic program... really focused on helping our students obtain those great post-secondary goals that they have of getting into great colleges or hopping into high paying careers.
