Irina Shearer has been through 11 first days of school as principal of Silver Palms Elementary in Pembroke Pines. This one, however, is a little different.
A nearby school closed and a portion of its students are now coming to her school.
"We really want to make sure we're embracing the families that are coming from Panther Run," she told WLRN the week before the school year started. " it was a sad moment leaving their school."
Silver Palms Elementary is expecting about 50 new students that attended neighboring Panther Run Elementary.
Earlier this year, the Broward County school board closed Panther Run and five others because of underenrollment. In effect, the schools didn't have enough students to justify the cost of keeping it open.
Enrollment is down in public school systems all over the country as the birth rate keeps declining yearly and fewer immigrants enter the U.S.
School districts in South Florida — among the nation's largest — are also confronting the competition posed by families opting for private schools. After lawmakers expanded the state's voucher program, which allows public dollars to cover a portion of private school tuition regardless of income level, enrollment soared in Florida private schools.
The enrollment decline also impacts school district budgets because fewer students translates to fewer state dollars.
Broward County Public Schools is suffering a deficit of nearly $100 million in the budget because of decreased funding from the state. By the start of the 20230 school year, officials predict it’ll have 20,000 fewer students than they have now.
READ MORE: Steady decline in birth rate will affect local student enrollment for years to come
To cope, the district launched the “Redefining Our Schools” initiative two years ago, a plan to downsize by closing, repurposing, consolidating and reconfiguring the district's most underenrolled schools.
The start of the 2026-27 school year marks the kick-off of the latest changes the School Board approved as part of the Redefining process.
After Panther Run Elementary closed, its students would be absorbed by Silver Palms and Chapel Trail elementary schools. All three schools were below their capacity. By closing Panther Run, with 290 students, it would help elevate the other schools' population.
"For the first time in a long time, I have 95 fifth graders," said Silver Lakes principal Shearer, "which is a big class for me, which is great."
Chapel Trail is expecting 43 students, and has 14 pending registrations, from Panther Run.
However, it's not guaranteed all of those students' family chose the schools they're now zoned for, or district schools at all. Some may have opted for a charter or private school.
Silver Palms hired two teachers from Panther Run, the principal said. The School Board recently requested district officials for data updating how receiving schools are doing.
Combining resources
Students aren't the only thing that get new homes when a school closes. The materials also make their way to new classrooms.
Silver Lakes received library books, laptops and music instruments from Panther Run.
"I have a whole other music room on the other side of the school that's full of instruments that I'm starting to get accustomed to," music teacher Dina Linaro told WLRN.
In past years, she’s had students share one instrument because she didn't have enough for everyone. But she got 20 new guitars, 20 violins, a drum kit, a piano and more from Panther Run.
"It's so helpful because then I make sure I have enough of what I need for all the kids," she said. "Little by little, we've been increasing the resources that we have. But this year specifically, now that we've gotten extra resources from the other school it'll be exactly what we need. So it's working out wonderfully."
Receiving students also makes for more family engagement.
"The point of the closing schools and combining them is to share, like, technology," school board member Rebecca Thompson told WLRN. "It's also to share parents, because when you have a school that only has around 260, 290 students, the [Parent Teacher Association] isn't as large. It's really bringing communities together. We're making sure nothing goes to waste and it's benefiting the school communities that are receiving students."
Thompson's district — District 2 — was the most affected in the most recent Redefining phase. Three elementary schools closed, while a high school and middle school are being reconfigured.
- Students from now-closed Sunshine Elementary School in Miramar were consolidated into Fairway Elementary School.
- Students from now-closed Run Elementary School in Pembroke Pines were consolidated into Chapel Trail and Silver Palms elementary schools.
- Students from now-closed Palm Cove Elementary School in Pembroke Pines were consolidated into Lakeside and Pines Lakes elementary schools.
- A portion of students at Walter C. Young Middle School in Pembroke Pines moved to Silver Trail Middle School.
- A portion of students at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines moved to West Broward High School.
Thompson says a school closure is a “heartbreak.”
"Nobody wants to do this. It's also none of the school's faults," Thompson said. "All of the schools in this area are As and Bs. It's just unfortunately the sign of the times right now."
The faster the Board gets through the Redefining project, the faster a community can heal.
"No one ever came to me and said, 'Oh, please take two years. Please do more time,'" she said. "They were saying, 'Okay, we understand this is going to happen. Just tell us the income so we can make decisions to move on.'"
The School Board is expected to have a workshop Aug. 25 to finalize the schools to be addressed in Phase 3 of redefining and map out the stakeholder engagement process.
