school closures

Adam Cervera's call comes a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called the district a "disaster" and suggested a receivership would be the fix to a series of financial problems recently.

Broward has 10,000 fewer students than it did last year, digging a budget hole of $94 million in the district. In five years, Broward County Public Schools is looking at a projected loss of over 25,000 students, according to district data.

Amidst the throes of plummeting enrollment that come at a multi-million dollar financial loss, the Broward County school board analyzed a dozen proposals for multiple schools — with the superintendent set to make his recommendations regarding their future later this week.

The district hosted a series of community meetings in September to gather feedback from families and anxieties about potential impacts, including how students with special needs might be affected. Tuesday's meeting recapped the findings and potential strategies.

The Broward school board has outlined 16 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and three high schools as it considers the second phase of a long-term plan to mitigate the district’s chronic under-enrollment problem through closing, repurposing and consolidating schools. The first phase led to the contentious closure of a school in Lauderhill earlier this year.

Closing Broward Estates is one of multiple repurposing changes passed at a recent school board meeting as part of the 'Redefining Our Schools' plan meant to course-correct the district’s chronic under-enrollment problem. But community members pushed back on the move.