school enrollment

A document released Tuesday by the Attendance Boundary Committee named 12 schools that are being “reassessed” and 15 that are “under review.”

The potential closures are in Coral Springs, Hollywood, Miramar, Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines.

According to district data shared with WLRN, the number of registered K-12 students on the first day of school — Thursday, Aug. 13 — was 300,509. Last spring, the district had 319,419 students, according to the Florida Department of Education.

The district, the nation's sixth-largest with 187,800 students, could see its enrollment drop given how many Haitian families in South Florida may be forced to leave to avoid deportation.

The proposed cuts are estimated to save about $54 million. Superintendent Howard Hepburn and some school board members have often spoken about the need downsize district staff to make it proportional to shrinking student enrollment.

The Florida Department of Education appointed a financial board to both Union and Glades counties' school districts to help with "operations, management and finances and to make recommendations for financial recovery."

Facing a budget hole of $94 million in the district due to having 10,000 fewer students than it did last year, the changes are estimated to result in saving up to $12 million for the sixth largest school district in the country.

The data that can be shared with publicly-funded, privately-run charter schools can include academic histories, disability status and disciplinary records. Beyond the charter operator, the information may also land in the hands of third-party vendors, according to speakers at a recent virtual conference.

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.

Education leaders watching how immigration policies affect schools expect classrooms to get emptier every year, but this year, they were caught off guard by falling enrollment rates in some of Florida’s largest districts.

The dwindling enrollment in Miami-Dade County Public Schools is not because of competition posed by charter and private schools, the district superintendent said, but a waning of new students coming to the Miami area — including from fewer immigrants coming to the U.S.