Parents and elected officials packed a Broward School Board meeting Tuesday, predicting chaos and more enrollment declines if the district closes certain schools.

For the third phase of an effort called “Redefining Broward Schools,” Superintendent Howard Hepburn has recommended the School Board shutter 10 schools for the 2027-28 school year. Seven schools have already been closed since the district started this process in 2024 as a way to deal with decades of declining enrollment.

The latest schools recommended for closure are: Banyan Elementary in Sunrise, Coral Springs Elementary, Silver Lakes Elementary in Miramar, Dolphin Bay Elementary, Hollywood Park Elementary, Lloyd Estates Elementary in Oakland Park, Oakridge Elementary in Hollywood, Forest Glen Middle in Coral Springs, Walter C. Young Middle in Pembroke Pines; and William Dandy Middle in Fort Lauderdale.

“This has ended up not being a very fun job,” Board member Maura McCarthy Bulman said at the meeting. “I don’t think anybody wants to be having these conversations, and I certainly wish that the situation was different.”

School district officials say the closures are designed not only to save money but to create larger schools that can provide more classes and activities than can be offered at a half-empty school.

But just as in past years, the recommendations are facing pushback. Parents and supporters of Dolphin Bay Elementary and Lloyd Estates Elementary urged the School Board at Tuesday’s meeting to spare their schools. School Board members expect more communities to turn out on Oct. 6 when the School Board holds a workshop to go through the recommendations. A final vote is expected in December.

Oakland Park officials argued that closing Lloyd Estates could disrupt after-care programs, summer programs and other activities offered through the Children’s Services Council.

“Lloyd Estates is not simply where these programs happen. It’s part of the community partnership that families have come to depend on,” Oakland Park Commissioner Tim Lonergan told the board. “As you consider closing Lloyd Estates, you are not making an isolated decision about the operation of one school. You are making a decision that affects childcare, family and city services, grant-funded programs, transportation, neighborhoods, and the lives of children well beyond the regular school day.”

Under the proposal, Lloyd Estates students would move to Oakland Park Elementary or Cypress Elementary in Pompano Beach.

“The Children’s Services Council has committed to ensure we can make this work, to transfer the programs at receiving schools,” Hepburn told the School Board.

Students at two Miramar schools proposed for closure, Silver Lakes Elementary and Dolphin Bay Elementary, would move to Glades Middle, which would be expanded into a K-8 school.

But several Dolphin Bay parents said they prefer a traditional K-5 elementary model and won’t be sending their children to Glades. They proposed combining Dolphin Bay and Silver Lakes into one school, housed at Dolphin Bay.

One parent said safety and discipline data submitted to the state found 30 instances at Glades Middle during the 2025-26 school year, including battery, drug possession, sexual harassment and a weapons incident. Board member Rebecca Thompson, whose district includes Glades, said she’d never heard of safety concerns mentioned there. Hepburn said the number of safety incidents are lower than most other middle schools in the county.

Parent Anastasia Rosa, who started a petition to save Dolphin Bay, said a recent survey found that 91% of parents who responded say they would not send their children to Glades, and 100% would prefer it stay as a K-5 school.

“We are asking the board to listen to our families, consider our proposed alternative and keep Dolphin Bay Elementary open,” she said.

Rosa said parents were also upset when they saw a social media post from state Rep. Robin Bartleman, who visited Glades Middle on the first day of school Aug. 10. Bartleman posted, “Smooth start at Glades Middle School. The K-8 conversion is almost ready. They are working on the building.”

Rosa said the post suggested that decisions had already been made, so she questioned why the district was seeking input from parents at a series of community meetings.

“What is happening? Is the conversion going through? Are we just kind of like here for show to make us feel that we are being heard?” Rosa asked.

Hepburn, responding to a question from Board member Adam Cervera about Bartleman’s post, said, “We didn’t push it out. It’s not our post.”

Bartleman told the South Florida Sun Sentinel she removed the post Tuesday after hearing concerns. “If it was misinformation, I apologize, but the School Board has to let (the community) know. I wouldn’t have posted that unless someone told me.”

But the district has been making plans for a possible Glades K-8 school.

Mark Dorsett, who is serving as the district’s chief facilities officer, told the School Board that a design has been completed, although no construction has happened.

Thompson said the Glades K-8 idea came last year from parents, including ones from Dolphin Bay.

“You liked the fact that you could have one drop-off if you had multiple kids. You liked the fact that, for nine years, your kids would be with the same staff, the same family, the same community,” she said. “You wanted your middle school students to have all the opportunities that middle school students should have, the sports, gym, band.”

Thompson said the Glades K-8 model can provide opportunities for a better student experience. She said she also understands some parents may send their children elsewhere.

“At the end of the day, that is your choice to send your kid wherever you would like,” Thompson said. “It is our job as a board to stabilize the system not only for this year and next year, but for generations to come.”

Thompson added, “We are trying to make the best decision that we can in an absolutely horrific situation. So I would ask for some grace.”