Ten more Broward schools would close after this school year under a new recommendation from Superintendent Howard Hepburn.<\/p>\n
The Broward School Board is scheduled to hold a workshop on Tuesday to give feedback on the potential closings, which span from Coral Springs in the north to Hollywood, Miramar and Pembroke Pines in the south.<\/p>\n
This is the most sweeping proposal yet to deal with years of declining enrollment, which continued into the current school year with another decline of 11,000 students. Last school year, the district closed six schools, and one school closed the prior year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday will be an initial discussion with the board about what schools to really move forward with,\u201d Hepburn told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. \u201cAnd then subsequently there\u2019s going to be an additional workshop in September, and then subsequently we\u2019re going to start having community meetings based on the schools that the board actually tells us to move forward on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Final decisions are expected by December.<\/p>\n
Hepburn\u2019s proposals would close:<\/p>\n
\u2014 Banyan Elementary in Sunrise. Students would move to Discovery Elementary and Village Elementary, both in Sunrise.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Coral Springs Elementary. Students would move to Eagle Ridge Elementary and Parkside Elementary, both in Coral Springs.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Silver Lakes Elementary in Miramar. Students would move to Glades Middle, which would be expanded into a K-8 school.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dolphin Bay Elementary. Students would move to Glades K-8.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Hollywood Park Elementary. Students would move to Boulevard Heights Elementary in Hollywood
and West Hollywood Elementary.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Lloyd Estates Elementary in Oakland Park. Students would move to Cypress Elementary in Pompano Beach and Oakland Park Elementary.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Oakridge Elementary in Hollywood. Students would move to Dania Elementary in Dania Beach and Colbert Elementary in Hollywood.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Forest Glen Middle in Coral Springs. Sixth graders would move to Coral Park Elementary, Forest Hills Elementary, James S. Hunt Elementary and Park Springs Elementary, all of which would become K-6 schools. Seventh and eighth graders would move to Coral Springs High, which would become a 7-12 school.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Walter C. Young Middle in Pembroke Pines. One option would move students to Pines 6-12 and Silver Trail Middle. Another would move them to Charles Flanagan High, which would become a 6-12 school.<\/p>\n
\u2014 William Dandy Middle in Fort Lauderdale. Students would move to Parkway Middle in Lauderhill.<\/p>\n
Hepburn\u2019s proposal also recommends converting Sunset Lakes Elementary in Miramar into a K-8 school.<\/p>\n
Two of the schools recommended for closure, Oakridge Elementary and Forest Glen Middle, have been listed on potential school closure lists in the past.<\/p>\n
Oakridge was proposed for closure and redevelopment in 2024, but the School Board dropped that plan amid complaints from Hollywood elected officials, who indicated they might not approve zoning changes that would allow the site to be used for non-educational purposes.<\/p>\n
Forest Glen Middle was proposed for closure last year, but School Board member Lori Alhadeff, whose district includes the school, successfully argued there were numerous other middle schools in the county that were lower enrolled.<\/p>\n
Hepburn\u2019s proposal also suggests rebuilding or opening some new schools in the coming years and possibly using some closed campuses as temporary space for students. He said the district is securing a master planning firm to help determine where it might more sense to build rather than renovate aging campuses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey would create a very holistic plan that involves every facet of the district, understanding the ages of our facilities, adequacy to house students with a great learning environment and give the board and myself a very comprehensive plan that would spark an additional discussion about replacement schools based on facilities needs and how adequate they are for years to come,\u201d Hepburn said.<\/p>\n