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Families from Lloyd Estates in Oakland Park and Dolphin Bay in Miramar pleaded on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, to Broward School Board members to not close their neighborhood schools.<\/p>\n
Natalie La Roche Pietri<\/p>\n
WLRN<\/p>\n
As the School Board of Broward County works toward a decision on what schools will face closures, a new count shows an even larger drop in the number of students enrolled than had been registered on the first day of school.<\/p>\n
The most recent official enrollment count, taken on Sept. 14, recorded 12,300 fewer students districtwide than last year. It\u2019s a slightly larger drop than a first-day count in August.<\/a> That count had indicated about 11,000 fewer students enrolled.<\/p>\n The benchmark enrollment count takes place on the Monday following the Labor Day holiday, or first school day thereafter.<\/p>\n Enrollment dropped by 5.6%, a larger decline than the 5% drop recorded on last year\u2019s benchmark enrollment day. The seats lost become part of the more than 60,000 empty seats in the district, an accumulation that has happened during the past five years.<\/p>\n As enrollment thins, so does funding. Schools have less spending power for students\u2019 programs and resources. The loss in seats translates to more<\/a> than $430 million less in the district\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Is your student\u2019s Broward County school potentially closing? The district wants to hear from you<\/a><\/p>\n As a result, the Broward County School Board is considering closing 10 schools next school year.<\/p>\n Speaking at a board meeting on Tuesday, board member Rebecca Thompson said savings from closures can materialize in stronger Parent Teacher Association school chapters, more clubs, and smaller class sizes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not just to save money. It is not just to look at spreadsheets and make the numbers work,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt is to make sure that our families, and more importantly, our children, in their K-12 experience, have the best opportunities that they can have.\u201d<\/p>\n The average annual savings from the six schools that the board voted to close last year are $1.2 million. Projected savings from the 10 schools up for closure this year are still unknown, because the schools shuttered are still not finalized. Staffers plan to bring comprehensive datasets for each of the 11 proposals to the next workshop on Oct. 6.<\/p>\n Staff also plan to survey families at the affected schools. The results will be available by the Nov. 4 workshop in time for the district to make its final vote in December.<\/p>\n \u2018Continuity and stability\u2019<\/p>\n Parents and staff from two elementary schools \u2014 Lloyd Estates in Oakland Park and Dolphin Bay in Miramar \u2014 spoke during Tuesday\u2019s public-comment portion. Both schools are potentially up for closure, with enrollment at 61% and 48% capacity, respectively, according to a district fact sheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dolphin Bay supporters wore matching maroon T-shirts as they criticized the district\u2019s plan to absorb the school with nearby Glades Middle, which is at 38% enrollment, to create a K-8 model. Parents said they worried about sending their young children to school with middle-schoolers.<\/p>\n \u201cFor families like mine, this is about continuity, stability, familiar support systems, and an environment where our students can learn and thrive,\u201d said Octavia Sampson, a Dolphin Bay parent.<\/p>\n The total number of students district-wide in the 2026-27 school year stands at 177,575. It was 13% larger, at 204,721, just four years ago, in the 2022-23 year.<\/p>\n The only grade that saw an increase in enrollment was district prekindergarten, by four students. This is the first year that charter schools also saw a decrease in enrollment in the thousands, with 2,071 fewer students, according to the report.<\/p>\n The pressure to find savings only grows as the referendum supporting teacher salaries and school safety is up for renewal in the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Nov. 3 referendum does not pass, Broward County Schools will fail to realize $358 million,\u201d said board member Allen Zeman.<\/p>\n The district recently launched a campaign<\/a> informing taxpayers of what\u2019s on the line if the property-tax referendum, which originally passed in 2018, doesn\u2019t get renewed.<\/p>\n