BPS looking into new ways to boost student enrollment at underutilized schools
Brevard County schools could be shutting down
FOX 35's Esther Bower learns more about why Brevard County schools might be shutting down. She spoke with officials and educators in the district.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Some families in Brevard County are worried schools could be closing as BPS investigates schools with low enrollment.
"Our kids are worried that their school is closing"
What we know:
The concern comes as school board members were briefed on capacity and maintenance issues at various schools across the county during a board work session on Tuesday.
Amid the growing fears, it’s important for parents to know: no schools are shutting down in the district.
McNair Middle School families and teachers organized a community meeting on Monday because of that fear, but at Tuesday’s workshop, no vote or decision was made on McNair or any schools.
Officials with the district say they are talking about this issue for long-term planning.
The board was briefed on new data about how expensive it is to maintain old schools that don’t have a lot of students.
What they're saying:
"Our kids are worried that their school is closing. They should be worried about how well I am going to do on my test, not if the school is going to close tomorrow morning," said Consuelo Ramos-Deyesso, who teaches at McNair and attended the concerned community meeting on Monday.
FOX 35’s Esther Bower asked the school board if families at McNair Middle need to worry.
The other side:
"In no way has McNair ever been looked at to close, is it on the chopping block, no," said board member, Matt Susin.
Susin says every three to five years, board members are briefed on schools struggling with enrollment.
"The only metrics they used was the vacancies that are out there and then the cost of refurbishment of some of the facilities," he said.
He says those aren’t the only factors to consider because those metrics don’t "take into the education and the impact on the community and all the other pieces."
In Tuesday’s presentation, it was apparent the district has a lot of old buildings, and they’re more expensive to maintain.
25% of schools in the district are used less than 60% right now based on the research and are way behind in student capacity.
This is costing the district quite a bit.
On average, old schools that struggle with enrollment cost about $4,000 more to maintain per student per year.
Susin says there are ways to help the issue without closing schools.
"You could take an overextended elementary school, you could move the sixth grade into the middle school to get the capacity," said Susin.
Tuesday’s presentation was for long-term planning, and parents want to be part of the process.
"We’re here to stay. We’re not going anywhere," said the McNair teacher. "You're going to hear from us no matter what."
A big concern for the school board is making sure students have opportunities to succeed. Some board members are worried smaller schools mean fewer resources.
What's next:
The district is investigating ways to boost enrollment at several schools across the county.
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The Source: FOX 35's Reporter Esther Bower spoke with school board member Matt Susin on 4/8 before the work session at 1 p.m. She also watched the meeting's livestream on the BPS YouTube page. Another crew from FOX 35 also attended a concerned community meeting on 4/7 where teachers and families expressed worry over the potential closure of McNaire Middle School before the work session.