FORT LAUDERDALE – Broward County Public Schools staff began a series of meetings to determine which campuses will close or reorganize next school year.
Staff members, along with several board members, met with parents, principals, staff, city commissioners, city managers and concerned citizens in District 5 of Broward Schools, an area that includes part of Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Sunrise and Plantation.
Earlier in the year, staff recommended closing at least five schools across the district to ease financial burdens caused by underenrollment. Several schools are half empty.
In District 5, staff asked for input on the fate of five elementary schools: Broward Estates, Larkdale, Lauderhill Paul Turner, MLK Montessori Academy and Westwood Heights.
Staff proposed one of four options: transitioning them to a full choice school, where families must apply to enroll children, reconfigure the number of grades on campus, make a boundary change, or close or repurpose the school building.