As part of its Central Region rezoning process, Polk County Public Schools (PCPS) is proposing to close Crystal Lake Middle School and reassign students. Over 100 community members turned out to the meeting to learn more and voice concerns over the proposal.
District leaders said the proposed closure is due to declining enrollment at Crystal Lake, which has a capacity of 1,300 students but currently only serves about 753, leaving hundreds of available seats. Superintendent Fred Heid attributed declining enrollment rates to a coinciding decline in Crystal Lake’s academic standing.
“If a school falls below 80% of its enrollment, I can’t adequately fund the school. All schools are funded based off the number of students who attend that particular school,” said Heid during the meeting. “So, an under-enrolled school means that either two things have to happen: either the district has to supplement the school financially, which means that we’re taking away dollars from other schools, which is not fair, or we can’t offer the same number of programs and opportunities.”…