The Town of Fort Myers Beach and the Lee County School District met Wednesday to try to resolve their dispute over the future of the Beach Elementary School.
Fort Myers Beach Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski was at the meeting. After hours of back and forth, the district agreed to consider building a new school while preserving the historic building of the old one.Watch to hear details of the decision at the resolution meeting:
District could spare FMB Elementary from demolition after months of tension
The meeting was all about finding common ground after months of tension. The town says the district broke past agreements to rebuild the hurricane-damaged school when it announced plans to demolish it earlier this year. Town leaders say this is about more than classrooms.
“Reopening Fort Myers Beach Elementary is not just about education for us. It’s about recovery, equity, leadership, and the entire community,” said town manager Will McKannay.
Neighbors showed up in numbers to speak out. “Delays in reopening are directly harming students’ academic progress,” one person said…