The Broward County school board held a workshop on Tuesday to consider shuttering even more schools as the district struggles to deal with a deepening enrollment crisis. With enrollment numbers for Broward County Public Schools continuing to drop, board members met to discuss a difficult decision : which schools are next on the chopping block. “No one on this board wants to hurt the community that we represent,” said Broward School Board Chair Sarah Leonardi. Tuesday’s workshop is the beginning of the process to consider 10 potential closures. The schools at risk include: Silver Lakes Elementary Dolphin Bay Elementary Oakridge Elementary Hollywood Park Elementary Walter C. Young Middle School William Dandy Middle Lloyd Estates Elementary Banyan Elementary Coral Springs Elementary Forest Glen Middle “We want to know the changes are resulting in positive experiences and opportunities for our children,” said a speaker at the workshop. “Closing the school would not only impact enrolled students — it also impacts the established network of childcare, enrichment and family support services that build around the needs of the students and their families as well as their neighborhoods,” said another speaker. District administrators cited declining enrollment numbers over the past few years as to why they have to look at these options once more. “We have 60,000 open seats right now in our school district,” said Broward Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn. The new round of potential school closures comes after the district already shuttered six campuses last school year. Some speakers pointed to the board’s failure to determine a precise cause for the enrollment crisis and choosing to instead march on with more closures. “There’s been a lot of focus on closing schools or absorbing schools to meet the decline in enrollment rather than finding what is the cause of our decline,” said a speaker at the workshop. District officials have pointed to a number of separate reasons that have all collided over the years that led to the massive shortfall in enrollment. “I think the affordability and the birthrate are definitely a correlation. Also immigration policies, many of our newcomers are not coming to the country right now, which South Florida is a hotbed for immigration, and also the advancement of school choice,” said Hepburn. The tumbling trend in enrollment has at least one board member acknowledging that these closures still may not be enough. “Twenty-seven, to be clear, is 16.6% of our schools while our enrollment is going down 40%. It’s less than half. I don’t think that’s bold — I think that’s right,” said Broward School Board Member Dr. Allen Zeman. Though some members feel it’s the correct the decision, others said it still doesn’t make it any easier to shutter more campuses and doesn’t address the main issue. “Pulling a school off this list not only does not address the problem, it hurts the surrounding schools by denying them the opportunity to gain students and community members to strengthen their own school,” said Broward School Board Member Rebecca Thompson. The ongoing enrollment woes aren’t just happening in Broward. Miami-Dade County Public School officials are expected to hold a meeting next week to discuss a list of approximately 24 schools that could be closed. Meantime, Broward officials are expected to hold a final vote on the fate of these schools in December. ...read more read less