Broward is closing schools to save money. ‘Schools of Hope’ could complicate that

As the Broward School Board debates closing more schools in the effort to right-size the shrinking district, they face another challenge — Schools of Hope charters moving into their facilities.

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Superintendent Howard Hepburn proposed the board to close 10 schools at a workshop on Tuesday, including William Dandy Middle in Fort Lauderdale, a school where a Schools of Hope charter school plans to move in.

KIPP Legacy School, a charter school, will begin operating in a portion of Dandy Middle starting in the 2027-28 school year under Florida’s newly expanded “Schools of Hope” law, board member Jeff Holness said in the meeting. The law, which was established to allow approved charter operators, like KIPP, to open schools near underperforming district schools, now allows charter school operators to run their own school programs in vacant or underutilized district school buildings at nearly no cost.

In Miami-Dade, KIPP has already taken over the old Poinciana Park Elementary school building, which the district is leasing to them for one dollar.

Broward County Public Schools is in dire financial straits after years of declining student enrollment — this year alone they lost 11,000 students — resulting in over 60,000 empty seats district wide. The school board closed and consolidated six schools last school year to save money.

But amid the discussion about school closures, the board members also had to grapple with the potential financial strain that Schools of Hope operators setting up shop inside district-owned properties could cause the already cost-burdened district.

‘A very nice way to kick us out of all our buildings’

Dandy Middle has the capacity for 1,133 students, but only has 665 enrolled. KIPP plans to occupy about 25 percent of the available seats at the school, said Valerie Wanza, the BCPS Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer.

“They are looking to eventually occupy whatever capacity is available that the actual Dandy Middle School does not occupy,” Wanza said.

Holness expressed concerns that the school district may still be liable to pay for certain costs if it closes Dandy Middle and allows KIPP to “take over” the vacant building. He suggested delaying any decision on closing Dandy for now. Instead, he said the school board should consider closing the middle school portion of Dillard 6-12 and move those middle schoolers to Parkway Middle.

“If we close William Dandy as it is, we’re basically giving that school over,” Holness said.

The school board directed the Superintendent to determine what the district’s financial obligations would be if a Schools of Hope charter occupied a closed school. That information will be available later this week, a district spokesperson said.

BCPS General Counsel Kathy Dupuy-Bruno said in the meeting that if a district-run school colocates with a School of Hope, the district is financially responsible for the building’s maintenance costs, but it can negotiate for the charter school to pay for its portion of the utilities it uses, like electricity.

KIPP’s contract with Miami-Dade County Public Schools for Poinciana Park Elementary placed most of the operating expenses on the charter company. KIPP even invested about $2.4 million for improvements to facility over the summer before opening.

Schools of Hope supporters say the program offers parents in districts with low-performing schools more options, while critics say the program siphons resources from district-run public schools. Broward school board members are among the latter.

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“This seems like a very nice way to kick us out of all of our buildings,” said board member Maura Bulman.

School board member Adam Cervera shared his concerns over how Schools of Hope may impact the already cash-strapped school district as it closes schools to save money.

“This board needs to know essentially what our options are to protect those facilities,” Cervera said. “Because it doesn’t make a lick of sense to me for us to be doing this to potentially save taxpayer money… and then Schools of Hope comes in, and then we have to fund the majority of their operations, pursuant to the statute.”

This certainly won’t be the last discussion the Broward School Board has on Schools of Hope. Four out of the 10 schools recommended for closure, including Dandy, fit the criteria to become a space for Schools of Hope, Wanza said. But so far, only Dandy Middle has been tapped for Schools of Hope.

Holness told Hepburn he’d like the district to have a plan in place for what it intends to do after it closes a school that is eligible for Schools of Hope, like lease or sell it.

“Yep, you got our commitment on that,” Hepburn said.

‘Why are we rushing this?’

Along with Dandy Middle, Hepburn proposed the board close the following schools and send those students to other schools: Banyan Elementary in Sunrise, Coral Springs Elementary in Coral Springs, Silver Lakes Elementary in Miramar, Dolphin Bay Elementary in Miramar, Hollywood Park Elementary in Hollywood, Lloyd Estates Elementary in Oakland Park, Oakridge Elementary in Hollywood, Forest Glen Middle in Coral Springs, Walter C. Young Middle in Pembroke Pines.

For about seven hours, board members pored over the details of Hepburn’s proposal, asking questions, pitching ideas and ditching their ideas.

Board member Allen Zeman suggested closing 26 schools, including the 10 Hepburn recommended, then revisiting school closures on a two-year cycle.

“I don’t think that’s bold,” he said. “I think that’s right.”

Board member Lori Alhadeff expressed caution. “You are stirring the pot and making people very upset,” she said about Zeman’s proposal to target so many schools at once.

Other board members showed interest in adding three or more schools to the proverbial chopping block, but ultimately decided not to by the end of the meeting.

Cervera said he wanted to see data on the financial benefit of closing the schools and criticized the district “shuffling” employees from building to building, which Hepburn pushed back on. He also said the district is moving too fast to close schools before the calendar year ends and not allowing enough time for community feedback.

“Why are we rushing this?” Cervera said. “Why is the lack of community involvement so apparent this go around that I’m starting to hear phrases from colleagues such as, ‘We just need to rip the Band-Aid off and we just have to go go go.’”

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