FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — In response to student enrollment decreases that prompted budget concerns, Broward School Board members voted Wednesday to close six schools.

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During a regular public meeting that continued well into the evening, the school board members considered Superintendent Howard Hepburn‘s plan to close seven schools and change some boundaries

“We have to reduce our footprint because we have fewer students. It has nothing to do with how amazing our students are,” Debra Hixon, one of two countywide school board members, said during the meeting.

Hepburn’s proposed 11 changes after the “Redefining Our Schools” initiative, which included months of public meetings, faced some opposition from the Broward Teachers Union.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Through agenda item MM-1, the school board voted to close Sunshine Elementary School, at 7737 La Salle Boulevard, in Miramar, and transfer Sunshine students to Fairway Elementary School, at 7850 Fairway Boulevard, also in Miramar.

There were also several changes for elementary school students in Pembroke Pines.

Through agenda item MM-2, the school board voted to close Panther Run Elementary School, at 801 NW 172 Ave., and transfer students to Chapel Trail Elementary School, at 19595 Taft St., and Silver Palms Elementary School, at 1209 NW 155th Ave.

Through item MM-3, the school board voted to repurpose Palm Cove Elementary School, at 11601 Washington St., and transfer students to Lakeside Elementary School, at 900 NW 136th Ave., and Pines Lakes Elementary School, at 10300 Johnson St.

The changes will also impact elementary and high school students in Fort Lauderdale.

Through item MM-4, the school board also voted to close North Fork Elementary School, at 101 NW 15 Ave., and transfer students to four elementary schools: Croissant Park, at 1800 SW 4 Ave.; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at 591 NW 31st Ave.; Thurgood Marshall, at 800 NW 13th St.; and Walker, at 1001 NW 4 St.

Through item MM-10, the school board also voted to “reconfigure” Thurgood Marshall Elementary School as a birth through 5th-grade early learning center.

Through item MM-11, the school board voted to close Seagull Alternative High School, at 425 SW 28 St., in Fort Lauderdale, and transfer students to Whiddon-Rogers Education Center, at 700 SW 26 St.

There were also changes in Plantation. Through item MM-6, the school board voted to close Plantation Middle School, at 6600 West Sunrise Boulevard, and transfer students to Plantation High School, at 6901 NW 16 St.

RECOMMENDATION FAILS

Bair Middle School was saved after the school board voted against item MM-7, which included Hepburn‘s recommendation to close the school, at 9100 NW 21 Manor, in Sunrise, and transfer students to Westpine Middle School at 9393 NW 50 St.

Jeff Holness, the school board member who represents District 5, asked his colleagues to keep Bair open. Anna Fusco, the president of the teachers’ union, said there was a plan to help Bair grow.

“I don’t see how any city is going to operate with just one middle school,” Fusco told the school board members about Sunrise.

Mark S. Lubelski, Sunrise’s city manager, said the mayor and a few commissioners supported a plan to invest in Blair Middle School to help save it.

BOUNDARY CHANGES

Through the meeting’s agenda item MM-5, the school board voted to shift a portion of the boundary of Walter C. Young Middle School, at 901 NW 129 Ave., in Pembroke Pines, west of Interstate 75. This will reassign some Walter C. Young students to Silver Trail Middle School, at 18300 Sheridan St.

Through the agenda item MM-8, the school board also voted to shift a portion of the boundary of Charles W. Flanagan High School, at 12800 Taft St., in Pembroke Pines, west of I-75. This will reassign some students to West Broward High School at 500 NW 209 Ave., in Pembroke Pines.

Through the item MM-9, the school board also voted to shift a portion of the Hallandale High School boundary west of I-95 to Miramar High School. This would also transition Hallandale High School to a four-day-week magnet after the Pompano Beach High School model.

The last school board workshop on the plan was on Dec. 8. The district plans to implement the changes in the 2026-2027 school year.

6 p.m. report

Related documents

Agenda item MM-1: Sunshine Elementary School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-1 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-2: Panther Run Elementary School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-2 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-3: Palm Cove Elementary School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-3 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-4: North Fork Elementary School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-4 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-6: Plantation Middle School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-6 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-7: Bair Middle School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Boundary recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-7 response (.PDF)

Agenda item MM-11: Seagull Alternative High School

• Executive summary (.PDF)
• Hepburn’s recommendation memo (.PDF)
• Usage recommendation (.PDF)
• Explanation of estimated financial impact (.PDF)
• MM-11 response (.PDF)

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