Incredible Shrinking Schools

I attended public schools in Coral Springs, and as long as I can
remember, public schools in Broward County have been bursting at the
seams. Portable classrooms have dotted fields meant for recess. Student
over-enrollment was an epidemic that the county just couldn’t cure.

I remember then-mayor of Coral Springs, Jeanne Mills, paying a visit to my middle school classroom to gripe about the poor
planning she thought was at the heart of the matter. The city was
growing like a turkey on steroids, and she didn’t see how the schools
could ever accommodate all the young students the new homes would
attract. Our little suburb was pushing ever further into the
Everglades, sucking the swampland dry. The mayor was at her wits’ end.
She told my class that she felt pressured to sign off on new
subdivisions, knowing full-well that there weren’t enough classrooms
for the children of families moving into our community. Yet it seemed
like a new kid arrived from Brooklyn every week.

Now, finally, Broward school enrollment is shrinking. Data shows that student numbers have declined more than six percent since the 2004-05 school
year. Looking ahead, the school board projects that student enrollment
will drop even further, with the county catering to 3,194 fewer
students in the 2009-10 school year alone. I never thought I’d see the day.

We can blame the economy and South Florida’s relatively high
standard of living for the departure of some families. We also have
finally reached build-out in the western suburbs that border the
Everglades.

Broward County’s
is the sixth-largest school district in the country. The district has
lost nearly $250 million to budget cuts in recent years, leaving it
with an annual budget of $5 billion. That breaks down to roughly
$20,000 per student, on par with tuition at the county’s most
prestigious private schools.

And yet the school board still says it needs more cash. A few weeks ago the Broward County School Board voted to beg Washington for a financial stimulus package of its very own.

In making its sales pitch, the district has tried to stress how
dollars spent on schools trickle through a slew of industries
region-wide.

“We’re looking for up to $500 million in (construction and
refurbishment) projects, essentially, which would have the effect of
providing some tangible benefit for the school district while
also stimulating the local economy, because it’s local contractors and
people like that who would be doing the work and providing the
product,” says Keith Bromery, director of communications for the school
district.

Alas, each year Florida schools are required to also
shrink their student-to-teacher ratios, which means Broward County must
hire more teachers and construct more classrooms. So the school
district isn’t exactly swimming in cash as enrollment declines. And, as
always, older schools in the eastern part of the county continue to see
decreasing demand while the newer western communities wonder where to
educate all their young ‘uns.

–Amy Guthrie