Underenrollment and school closures have drawn heated debates, countless community input meetings and carefully drawn rezoning maps this year in Alachua County. But those issues aren’t unique to Alachua. The Florida Parent Teacher Association hosted a Zoom meeting Saturday morning to discuss the trend of school closures across the state.
Board members from Pinellas, Orange and Broward Counties attended the meeting to share how declining birth rates and the shift of students to private and charter schools have decreased public school enrollment and necessitated the closure of schools.
Alachua County Public Schools
Alachua County, in the middle of its reconciliation with school closures and consolidations, did not participate in the statewide PTA meeting.
On March 12, the board voted to close three schools: Alachua, Foster and Williams Elementary Schools.
The board is considering the closure of a fourth school: Irby Elementary School, located in Alachua. The school board will vote whether to close the school at a May 5 meeting.
The district does not anticipate any layoffs as a result of the consolidation of schools, said Deborah Terry, the assistant superintendent of human resources, in a meeting at Mebane Middle School April 13.
In various presentations on school closures, the district has cited underenrollment and low birth rates as reasons for consolidating schools.
According to USA Facts, fertility rates across the country declined between 2005 and 2022. Fertility rates are the number of live births per 1,000 women.
In Florida, fertility rates dropped nearly 14% in that time frame. Utah, which experienced the greatest decline, dropped nearly 34%. Louisiana, which experienced the smallest decline, dropped less than 1%.
Beyond decreasing fertility rates, Alachua board members have also acknowledged increased homeschool, charter and private enrollments as reasons.
According to USA Facts, charter school enrollment increased by 6% in Florida between 2012 and 2022. Nevada, which saw the greatest increase in charter school enrollment, increased by more than 9%. Kansas, which experienced the steepest drop, declined by nearly 1%.
This August, Newberry Elementary School will be converted into a charter school. In February, the Newberry Community School Board had enrolled 427 students. The conversion will result in the transformation of Oak View Middle School into a kindergarten through eighth grade school going into the 2026-27 school year.
Schools of Hope legislation also necessitates school closures, board members added. Passed in 2025, the law allows charter schools to operate in schools with “excess space.”
Schools operating under 75% capacity or with 400 open seats can be shared with charter schools that apply to “co-locate,” or operate within the space. This would mean two schools operating in the same facility at the district’s expense, as the district would fund the charter school without having input in its operation.
Florida PTA meeting
School board representatives from Pinellas, Orange and Broward Counties discussed similar school closure and enrollment issues in Saturday’s Zoom meeting, indicating a statewide trend driven by legislation and declining enrollment.
Caprice Edmond, the board chair for Pinellas County, was among those in attendance. Pinellas County will close two schools at the end of this school year and expects more recommendations to rezone and shut schools in the near future, Edmond said.
She said the closures are brought on by a myriad of factors. In addition to the declining birth rates cited by Alachua County, Edmond said a lack of affordability, federal immigration policies and differing viewpoints have all caused lower enrollment.
“Immigration policies have caused many families to be fearful of enrolling their child in school, thinking that their citizenship would become questioned,” she said. “However, public schools are not tracking citizenship.”
From 2020 to 2024, roughly 12.4% of the Pinellas County population was foreign-born, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The total population estimate for the county in July 2024 was nearly 966,000.
Despite the setbacks public schools are facing, Edmond said, community members should share their concerns with elected officials.
“There are a lot of challenges that public schools are going to face,” Edmond said, “and it is extremely important that community stakeholders — not just parents — community stakeholders … are communicating their concerns, both with their local elected officials like school board members and their state representatives, and also on a federal level.”
Similar reasons for closure exist in other counties throughout the state, like Orange County. Board member Angie Gallo said the district will close seven schools at the end of this school year. The district will also eliminate roughly 200 district-level jobs, Gallo said.
She said the statewide changes are brought by state legislation.
“I don't believe that this is temporary,” Gallo said. “I think this is all part of the plan to try to privatize education in Florida. And unfortunately, right now, it looks like it's working.”
Taxpayer-funded vouchers redirect money from public schools to sponsor scholarships for students to attend private schools. In 2023, the state expanded legislation to make all students eligible for a scholarship. Previously, scholarships were restricted to students demonstrating financial need or special needs and circumstances.
Broward County Board Member Rebecca Thompson also attributed school closures to taxpayer-funded vouchers.
“I do not think this is temporary if we are unable to change the mindset of those who make decisions in Tallahassee,” said Thompson. “If we don't change how public schools are funded, if we don't put some parameters and accountability on taxpayer-funded vouchers, this isn't a problem that's going away.”
State incentives for alternatives to public schools have led to declining enrollment, she said. Broward County has already begun the process of closing schools.
The district closed six schools this past year, said Board Member Rebecca Thompson. Broward County is undergoing a second round of closures and layoffs this May, she said. The district is releasing roughly 300 employees.
While school closures may not be favored by community members, Thompson said they offer increased benefits to students.
Schools operating under capacity don’t have the benefits of a fully staffed PTA or special resource classes, like art or robotics, she said.
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a first-year journalism student, currently serving as K-12 education reporter. She has previously served as city/county commission reporter for The Alligator's metro desk. In her free time, she enjoys staying active and hanging out with her family.
