Bair Middle, a Sunrise school that spent the last few months on a potential school closure list, has a reprieve and will stay open.
Six other schools will close after this school year as part of the “Redefining Broward County Public Schools” effort to deal with declining enrollment, the Broward School Board decided Wednesday night.
They are Sunshine Elementary in Miramar, Panther Run Elementary and Palm Cove Elementary in Pembroke Pines, Plantation Middle, and North Fork Elementary and Seagull Alternative High in Fort Lauderdale.
The school district expects to save about $9.5 million by closing the six schools, according to executive summaries posted on Wednesday’s agenda.
Closing Bair would have saved another $1.9 million, but School Board members faced staunch opposition from city leaders, parents, students and the Broward Teachers Union, who packed the meeting, along with a Bair Middle bear mascot, holding “Save Bair” signs.
“I would like to urge our elected officials to remember that they are in these seats because they have been elected by us, by the people, for the people, and we will continue to exercise our rights and our civic duties to make sure that the right people stay in these seats,” Bair Middle parent Jeanette Marcel told the board. “We need Bair Middle School to continue.”
Board members had been much more divided on Bair than other schools. In December, five board members were supported closing it, while four opposed. But on Wednesday, Adam Cervera, who initially supported closing it, changed his vote, making it 5-4 to keep it open.
Cervera told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he realized that Sunrise has eight elementary schools, but if Bair had closed, the city would be left with just one middle school, Westpine.
He also said the city of Sunrise is making investments into athletic facilities used by schools in the city.
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“With the other six schools, how many cities said they’d pump millions of dollars into it?” Cervera told the Sun Sentinel.
Bair’s enrollment is about 62% of its capacity. City officials have discussed locating certain city programs into unused space at Bair, while keeping the school open.
“When we close schools in Broward County, we close schools that are not only underenrolled, but we close them because we don’t see viable options to occupy the open seats. That’s not the case with Bair Middle,” Board member Jeff Holness, who represents Bair, said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Board member Allen Zeman, one of the staunchest advocates for closing schools, was not persuaded.
“The time for dialogue was a year ago. The time for dialogue is not at the last moment of walking in when we have this item on the board that we’ve talked about at multiple workshops, with multiple town hall meetings, to get things done,” Zeman said.
The School Board also voted Wednesday night on where students from closed schools will go.
— Sunshine Elementary students will move to nearby Fairway Elementary in Miramar.
— Panther Run Elementary students will move to Chapel Trail Elementary in Pembroke Pines.
— Palm Cove Elementary students will move to Pines Lakes Elementary in Pembroke Pines.
— Plantation Middle students will move to Plantation High, which will become a 6-12 school.
— North Fork Elementary students will be split between Croissant Park Elementary, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Elementary, Thurgood Marshall Elementary and Walker Elementary.
Seagull Alternative High School students will move to Whiddon Rogers Education Center.
The district hasn’t made final plans for what will happen with the vacated campuses, although some will be converted into district office space.
