While Miami-Dade and Broward public schools are pumping up the energy for the upcoming school year, officials are also worried about mounting financial problems caused by troubling enrollment numbers. Officials from both districts have been hard at work to show why South Florida’s public school s are the best place for parents to send their children for education. “All the programs you need, we have them,” said Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn, in a promotional video for the district. But while they promise bigger and better things, both school systems have been plagued by significant challenges, including constantly shrinking enrollment numbers and downsized budgets, which has forced some schools to shut their doors. “We have to take drastic measures just to make sure that our fund balance remains in a good state,” said Hepburn. Officials say the problem is primarily from a lack of new students coming into the districts. “It’s not students leaving us, but students not coming in,” said Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Jose Dotres. Miami-Dade County Public School officials don’t believe they’ve been losing to private or charter school alternatives, opting instead to blame a multitude of compounding issues, like declining birth rates, a significant decrease in newcomers and families leaving due to the high cost of living across the county. “You’re talking about young families not coming here, and those who are here can’t afford to stay here,” said M-DCPS board member Steve Gallon III. Both districts lost thousands of students — roughly 4% of their total enrollment — last year. Due to the steep decline, Miami-Dade and Broward public schools have lost millions of dollars in funding, forcing leaders to make unpopular cost-cutting decisions like closing schools. “We have to take action, we have to take responsible action,” said Hepburn. The decision to shut down certain schools was met with fierce opposition from members of the community and school employees. Despite that, officials carried out the plan in an effort to stay afloat. Broward County has already shuttered multiple schools, including: Sunshine Elementary School Panther Run Elementary School Palm Cove Elementary School North Fork Elementary School Plantation Middle School Seagull Alternative High School The closings are expected to help the district save an estimated $8 million. Miami-Dade has also seen a host of public schools close their doors, including: Robert Russa Moton Elementary School Parkway Elementary School Phillis Wheatley Elementary School Rainbow Park Elementary School Lenora B. Smith Elementary School Pine Villa Elementary School Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy Miami Springs Middle School Richmond Heights Middle School The closures have also forced both counties to consolidate and reconfigure their students into the remaining operational schools. Families impacted by the closures were notified of the impending reshuffling and were presented with options to explore what will be their child’s new school. “It may be a mile or two farther, but it will have better education going on, more programs going on. Even though it may be inconvenient to go to a different school, and I recognize that fully, your student is gonna be going to a better school if you’re directly affected by these closures,” said Broward Schools board member Allen Zeman. Officials for both districts stressed that additional school closures or consolidations are not off the table for next year. For the time being, however, their focus turns to the new year that begins on Aug. 10 in Broward and Aug. 13 in Miami-Dade. ...read more read less