The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the closing process will be countywide rather than focusing only on a couple of areas of low enrollment, and will be done with much more community involvement than a recent failed attempt.
The district will also look for ways to add or overhaul programs and lure students back who have left district schools for charter, private or home-school options. Broward County schools have an estimated 43,000 empty seats.
Parents and students should know by late November whether closures will affect their schools, the board says.
This is the second time in recent mnths that the school board has asked district administration to develop a plan to close some schools.
But the last effort was riddled with problems, starting with an exodus of key district staff, and those plans were put on the back burner.
District officials have said there are potential cost savings of $1.8 million for every elementary school closed and $2.7 million for each middle school.
Mike Kennedy has been writing about education forAmerican School & Universitysince 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.
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