you and it's about listening so I will go through this very quickly and then we will have the uh Logistics and Rules of Engagement as we move forward through this but I do want to emphasize we are here to listen and be consistent through our school board's leadership Broward County Public Schools is starting a new plan for the district's future this new initiative is called redefining our schools redefining our schools is about changing to better meet the needs of our students and the Greater Community at this time we do not I repeat do not have a predetermined list of schools that will be impacted we have committed to coming to the Community First to help us develop an approach that will be Equitable and positive for our students this evening we will focus on three topics first we will share why the district needs to change change to be better for our students and to serve them well second we will describe how we are approaching the process of redefining our schools third we will share what you can do to shape the process of redefining our schools specifically we will capture your ideas around the criteria and goals of this process there are folks that are watching online as well and their goals and ideas can be captured and you'll hear more about that later let's begin exploring the need to redefine our schools I will share some data and information to provide more context as you can see from this chart student enrollment has been steadily decreasing since the 2004 2005 school year like many school districts Broward schools experienced a steeper decline following the pandemic and expansion of voucher programs just in the past 10 years our our enrollment has decreased by 24,000 students our future enrollment is also projected to continue to decline the decline enrollment is significant it's impacting our District's budget and the change over the past decade represents a financial loss of approximately $27 million annually in today's dollars over the years a number of students enroll our schools has gone down but the number of school buildings has stayed the same as a result the district has about 50,000 empty seats here you see a map of where the under enrolled schools are located these are the under enrolled schools at a certain threshold these are not schools closing unlike some folks that posted on social media these are the under enrolled schools that we have to look at it's part of the criteria it's not all of the criteria there are so many other factors and we will cover that that the red circle represents elementary schools the green squares represent middle schools and the blue triangles represent high schools the purpose of this map is to show where the under enrolled schools across the district and it is across the district together we can make changes that address short-term needs and plans for the future it clearly shows this isn't one or two communities it is the entire County as mentioned there are many under enrolled schools across the district this is not just a bud budget issue School budgets depend on the student enrollment to offer the best education Options under enrolled schools often have fewer electives more limited course offerings and fewer instructional resources these same schools often face facility issues we must also acknowledge that our community's educational needs and expectations have changed over the years and will continue continue to change BCPS is no longer the only option parents and students have many choices those choices include Charter Schools virtual learning programs private school scholarships and homeschooling as a district we also offer many amazing Choice programs that are very popular with students and have earned National recognition we need to offer more of those type of programs as we redefine our schools and need to do a better job of communicating that we are the best choice now I'd like to describe the how and how we are approaching the process of redefining our schools districts across the country are facing declining enrollment we are looking at how other D districts are addressing this challenge I would like to share some common strategies to give you a sense of what we are considering redefining our schools will take different forms this is not a one-sized fits-all approach what works for one school and one community may not work for another community school choice one option we might be creating is more magnet programs and full choice schools full scho full choice schools that attract students based on specific education programs offered such as engineering montau or other programs change grade level configuration and other another option might be changing the grade levels merge or combine schools we will also look at combining schools that could look like two under enrolled schools becoming one or an under enrolled Elementary and Middle School combining to become a Ka School boundary changes School boundaries create attendance zones we might consider changing School boundaries to add or remove neighborhoods in those attendance zones school closures one of our last options school closures will be considered we must acknowledge that closing School may be one of the most difficult decisions for a district to make our Northstar in these discussions will remain remain focused on what is best interest of our students repurposing schools is an inov way Innovative way to transform the unused school areas into spaces that enrich the lives of students teachers and the community this might look like excuse me the district partnering with a service provider to deliver wraparound support to students and the greater good of the entire Community Leasing and selling as the largest property owner in Broward County we might consider selling or leasing properties these properties could be conver converted into affordable housing for teachers and other staff members or other services some of these options may make people feel uneasy at first however we must have the courage to have difficult discussions and make tough decisions if we do we will create opportunities to reinvest in our mission now let's talk about the many opportunities many opportunities that could come out of this process remember if we have the courage to make difficult decisions we will create opportunities to reinvest in our mission if we have cost savings or generate new Revenue we will have more dollars to enhance the educational programs increase teacher and staff salaries fund Capital Improvements and more we must stop paying for the things we don't have and that is students and continue to pay for the things we do have the ones that are here now let's discuss the timeline because that is a very important factor and again this is a fluid timeline but it it is a start and we want to stay as close as we can today we start the conversation to help guide the district approach on the screen we are displaying key Milestones from now until June however the overall timeline may take up to 12 to 18 months in March the school board will develop the criteria and goals for redefining defining the process Based on data and input gathered input gathered from these meetings using the agreed upon criteria the district will narrow its focus at that point we will ask the community to provide more feedback on specific schools as we explore possible changes in May the school board will meet again to review the options considered for specific schools therefore District staff will follow up on specific questions brought up during the discussion in June the school board would vote on a list of schools to be redefined with this vote the school board would direct me to begin the planning process around proposed changes and school changes it is important to note that changes will take much longer to happen because additional Community input will be needed this means the earliest change would likely be for the 2025 and 2026 school year approximately 18 months from now as we embark on this journey let's focus on what could be we know that change can be hard but if done correctly change can unlock new possibilities at the beginning of this process there will be some unknowns there may be some more questions and answers that's okay we commit to listening we commit to learning we commit to being open and transparent at every stage of this process I will repeat that last sentence we commit to being open and transparent at every stage of this process the possibilities are what excite me through redefining our schools we hope to change how we operate in a way that creates enriching teaching and learning options please join us as we prepare for a new era of Education in Broward County thank you at this time I'm going to invite our chief strategy and Innovation officer Miss Zoe Saunders back on the stage to provide instructions to the next part of the program The District wants to make sure that all students have the best possible experience in Brower County Public Schools and one way we can do this is to change how we operate schools if you notice we went through these slides this is not about us talking at you or to you it's about getting together and listening to you and getting your ideas together I appreciate you and thank you very much Miss Saunders thank you at this time we are going to move into our discussion rooms um so for those of you that are joining us virtually in a moment you will see two QR codes come up on the screen please scan the those two QR codes and complete the survey and for continual updated information on the redefining our schools process please visit our website browardschools.com redefining for those of you that are in the audience we will now um direct you to your breakout rooms when you arrived you should have received a colored wristband that colored wristband is associated with a specific breakout room so at this time I'm going to first ask our Jr JC Cadets to come forward and we will dismiss you by color um as our Jr JROTC Cadets are coming up I do want to make a couple of notes um if you serve on an Advisory Board um with another member of the public here today you are not allowed to participate in this same Discussion Group um per Sunshine Law so if you are if there are two members of an Advisory Group that are assigned uh please let your facilitator know and we will reassign you to a different group okay okay so as our uh Cadets are coming down if you received an orange wristband you can go ahead and stand up and please join us at the front [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] w [Music] [Music] go [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] 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