Pembroke Pines elementary schools set to close face uncertainty over next steps
Though the fates of seven Broward schools hinged on a January school board meeting, Pembroke Pines mom Penelope Gabarrete considered that of Panther Run Elementary’s sealed by December.
School district officials’ inaction on their sole proposal to keep PRE’s doors open — co-locating a district-run school for students with autism within the campus — hit “like a cold bucket of water on our face” during a Dec. 8 workshop, she said.
“We did feel blindsided,” Gabarette, who heads up Panther Run’s Parent Teacher Association, told the Pembroke Pines News on Jan. 20. “We understand if we can’t move forward with this possibility if there’s no proposal, but just don’t sell us on this possibility.”
Like Gabarrete, Broward County Public Schools’ decision to close six schools as part of its enrollment decline initiative — Redefining Our Schools — has left parents with more frustrations and questions than solutions.
Two Pembroke Pines schools, Panther Run Elementary and Palm Cove Elementary, were unanimously voted for consolidation into nearby schools during the Jan. 21 school board meeting vote, which echoed Superintendent Howard Hepburn’s recommendations in December.
Panther Run’s student body will be redirected to Chapel Trail Elementary and Silver Palms Elementary, saving BCPS an estimated $1,152,356, according to officials. Palm Cover’s will be absorbed by Lakeside Elementary and Pines Lakes Elementary, saving BCPS roughly $1,305,271.
Both campuses, school board members said, would be “transitioned to another district use.”
But much of what becomes of teachers at closing schools and available support for families forced to transition is still up in the air.
Rebecca Thompson, District 2’s school board member, said she doesn’t anticipate any teacher being left without a job, stating that there are “many teacher openings throughout the district.”
Next steps for families, teachers, school buildings
According to Thomspon — who oversees both Palm Cove and Panther Run — BCPS met with affected school principals Jan. 22.
She added in a message on Instagram that families should recieve notification of the school changes by Jan. 23 and that a community meeting would be hosted at both elementary schools with BCPS staff available to “support and help with this transition in any way,” though no dates have been formally announced.
How school staff will fare is less clear.
Teaching positions are expected to “follow the students,” Thomspon says, meaning educators will be shifted over to accomodate the growing student bodies of other elementary schools Panther Run and Palm Cove will be consolidated into.
“If you have to run 300 kids, and if 150 go to Silver Palms, then one of those (teaching) positions will now open up at Silver Palms,” she told the Pembroke Pines News on Jan. 20. “And same for Chapel Trail, same for Pine Lakes ... then there’s like a teacher selection process to see who moves over.”
Leadership — that includes principals and school administration staff — will go through their regular annual evaluations, with notification on who ends up where to come out in May, according to the school board member.
“Our teachers have zero clue what’s going on next year,” Gabarrete said. “I have been the one to basically be relaying information to teachers ... Rebecca told me as soon as she has a transition plan, she’ll let me know, but so far our teachers don’t know anything.”
How the shutdown campuses will be repurposed is to be determined and announced during a March school board workshop, Valerie Wanza, BCPS’ chief strategy and innovation officer, said at the Jan. 21 meeting.
“We do know that we have some district staff moving into some places,” Wanza said. “We know that we have some community agencies that are interested in leasing space. We know that we have some governmental agencies that are interested in leasing space as well.”
Impact on students
Beyond how the closures will play out in real time, Panther Run and Palm Cove parents are worried the impact will ultimately trickle down to BCPS’ most vulnerable population: the students.
Gabarrete, who has two daughters in PRE’s first and third grade classes, plans to enroll her girls in Chapel Trail Elementary due to zoning constraints.
Though she’s excited they’ll be able to attend a school with enough funding to swing electives such as choir and art — extra costs Panther Run often had to go without — she’s worried about how it’ll disrupt their school experience socially and academically.
“I think it’s more of an emotional, social anxiety that’s probably the biggest concern for my oldest, because she’s older and she has more roots in there,” Gabarrete said. “It’s gonna be a rough first, maybe week or two of school for her.”
She’s joined by Palm Cove parents who took to social media to express similar worries.
“Don’t close this school,” commented Rocio Torres under the school’s Instagram post announcing the Dec. 8 school board workshop results. “The decision is not made with the children’s best interest in mind.”
“Palm Cove is where our children feel safe and supported. Splitting them between two schools will break the community they depend on,” wrote Celma Chafudine Omar. “Please keep Palm Cove open and keep our kids together.”
Feelings of uncertainty have already begun to impact school morale and class sizes, which Gabarrete says have seen a decline since the closures were first recommended.
Over winter break, she noted five or six students withdrew from her daughter’s first grade class, adding that the student body is “dwindling down.”
Several PRE parents are considering enrolling their children in charter schools — such as neighboring Franklin Academy and Somerset Acadmey’s Chapel Trail campus — to avoid future school closure scares, according to the Pembroke Pines mom.
As families scramble to pivot, Gabarrete admits the PTA has taken a hit in terms of volunteer sign ups and organizing activities to end Panther Run’s school year with a bang.
Still, she hopes the elementary school’s fight to stay open remains part of its legacy.
“I went into it knowing I’m on a sinking ship and I’m just going to try as hard as I can to gasp for air,” she said. “But I think I did my part as a mom. That’s all I can say. I don’t think I would have felt satisfied if I hadn’t tried.”
