The fallout from declining enrollment in Broward County Public Schools is being felt in many ways.
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Over the past decade, the district has lost more than 40,000 students. That led to the layoffs of 300 people, approved by the school board Monday, and the declining enrollment is causing one school to lose a teacher in a special needs program.
Parents rave about the program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, or DHH, at Tropical Elementary School in Plantation.
“Because two and a half years ago I was told my daughter might never talk, now she can say mommy, I love you, you know?” said Khrystsin Barkett, who has a daughter in the program.
There are 20 students in the DHH program, but parents tell us one of the teachers is retiring, and since the school district is not funding a replacement, next year, two teachers will try to provide the same amount of individual attention for all grade levels.
“I feel like it’s taking away the opportunity from our kids to catch up, to learn how to talk, how to listen, how to read, how to count, and everything else that this life comes with,” Barkett said.
“I think it’s gonna be detrimental for our daughter, our daughter’s overcome so much in her tiny little life so far and then they’re putting more roadblocks in front of her,” said Miles McGrane, who has a child in the DHH program.
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McGrane and his wife blame the school board, even though the layoffs approved by the board yesterday did not impact the number of teachers at any school.
“Whether it’s trickling down little by little or whatever it may be, the decisions they’re making are impacting our children and our teachers directly in the classroom,” said Kelsey McGrane.
I asked the superintendent about the concerns of the parents at Tropical Elementary.
“The schools’ budgets are totally separate from the issue we talked about yesterday,” explained Dr. Howard Hepburn, superintendent of Broward Public Schools. “If there’s a decline in enrollment in a specific program or overall in that school, that means less revenue that school is receiving, and the principal’s budget is gonna reflect the number of students that are expected to be in that school for the upcoming school year.”
Last year, Tropical had 780 students. This year, that number dropped to 729, and the school is projected to continue losing students next year. That loss of funding means the principal has to make tough choices in staffing.
However, because the DHH program is at capacity, Hepburn told us there is a chance that teaching position can be saved. It all depends on registrations for the program next school year.
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