Seven public schools in the Orange County (Florida) district could be shuttered at the end of the academic year as the school system grapples with a sharp drop in student enrollment.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the schools have been identified: Union Park Middle School and Bonneville, Chickasaw, Eccleston, Meadow Woods, McCoy and Orlo Vista elementary schools.
Each school enrolls only about half the students it has room for. Union Park, the emptiest one on the list, enrolls about 560 students on a campus meant for more than 1,400.
The potential for school closures underscores the challenges facing the district as families opt for private school using the state’s voucher program and nonprofit charter schools seek space in underused campuses.
The Orange County School Board is to meet Tuesday to discuss the seven campuses, the “impacts of declining enrollment” and “space optimization strategy.”
If the schools are closed, they would shut at the end of the school year and their students would be assigned to new schools for 2026-27.
The Orange County district’s enrollment fell by about 6,500 students this year, triggering a loss of about $50 million in state money.
The falling enrollment in Orange is part of a statewide trend. The Broward County school district' enrollment has declined by about 10,000 students.
The Orange County district has been among the state’s fastest growing school districts and opened a new elementary school in August.
But this fall enrollment fell, most notably at elementary schools. The district has not proposed closing a slate of schools because of low enrollment in nearly two decades.
