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City says Broward Estates school is being repurposed, not closed; residents press for early‑learning center
Summary
Residents of Broward Estates urged the commission to oppose a district plan to repurpose Broward Estates Elementary, while city officials said the school board’s action was to repurpose the campus toward early‑learning and that funds may be available after a needs assessment.
Residents of the Broward Estates neighborhood told the Lauderhill City Commission on Monday they felt blindsided by a school‑board plan to repurpose Broward Estates Elementary rather than continue it as a K‑5 neighborhood school.
During the public‑comment period parents and longtime residents urged the commission to press the Broward County School Board to keep a neighborhood elementary school — proposing options such as adding an early‑learning center to preserve K‑5 or to use local funds for repairs. “They are closing our school,” resident Mae Smith said in public comment, “We’ve had millions allocated and they never put it in our school.”
City officials said they have been meeting with district staff and residents. Interim City Manager Kenny Hobbs said the mayor, Commissioner Dunn and the city’s intergovernmental staff attended school‑board meetings and toured a proposed early‑learning model. Zach Davis Walker, the city’s intergovernmental affairs director, told the commission: “The school is not being closed. It’s being repurposed.” He said the district had committed to a needs assessment for the campus and that some funds — including bond funds — could be programmed to the facility once the assessment is complete.
Walker said the district had pledged to retain the school’s name and to provide transition liaison services to families, including weekend meetings to review school options and tours of potential receiving schools. He added that the city does not control school‑board appropriation choices but will continue to convey residents’ preferences and coordinate community input.
Residents said they want the city to advocate for an early‑learning center on the site that would allow children to transition from pre‑K through elementary within their neighborhood, and pushed the commission to hold the district accountable for past allocations they said never reached the campus. The city manager and Walker encouraged residents to participate in school‑board transition meetings and said the city would continue communications with the district and with Broward Estates families.
