Broward County Public Schools officials briefed the Fort Lauderdale City Commission on the district’s ‘redefining’ initiative and its phase-2 recommendations, which would consolidate Seagull Alternative High School into the Whitten Rogers Education Center and put the Seagull buildings up for repurposing.

Susan Leon, presenting for the district, said Seagull sits on the same campus as Whitten Rogers and that moving Seagull to Whitten is intended to optimize resources, protect programming and strengthen equity. “This initiative started last school year,” Leon said, and the district is now recommending consolidation that would allow the Seagull campus to be transitioned to other district or community uses.

Dr. Valerie Wanza, chief officer for the division of strategy and innovation, described Seagull’s programs: an adults-with-disabilities allocation, a long-standing teen-parent program with childcare services, and a school-of-choice pathway for students who need nontraditional settings. She said Seagull had “just under 175 students” (excluding adults with disabilities) while Whitten Rogers’ campus can accommodate up to about 1,400 students, allowing district staff to maintain programming while reducing duplication of facilities and administration.

City staff and commissioners discussed three broad reuse paths: a police and fire training facility, workforce training or community-focused reuse (including housing), and a museum-magnet school proposal from the Museum of Discovery and Science. Susan Grant of the city manager’s office noted property-appraiser figures presented: the combined Whitten/Seagull structures were listed at roughly $21 million and the site covers about 17.45 acres with an assessed land value reported in the backup.

Commissioners pressed staff on cost, timeline and negotiation strategy. Commission members said they want the city to explore leasing or negotiating access with the school board (rather than immediate purchase), and asked staff to return with options that would include: (a) potential lease terms (the mayor and one commissioner suggested a symbolic $1-per-year lease as a starting negotiating point for city interest in a training facility); (b) analysis of where training needs and community uses overlap; and (c) budget implications for repurposing or leasing part of the campus.

On the North Fork Elementary site, the district reported it had received multiple proposals — including from Junior Achievement (workforce training), United Way, and Cistrunk Rising (housing/community resourcing) — and that the board would vote on recommendations January 21. District staff said the board would hold a March workshop to review proposals and provide direction to the superintendent on desired transition uses.

A public commenter, former school-board member Heather Brinkworth, urged the city to press BCPS to preserve a neighborhood elementary at North Fork and suggested creative co-location models so an elementary school could coexist with other neighborhood-serving uses.

Next steps: staff will follow the school-board timetable, do outreach on potential lease/partnership terms and return to the commission with recommended negotiation direction and a clearer financial estimate to inform any proposal the city might make to the district.