Okaloosa superintendent recommends closing Mary Esther and Longwood elementary schools; residents press for pause

SUPERINTENDENT RECOMMENDS CLOSURES, CITING ENROLLMENT AND BUDGET PRESSURES Superintendent Chambers told the Okaloosa County School Board on Jan. 12 that he is proposing to close Longwood and Mary Esther elementary schools and rezone the county’s South End as part of a package to shore up the district’s finances. Chambers said the district has made roughly $22 million in adjustments over the past two years and that the South End elementary population has fallen “over 1,200 students in the last decade.” He said expanded school-choice scholarships have reallocated local funding away from district schools and warned the district must take “tough decisions” to remain fiscally solvent.

WHY THE DISTRICT SAYS CLOSURE IS ON THE TABLE Chambers and staff walked the board and the public through enrollment forecasts prepared with MGT and the district’s MIS team, showing growth concentrated in the North End while Central and South elementary enrollments decline. The presentation noted that about 5,000 families in Okaloosa…