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Okaloosa superintendent recommends closing Mary Esther and Longwood elementary schools; residents press for pause
Summary
Superintendent Chambers recommended closing Mary Esther and Longwood elementary schools and rezoning the South End to address long-term budget shortfalls and declining enrollment. Dozens of parents, teachers and the city manager urged the board to pause and pursue alternatives; the board did not vote to close the schools tonight.
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 currently use family empowerment scholarships; the superintendent framed those movements of students as a material loss of funding for district schools and said the district’s base-student-allocation increases have not kept pace with mandated cost increases.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE: CALLS FOR MORE TIME, LOCAL ENGAGEMENT Dozens of residents, school employees and local officials urged the board to slow the process. Jerry Cobb, Mary Esther’s city manager, asked the board to “pause, not to abandon your process, but to expand it” and requested more time for city–district conversations before the formal public-hearing momentum builds. Parents and teachers described the schools as community anchors and urged alternatives to closure, including further cuts to discretionary spending or targeted program changes. One resident presenting a petition said more than 400 people oppose closure.
STAFF ASSURANCES FOR EMPLOYEES AND TRANSITION PLANNING Human-resources director Miss Maxey told the public the HR office will “walk hand in hand” with employees should the board move forward: employees in good standing would be considered for positions for the 2026–27 school year, and HR staff would make ongoing site visits and direct communications with affected staff and families. MIS staff described a rezoning plan to distribute students from the two campuses to six neighboring elementary schools and said capacity exists to absorb additional students without projecting a large, immediate increase in class sizes.
NO FINAL VOTE TONIGHT; NEXT STEPS The board heard extended public comment and board members acknowledged the emotional and community consequences of closure. Multiple members said they recognize the difficulty of the decision but framed it as a fiscal necessity driven by demographics, state funding formulas and school-choice trends; at least one board member said they would support the superintendent’s recommendation. The board did not adopt a closure resolution tonight. Staff said a board workshop and public hearing are scheduled for Feb. 23; outreach and a communications plan would follow any action to inform families and employees.
QUOTES “There is a proposal to close 2 schools, Longwood and Mary Esther, and to rezone the south end of our county,” Superintendent Chambers said while introducing the staff recommendation. “I’m here tonight to respectfully ask that you not authorize moving forward with the public hearing at this time,” Jerry Cobb, Mary Esther city manager, told the board. “The human-resources department is going to be walking hand in hand with our employees throughout this entire process,” Miss Maxey told the packed meeting.
WHAT TO WATCH The board’s Feb. 23 workshop and public hearing, when the district plans to request board approval if it chooses to advance the closures and rezoning. Community leaders said they will seek meetings with district staff and state representatives to explore alternatives.
END The board moved on to other agenda items after the public-comment period; several routine personnel and consent items were approved later in the meeting.
