The 411 - News You Can Use About Broward Schools

Ask the Superintendent

Q: All the new schools are built out west. The schools in the eastern part of the county seem to have been forgotten. Why?

A: We all know that Broward County continues to grow and that growth continues to impact our schools. Currently, the District has 266,193 K-12 students, with 6,000-10,000 new students enrolling each year. While we have an aggressive 10-Year Long Range Facilities Master Plan, with this kind of growth it's all we can do to just keep up with demand.
A common misconception is that the District concentrates its efforts out west, ignoring schools in eastern Broward. On the surface, it's easy to get that impression as a majority of new schools are built out west – that's where the county is growing fastest, that's where the need for new classrooms is greatest.

But look closer and you'll see our eastern schools haven't been forgotten.

Since 1987, more than $1 billion has been spent on 108 projects – 12 new schools and 96 remodel/renovations and additions at schools east of US 441. While that is about $324 million less than was spent out west during the same time, it stands to reason as more new schools (53 total) were needed where there was the greatest growth.
When you look at how much has been spent east vs. west since 1987, and use the current enrollment figures, it breaks down to $7,529.29 per western student and $11,182.15 per eastern student.

How can that be? Well, there are many reasons, the least of which is the cost of construction per square foot out west as compared to eastern Broward.

Saying the District spends most of its construction money out west doesn't paint the entire picture. Just looking at dollars, yes, that's true – more money has been spent on western projects vs. eastern projects. But when you look at why – the cost to build per square foot, where the greatest need is and the fact eastern Broward isn't growing at the same rate as western Broward – things get a bit clearer.

The School Board has approached the 10-year plan with a global perspective. Board members have examined all of the preliminary facts and figures - and in many cases - suggested areas in which the District can save money. A final version of the plan is expected in the coming months and will be shared with the community. All schools will be addressed in the plan.

Is there still work to be done, absolutely. In fact, there are more than 100 projects either underway or scheduled at our eastern schools. But when you have the facts, to say the District ignores its eastern schools in favor of the county's western communities just isn't correct.

This is your opportunity to “Ask the Superintendent”!
We have added a new feature to the 411. Now you have an opportunity to ask Superintendent Frank Till a question. Just use the “We Want to Hear From You” form on the back cover of this newsletter. You need not fill-in your name to submit an “Ask the Superintendent.” question. Names of those submitting questions will not be used in the column, and not all questions will be selected for use.