Miami-Dade closes – Miami-Dade County School Board voted June 17 to close nine schools and consolidate several others as student enrollment declines. The district reported 313,220 students at the start of the 2025-2026 school year—down about 13,000 from 2024-25—while officials ci
On the night of its June 17 meeting, the Miami-Dade County School Board moved to reshape local campuses—voting to close nine schools and fold students into nearby options as enrollment continues to fall.
The list of closures includes Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy. Robert Russa Moton Elementary. Parkway Elementary. Rainbow Park Elementary. and Phillis Wheatley Elementary. Other schools will not simply shut their doors; they will be merged into new grade configurations. Lenora B. Smith Elementary will be combined with Georgia Jones-Ayers Middle to become a K-8 center. Miami Springs Middle will be combined with Miami Springs Senior to become a 6-12 school. Pine Villa Elementary School will merge with Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts to form a K-12 school. Richmond Heights Middle will combine with BioTech at Richmond Heights 9-12 to form a 6-12 school.
Most of the merged schools sit near one another, but Miami Springs Middle and Miami Springs High are about a mile and a half apart—an operational detail that matters when families plan for daily schedules and commuting.
The board’s actions are tied to a larger enrollment slide. Miami-Dade County School District reported 313. 220 students at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. down around 13. 000 from the start of 2024-25. The decline has been frequently attributed to Florida’s expanded voucher program. which allowed for rapid growth in charter and private schools. Miami-Dade County officials, however, said the drop is partially due to fewer immigrant families moving to South Florida.
That debate over what is driving enrollment losses shows up clearly in district-by-district figures. Across Florida’s five largest school districts by enrollment—including Miami-Dade and Broward—statewide totals compiled from May as part of a “budget realignment” discussion show the loss of about 67. 000 non-charter students from the 2023-2024 school year through the 2025-2026 school year. The numbers, as of February 2026, refer to total membership for grades from PreK-12.
Within Miami-Dade, the district lost 6,947 non-charter students from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025 and gained 1,331 charter students. From 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, Miami-Dade lost 15,288 non-charter students and gained 428 charter students. In February, the district reported 232,617 non-charter students enrolled for the 2025-2026 year, alongside 86,802 charter students.
Broward’s numbers also point toward shifting enrollment rather than only shrinking totals. Broward lost 9,512 non-charter students from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025 and gained 68 charter school students. From 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, it lost 6,955 non-charter students and 1,328 charter students. At the start of the 2025-2026 year, Broward had 185,864 non-charter students and 48,460 charter students.
Taken together, Broward and Miami-Dade lost 38,702 non-charter students from 2023-2024 through 2025-2026.
In Broward County, the pressure is already pushing into next year’s planning. The district is considering more than 10 school closures for the 2027-2028 academic year. At a May 12 school board workshop, Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said the Broward School District could close more than 10 schools in 2027-2028 in response to a question from board member Dr. Allen Zeman.
Zeman asked: “If what we are trying to do is to create the most efficient and effective school district possible. what. in general. would be the number of schools you’d look to repurpose through this cycle?” Hepburn responded. “If what we are trying to do is to create the most efficient and effective school district possible. what. in general. would be the number of schools you’d look to repurpose through this cycle?” Zeman asked. Hepburn answered. “You always got the hard questions. huh. Doc?” and then said: “I don’t want to scare the public. but I would say definitely above 10.”.
No specific schools were named during that workshop. But closures are part of an ongoing effort to shutter. amalgamate or repurpose campuses throughout Broward County in response to a precipitous decline in enrollment. In January. the Broward County School Board decided to close seven public schools; Hepburn described those closures as one of several “cost saving measures. ” essential for a district he said has lost over 40. 000 students in the past 10 years. or over $30 million in revenue.
Back in Miami-Dade, the June 17 vote is the most immediate step for families facing a changing school map. With five elementary closures and four campus mergers that will reset grade spans—from K-8 to 6-12 to K-12—the district is effectively preparing for the next enrollment reality rather than waiting for it to reverse.
Miami-Dade schools closures Miami-Dade County School Board enrollment decline Florida vouchers charter schools school consolidations K-8 center 6-12 school K-12 school Broward school closures 2027-2028
So they’re just closing schools because people left? Cool cool.
I don’t get how “voucher program” causes kids to disappear like that. Don’t the public schools still have to fill the classrooms? Sounds like they didn’t plan right and now blaming immigrants too.
Mandarin Lakes K-8 is getting shut?? That’s the one near me. They should’ve just combined the grades without shutting the building, like merging is enough. Also how does commuting work if the middle and high are like a mile and a half apart, that’s gonna mess up schedules.
They say enrollment down 13,000 like that’s nothing. If vouchers are the reason, then why are they still acting surprised every year. If it’s immigrants, then okay but doesn’t the district still get funding based on students? Either way seems like a money problem not a “kids problem.”