declining non-charter – Miami-Dade and Broward districts have shed a large share of their non-charter enrollment since 2023, a shift that is already feeding into proposals to close or repurpose schools. District leaders point to declining enrollment, while others have linked the drop
For thousands of families, school choices can feel like a moving target. For Miami-Dade and Broward school leaders, the numbers are harder to ignore. As proposals for closures and repurposing move toward votes. the districts’ non-charter enrollment declines since the 2023-2024 school year are now stark enough to reshape next year’s campuses.
Figures compiled by the Lee County school district—shared in May as part of a “budget realignment” discussion—show how quickly the landscape has shifted across Florida’s biggest districts. The data are current as of February 2026 and cover total membership for grades PreK through 12. including non-charter students and charter students.
In Miami-Dade, the district lost 6,947 non-charter students from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025, while gaining 1,331 charter students. The pattern tightened from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026: Miami-Dade lost 15,288 non-charter students and gained 428 charter students. By February, the district reported 232,617 non-charter students enrolled for the 2025-2026 year, alongside 86,802 charter students.
Broward tells a similar story, with non-charter losses and charter gains. From 2023-2024 to 2024-2025, Broward lost 9,512 non-charter students 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 2025-2026, Broward had 185,864 non-charter students enrolled, plus 48,460 charter students.
Taken together, Broward and Miami-Dade school districts lost 38,702 non-charter students from 2023-2024 through 2025-2026.
As those enrollment trends land on school board agendas, the immediate consequences show up in how districts plan to use buildings.
Miami-Dade County could close or repurpose nine schools for the 2026-2027 academic year. The proposal will be put to a vote in June. with NBC6 reporting the board’s decision will be driven by declining enrollment. In a separate thread of the larger regional picture. the January Broward County School Board decision to close seven public schools was described by Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn as one of several “cost saving measures. ” a response he said was essential for a district that he said had lost over 40. 000 students in the past 10 years. or over $30 million in revenue.
There is also a debate over what’s behind the decline. Miami-Dade County officials pointed to changing demographics, saying the drop is due to fewer immigrant families moving to South Florida. That contrasts with a different explanation previously reported by WLRN. which attributed the dip to Florida’s expanded voucher program—one that has allowed for the rapid growth of charter and private schools. The district had 313. 220 students enrolled at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. down around 13. 000 from the start of the 2024-25 school year.
Broward, meanwhile, is already looking past the next school year. At a May 12 school board workshop, Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said the district could close more than 10 schools in the 2027-2028 academic year. His comments came after a question from board member Dr. Allen Zeman: “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 answered with “You always got the hard questions. huh. Doc?” before adding. “I don’t want to scare the public. but I would say definitely above 10.”.
Closures in Broward are part of an ongoing effort to shutter, amalgamate or repurpose campuses across the district in response to a precipitous decline in enrollment. No specific schools were named during the workshop.
The picture that emerges from the enrollment counts and the scheduling of board votes is straightforward: non-charter enrollment has been shrinking year after year in both districts. charter enrollment has generally moved upward. and leadership is beginning to respond by planning for fewer traditional campuses.
For Miami-Dade, the June vote on nine school closures or repurposing decisions becomes the next milestone in that response cycle. For Broward. the January closures of seven public schools and the prospect of “definitely above 10” closures in 2027-2028 show how quickly planning for the classroom can become planning for the building.
These choices land at a time when districts say funding is tied to student counts. and when families are weighing new options. Between February enrollment figures. reported losses of tens of thousands of non-charter students. and board meetings scheduled months apart. the signal is consistent: the districts are adjusting now. not later—because the numbers keep moving.
Miami-Dade Public Schools Broward County Public Schools school closures declining enrollment charter students vouchers budget realignment Florida education policy