Options for Hurricane Ian damaged Fort Myers Beach school presented to Lee school board
Lee school officials outlined four different options for the future of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, ranging from a full rebuild to the sale of the property and sending island students elsewhere.
No decisions were made at Tuesday's Lee County School Board workshop, which included talk of declining student enrollment, increased operational costs and the community's overall feelings toward their school.
The school, which has been closed since Hurricane Ian brought catastrophic storm surge to the island in September, was damaged by wind and flood waters, according to the district. Everything other than the structural elements will need to be removed. The mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems were also damaged beyond repair, officials said.
Closing the school entirely at this time was not the focus of discussion during the meeting.
"If we close this school now, it will not reopen," said board member Chris Patricca, whose district includes the beach school. "I do not feel good about this, what I’m recommending."
Based on the data, Patricca said she'd feel much more comfortable maintaining the property or selling it completely. However, she does not feel like the district should do that to the community.
"It would be the knockout punch, it would be kicking them while they're down," she said. "This is about kids, they can only process so much.
"I genuinely feel like this is a compromise," she said about discussion of trying to get enrollment up and potentially converting it to a charter school.
More:Fort Myers Beach community to Lee school board: Save our school
Board members asked lots of questions but there was no consensus on any of the options presented.
They discussed how to increase enrollment and lower operational costs.
Several board members expressed interest in keeping the school open for up to three years, whether in portables or at a temporary campus elsewhere and establishing benchmarks for increasing enrollment to sustain it. After Hurricane Ian, the school has only 51 students; they are going to class at San Carlos Park Elementary School.
Enrollment has steadily declined over the past 20 years. Peak enrollment was just over 200 students in the 2004-05 school year, according to the district. The school has a capacity of 223 students.
"The school is much more than a school," said board member Debbie Jordan. "I think we really have to be a part of increasing those numbers. We can't depend on the community to increase the numbers to the school."
More:Hurricane Ian's toll on Lee County schools estimated at $230 million
If enrollment does not increase substantially, the district would look at turning the school over to the community to transform into a charter school.
"I don't think it's sustainable as a traditional public school," board member Cathleen Morgan said.
Since 2018, Fort Myers Beach Elementary’s expenses have exceeded its revenue, or income generated from school enrollment.
It cost $1.7 million to operate the school in 2022, while the district brought in just over $400,000 in revenue.
On average, the district spent $8,868 per student in 2022, up from the $7,466 average in 2019. For Fort Myers Beach Elementary, that per student cost is nearly triple, at $21,243 in 2022, up from $12,487 in 2019. By comparision, the district spent $12,226 per student at The Sanibel School and $11,402 per student at Pine Island Elementary.
Superintendent Christopher Bernier will seek answers to questions, review cost estimates and set meetings with the community before coming back to the board for more discussion.
"This is a spectrum of possibilities," he said. " My recommendation is to go back to to the Fort Myers Beach community to discuss."
Here is a breakdown of the options presented at Tuesday's meeting:
Option A: Stabilize and Maintain
Estimated cost: $4.6 million
Remediate and restore the historic building
Remove all outer buildings and make site work improvements
Maintain readiness to reopen the school
Consider reopening as enrollment projections warrant
Demolish outer buildings $265,500
Site Work $500,000
Construction $2.7 million
Development Costs $741,720
Contingency $309,050
Option B: Utilize Historic Building
Estimated cost: $10.2M
Remediate and restore historic building
Remove all outer buildings and make site work improvements
Add portables for instruction, administration and a cafeteria
Use the historic building to accommodate students beginning in fall 2023
Hold site expansion until enrollment grows
Demolish outer buildings $265,500
Site Work $750,000
Construction $2.8 million
Development Costs $801,720
Contingency $334,050
Furniture, fixtures and equipment $749,538
Portable Setup Cost: $1.3 million
Porting Annual Lease: $3.1 million
Option C: Historic Building and Additional Space
Estimated Cost: $19.8M
Remediate and restore historic building
Remove all outer buildings and make site work improvements
Add additional instructional space to accommodate a capacity of 150 students
Site work for elevation and new elevated buildings to meet building code requirements
Students would not return to the school until all construction is complete. Could take 24-30 months to complete the build.
Demolish outer buildings $265,500
Site Work $1.5 million
Construction $12.6 million
Development Costs $3 million
Contingency $1.2 million
Furniture, fixtures and equipment $1.2 million
Option D: Sell the Property
Estimated Cost: $3.7M
Remediate and restore historic building
Remove all outer buildings and made site work improvements
Relocate students to neighboring schools
Sell the property and building
Land Value: $7.4 million
Demolish outer buildings $265,500
Construction $2.7 million
Development Costs $621,720
Contingency $259,050
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Beach Elementary options discussed in school board meeting
