Palm Beach County’s declining school enrollment is beginning to show even in parts of Boca Raton.
Each year, the school district counts the number of students 11 days after the academic year begins. The August totals showed a drop of 5,701 students at traditional public schools—those not run by charter companies. That compares to a drop of just 1,298 students a year ago and a gain of 713 two years ago.
Previously, expansion of charter schools might have explained the decrease. Florida has been one of the most welcoming states to private charter firms. Indeed, as enrollment drops even more drastically in other counties, charter firms want to operate on school campuses rent-free. A new law allows it.
In Palm Beach County, however, charter enrollment also dropped from last year, by 260 students. Officials say the wider decline thus stems primarily from the 2023 law that allowed private school vouchers regardless of family income.
Consider that in the 2022-2023 school year, only about 4,000 students in the county used private school vouchers. Last year, the figure was roughly 20,000, and it was projected to go higher this year. The Florida Education Association, which represents teachers, has said the universal voucher program essentially is an attempt to undermine public education.
A follow-up count this month will firm up the numbers, but they likely won’t change much. Officials say the decline could cost the district $45 million in state money.
Some schools in Boca Raton show no effect yet. The new Addison Mizner and Verde elementary schools, which run from kindergarten through eighth grade, are at or near capacity. Blue Lake Elementary is at 93% capacity. Spanish River High School is over capacity. West Boca and Olympic Heights high schools, just west of the city, are nearly at capacity.
But Omni Middle, which is a feeder school for Spanish River, has just 937 students on a campus that can hold 1,417. Calusa Elementary in northwest Boca Raton, which before Blue Lake’s opening was well over capacity, has room for 1,184 and a student population of 849.
More schools to the east also are below capacity. J.C. Mitchell Elementary is at 62%. Boca Raton Elementary is at 70%. Boca Raton High School, which only a few years ago was so crowded that the district had to crack down on students attending illegally, has 2,657 students but could hold 2,936. Boca Raton Middle, which lost some students to the expanded Addison Mizner and Verde, is at 72 percent capacity.
No school in Delray Beach is over capacity. Indeed, some are way under enrolled.
Carver, the city’s only public middle school, is at 38% capacity. Atlantic, the only high school, is at 66% even with its International Baccalaureate Program. Delray Beach’s elementary schools also are underenrolled. The highest is Spady, at 73%. The lowest is Plumosa, at 63%.
In addition to vouchers, demographers recently have suggested that the rising cost of living is discouraging young families from moving to Boca Raton and Delray Beach. If so, that would help to explain some of the enrollment drop. District figures show that the number of 5 year old children in the county has not changed in a decade.
Delray Beach city commissioners fret regularly about the state of public schools. They regularly express frustration over underperformance to school board members. But there’s not much city officials can do on a grand scale.
Boca Raton’s elected officials regularly tout the city’s schools as a draw for potential residents. Policies in Tallahassee and the cost of living, though, are beyond local control.
Terra/Frisbie to revise downtown campus plan
Terra/Frisbie again will revise its plan to redevelop the 30 acres around Boca Raton City Hall.
During Tuesday’s city council workshop meeting, Terra/Frisbie principal Rob Frisbie didn’t state that explicitly. He announced only that the development team would hold a third open house from 4 to 7 p.m. this Wednesday at the Spanish River Library. Frisbie called the two earlier public events “extremely productive” and thanked residents for their input.
But Frisbie also said the plan was undergoing “a fundamental reset.” Rather than Terra/Frisbie’s lease covering all of the area, it might include just seven acres east of Second Avenue. Everything there would be private development. Everything to the west would be public, notably City Hall and the community center and possibly athletic fields.
In a news release, Terra/Frisbie said the team has heard “strong interest in relocating proposed development to the east side of the campus and maintaining the public spaces, recreation facilities and civic buildings on the west side of the campus.” The same goes for “upgrading” recreation facilities.
City Manager Mark Sohaney told me Wednesday that he expects a new version. In the meantime, the city will pause plans for a softball complex at Sugar Sand Park beyond the environmental study of the site.
In other business, the council Tuesday approved an extension of the interim agreement with Terra/Frisbie that council members approved in March.
Back then, the schedule called for approval of the final master plan this month. The extension will last until May 1. Council members have agreed to hold a referendum on the project. It will be on the March 10 ballot.
Delray Beach approves renovation of public golf course
Delray Beach is on a roll when it comes to big projects.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the city commission quickly and unanimously approved the contract for renovating the public golf course. The decision comes after several years of fits and starts. Delray Beach will finance it with a revenue bond, which does not require voter approval.
Meanwhile, work progresses on the new water plant, which another revenue bond is financing. Design work has begun for the new police station, using a property tax bond that voters approved in 2023. Construction is underway on the renovation of Pompey Park, which is a $40 million project. And last July, the city completed the new fire station on Linton Boulevard.
The water plant especially should have been done a long time ago, but constant turnover at City Hall got in the way. City Manager Terrence Moore has been on the job since August 2021. Stability is paying off.
Jessica Gray to run for open city council seat
When I wrote Tuesday about Jessica Gray filing to run for Seat D on the Boca Raton City Council, I had not been able to speak with her. We caught up Wednesday.
Gray said she first filed for Seat B against incumbent Councilman Marc Wigder. Then she withdrew and filed for Seat D, which will be open because Councilman Andy Thomson is leaving it to run for mayor. Robert Weinroth is the other announced candidate.
Gray, who founded Boca Save Our Beaches, said Wigder is doing “an OK job.” Open seats generally are less challenging for a newcomer, though Weinroth is a former council member.
“It’s the right time in my life,” Gray said of her decision. “I care deeply about this city and want to give back.” Gray is not a member of Save Boca, but she “shares many of their causes.” She would vote for Save Boca’s charter amendment, which would require a referendum on all transactions involving at least one-half acre of city land. “Development should not happen,” Gray said, “without community input.”
Regarding her mention in a lawsuit against the city over an oceanfront lot, Gray said her role involved only the landowner’s request for public records from her time on the environmental advisory board. Gray said she had her own attorney and was not represented by the city.
Boca Raton school zone speed cameras to start issuing tickets
Beginning today, speed cameras at three Boca Raton schools will issue $100 tickets, not warnings.
According to a police department Facebook post last week, roughly 1,300 drivers have received warnings for going more than 10 miles per hour over the limit during drop-off and pickup times. The warning period began Sept. 2.
The cameras are operating at Addison Mizner School, J.C Mitchell Elementary and Boca High. The department said more than half of the warnings have occurred at J.C. Mitchell. More schools will be added this year.
Some Boca residents can qualify for higher insurance discounts
Boca Raton residents who have policies through the National Flood Insurance Program can get higher discounts.
That’s because of the city’s effort to enact policies that reduce flood damage. Under the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Rating System, scores can range from 1—the best—to 10. Boca Raton is up to 5, which qualifies for a 25% discount.
