Forest Glen Middle School enrollment falls far below Broward’s 2031 projections as Coral Springs schools face renewed closure review
Coral Springs, Florida – Forest Glen Middle School has opened the new school year with far fewer students than its building was designed to accommodate, and the decline is happening years earlier than Broward County Public Schools had expected.
The Coral Springs campus began the school year with 758 students, according to the district’s first-day enrollment figures. Forest Glen has permanent capacity for 1,627 students, meaning the school is operating at less than half of the space available in its classrooms.
The number is also below the enrollment level district officials had projected for the school as far out as 2031. That makes Forest Glen one of the local campuses facing renewed attention as Broward County prepares to restart a process that could eventually lead to school closures, mergers, boundary changes or other major changes.
The first-day enrollment figures were released after students returned to classrooms on Monday, Aug. 10. Across Broward County, the district reported losing 11,358 students compared with the previous year. Charter schools also experienced a decline, with enrollment falling by another 2,117 students, according to the district’s first-day enrollment count memo.
The numbers are not yet final. Broward officials have cautioned that enrollment can change during the opening weeks of school. The official count is scheduled for Sept. 14, and the district said that in recent years the final number has typically been within 1% of the first-day figure.
Still, the early numbers are drawing attention in Coral Springs, where several schools are operating well below their designed capacity.
Forest Glen is not the only campus with a significant gap. Coral Springs Elementary opened with 312 students in a building designed for 871. That puts the school at about 35.8% of capacity.
James S. Hunt Elementary is also below half capacity, with enrollment at 48.9%. Forest Glen stands at 46.6%.
Forest Glen’s situation is particularly notable because the school lost 234 students in just one year. That sharp decline comes as the district prepares to identify schools that may need to be addressed through its Redefining Our Schools process.
District staff are expected to present a list of campuses to the School Board on Aug. 25. The process can result in several different outcomes. A school could close, merge with another campus, change its grade configuration or have its attendance boundaries redrawn.
For families, those decisions can reach well beyond a school building. A change could mean a child attends a different campus, rides a different bus or starts the next school year with a new group of teachers and classmates.
Several other Coral Springs schools are also showing enrollment numbers that differ from previous district expectations.
J.P. Taravella High School recorded the city’s largest enrollment decline by headcount, losing 209 students. Taravella, along with Parkside Elementary and Maplewood Elementary, has already fallen below the enrollment levels the district projected for the following school year, according to district data.
The situation is not the same everywhere in the city.
Coral Springs Middle School gained 140 students and finished 157 students above the enrollment level the district had forecast. It was the largest enrollment increase among Coral Springs campuses.
Some schools are facing the opposite problem of empty classrooms. Country Hills Elementary has 796 students in a building designed for 669. Westchester, Riverside, Coral Glades High School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are also above their permanent capacity when measured against brick-and-mortar classroom space.
The uneven numbers illustrate the challenge facing Broward schools as the district deals with an overall decline in enrollment. Some campuses have large amounts of unused space, while others are operating beyond their permanent capacity.
The district’s Redefining Our Schools review is intended to address those differences, but any changes are likely to affect communities differently. A decision involving one school can reshape attendance boundaries and change where students go to class.
The School Board is scheduled to vote on recommendations Dec. 15. Any changes approved for the next school year would be followed by notification to affected families the following day, school officials have said.
For now, the first-day figures provide an early picture rather than the final word. But Forest Glen’s enrollment of 758 students has already put the school in a position that district projections did not anticipate until years later.
As Broward officials prepare to present the next group of schools for review, Coral Springs families will be watching closely to see whether Forest Glen and other campuses become part of the district’s next round of changes.
