FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Beach Elementary has been closed since the hurricane, and parents are growing frustrated. But while that frustration is understandable, there are hard realities regarding the school and what it needs, none of which are easily – or quickly – solved.

Students still start their day at the school, but they wait for a bus instead of entering the school.

Then a bus picks them up just after 7 a.m. to drive them to their temporary school on Fort Myers Beach.

“They talk about world-class education, and do they think that it is world-class that my eight and ten year old have to get up at 5:45 every morning just to sit on a bus for two hours each way?” Erin Field said.

Field is just one of many Beach Elementary parents giving up hope.

“Six months later, I mean restaurants, bars, and businesses are back open after being completely mowed,” she said. “I know that there is a protocol and an order of things to do. But everyone else is back at their own school.”

But rehabilitating the school and the reopening of individual businesses isn’t an apt comparison. The storm destroyed everything in the school, including all mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. That damage will take millions of dollars to repair and replace.

Plus, the school had issues long before Ian arrived. Enrollment has been falling at the school for almost 20 years.

It has also been in the red operationally since long before September 28, 2022.

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

Field says although there have been plenty of meetings about the future of the school, there is no urgency to fixing it.

“The whole reason we bought our house is because of this school, and if there is no school, we will rent out our house, and we are gone,” said Field.

But is it worth spending potentially tens of millions of dollars replacing a school with a dwindling student population? And if so, to what degree? Those are the questions facing the school district.

There are three options on the table, per a school district presentation:

OPTION A: Restore Historic Building and Stabilize Campus (Estimated cost: $4.6M)
• Restore historic building, remove outer buildings, and perform site cleanup work
• Maintain readiness to reopen school with an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) as enrollment projections warrant
• Relocate students to neighboring schools with Enrollment Preference

OPTION B: Phased Elementary Campus (Estimated cost of Phase 1: $10.4M; Phase 2: $9M)
• Restore historic building and stabilize the campus
• Provide site improvements and Phase 1 of elementary campus – limited to a budget of $5.8M
• Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to complete Phase 2 as enrollment projections warrant
• If needed, relocate students to neighboring schools with Enrollment Preference
• Construction Costs for custom prototype of FMB elementary school when enrollment threshold of 150 students is reached

OPTION C: Full Portable Campus with Option to Build Elementary (Estimated cost: $24.3M)
• Restore historic building and stabilize the campus
• Provide site improvements and add a full portable campus for classroom instruction beginning Fall 2023
• Construction Costs for custom prototype of FMB elementary school for 150 students
• Interlocal Agreement regarding continued operation of school as enrollment projections warrant

The option the board has hinted at is the phased reopening.

School board members and the public are split. Some argue that the financials just are too high to rebuild. If they choose to rebuild, it will cost the school district approximately $21,000 per student.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Lee County School Board discusses rebuilding Fort Myers Beach Elementary School

But other board members say financial issues should not be analyzed as heavily, as compared to allocating funds to other schools that do not factor in damage due to Ian.

While they most likely would not have spent that kind of money to rebuild the school under normal circumstances, given the situation they are willing to spend a little more per student.

There is a school board briefing meeting that starts at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 28 to discuss the issue.

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