The City of Mary Esther held a special council meeting Tuesday night to discuss the potential closure of Mary Esther Elementary by the Okaloosa County School District.

• The meeting was the city’s first formal discussion since Superintendent Marcus Chambers announced that he would be recommending closing Mary Esther Elementary and Longwood Elementary. Chambers is expected to make that formal recommendation at the Jan. 12 school board meeting.

City Manager Jared Cobb presented an overview of the situation, the timeline ahead and potential options for the council. He said an assistant superintendent he met with earlier that day indicated district officials would be willing to present their proposal and answer questions at a future council meeting.

The council directed staff to invite school district representatives to their Jan. 20 regular meeting. Cobb and Mayor Chris Stein will also attend the Jan. 12 school board meeting and the Feb. 23 public hearing where a vote could follow.

• “We need to be there the 12th, the 23rd,” Stein said.

Beyond the closure recommendation, the Jan. 12 meeting will also include a request to advertise a public hearing for rezoning student attendance areas. That rezoning proposal would affect students currently zoned to Mary Esther and Longwood elementary schools and establish new attendance zones for Edwins, Elliott Point, Florosa, Kenwood, Shalimar and Wright elementary schools. No public discussions on specific rezoning plans have taken place yet.

School background

Mary Esther Elementary opened around 1965 and currently enrolls about 400 students, down from approximately 620 in 2018, according to Cobb’s presentation. The school earned a B+ rating this year after trending upward from a C, according to a staff member who spoke during public comments.

Cobb noted that roughly 250 Florida elementary schools have enrollments between 300 and 450 students, though he acknowledged limitations in that comparison.

• “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all thriving, right? So they may not be meeting their own expectations,” Cobb said. “I certainly can’t speak to that.”

A closure would make Mary Esther the only city in Okaloosa County without a public school, Cobb said. The city’s comprehensive plan, adopted after gathering input from nearly 300 survey participants, identifies the school as “a primary neighborhood anchor” and states that “neighborhood schools are essential to maintaining community character and attracting families,” according to Cobb’s presentation.

Mary Esther residents and businesses contribute approximately $2.7 million annually to the school system, plus about $500,000 through the half-cent sales tax, Cobb said.

Why the district is considering closures

The district’s enrollment challenges stem from multiple factors. During the Dec. 8 workshop, Chambers cited the Family Empowerment Scholarship program, declining birth rates and housing affordability as contributing causes.

Mary Esther Elementary has seen enrollment decline nearly 32% over the past 11 years, dropping from 612 students in 2018 to 385 students this year. Longwood Elementary enrollment has fallen almost 27% during the same period, from 637 students in 2020 to 470 students currently.

The district reported a 452-student enrollment decline below projections this school year, representing roughly $4 million in lost funding. The number of scholarship recipients in Okaloosa County increased from approximately 1,800 last year to about 3,000 this year, according to district officials.

A 10-year enrollment forecast presented during the workshop projects continued decline south of the Shoal River, with the elementary level expected to lose approximately 1,455 students over the next decade. The north end of the county, by contrast, is expected to gain 851 elementary students.

Statewide, 45 of Florida’s 67 school districts are experiencing enrollment declines, according to information Chambers presented. Board member Lamar White noted during the workshop that the district does not receive funding for empty seats.

• “We don’t get money for empty seats, period,” White said. “We’re funded based on enrollment.”

Chambers also warned about “co-location,” a scenario where charter schools can move into empty seats at public schools — with the district bearing costs for custodial services, administration and potentially transportation.

City’s options limited

Cobb acknowledged the city has limited tools to address enrollment challenges but said officials could assist with housing policies and infrastructure.

“These are not things that would necessarily turn enrollment around overnight,” Cobb said.

Several staff members and residents spoke during the public comment period. Fifth-grade teacher Danielle Parker raised concerns about what consolidation could mean for class sizes and staffing. She said a principal at one of the schools expected to help absorb Mary Esther students indicated she would have only five openings for the 20 classroom teachers currently on staff.

• “You’re going to have oversized classes filled to the brim,” Parker said, adding that class sizes could jump from 18-20 students to the maximum 25 allowed.

Details about how students and staff would be redistributed have not been discussed publicly, as the school board has not yet held meetings on the rezoning proposal.

Adam Thompson, a former chairman of the school’s advisory committee who retired from Hurlburt Field, urged the council to engage military leadership as stakeholders.

“Education is a part of military readiness,” Thompson said. “If our families are affected, that means our aircrews going forward have more on their mind in conducting the mission.”

The roughly 10-acre school property is zoned institutional, Cobb said. Any future rezoning request would require approval through the city’s local planning agency and council — leverage Stein said the city intends to use.

“We may not be able to say, ‘no, you can’t close the school,’” Stein said, “but we sure as hell can say what you’re gonna do with that property — we’re gonna have a decision on.”