The Okaloosa County School Board voted Monday night to authorize a public hearing on Superintendent Marcus Chambers’ recommendation to close Mary Esther Elementary and Longwood Elementary schools, citing declining enrollment, budget constraints and the impact of Florida’s scholarship programs.
- The public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, with a final vote expected that evening. If approved, both schools would close at the end of this school year, with students rezoned to six other elementary schools in the south end of the county.
Chambers opened the meeting acknowledging the emotional weight of the decision, noting his first administrative position was as principal of Longwood Elementary.
“Closing a school is never just about a building, it’s about a community, a sense of home, and the families and students whose lives have been shaped within those walls,” Chambers said. “This is not easy.”
The district has cut more than $22 million from its budget over the past two years and faces projections that the next two budget cycles will be “even more challenging,” according to Chambers.
Budget pressures mount
Chambers detailed how the district’s funding has failed to keep pace with rising costs. The state increased the base student allocation by $41.62 per student this year, down from $191 the previous year, according to the Superintendent.
However, state-mandated increases in retirement contributions alone cost $33 per student, with property insurance adding another $7.94 per student. The district provided a 1% employee raise costing $67 per student.
- “So we started with $41 of an increase to the base student allocation, and when you do just those things – and that doesn’t get into supplies and other things – that’s a deficit of $66.85 right off the bat,” Chambers said.
To break even, Chambers says the district would need an additional $342 per student in base funding. State-mandated textbook adoptions, which occur yearly, will cost about $6 million this year for English Language Arts alone, while the district receives only $1.8 million in textbook funding after charter school allocations.
Enrollment decline in south county
Assistant Superintendent John Spolski presented enrollment data showing south end elementary schools have lost more than 1,200 students over the past decade, a 19% decline.
Current enrollment at Mary Esther Elementary stands at approximately 400 students, down from 620 in 2018. Longwood Elementary has similar enrollment figures.
Projections through 2034 show the south end will lose an additional 1,455 elementary students, while the north end of the county is expected to gain 851 students.
- “We have a tale of two regions,” Spolski said. “The north end, all of that area above the Shoal River, is expanding. The south end is experiencing significant decline.”
Scholarship impact
Chambers said 5,000 Okaloosa County families currently use education scholarships, with 3,500 of those students having never attended district schools.
“That’s $45 million coming in and, in essence, going right out,” Chambers said. “Just imagine a world right now where that $45 million, or even a portion of that, was coming to public schools, what these budgets would look like.”
The district attributes enrollment decline to multiple factors beyond scholarships, including declining birth rates, housing affordability issues and expanded school choice options including micro schools and homeschooling.
Spolski noted that Florida birth rates have declined and are projected to continue dropping, particularly in south county zip codes.
- “There are less young ones living in our area, specifically in the south end, and we are not the only provider,” Spolski said.
Capital vs. general funding explained
Chambers spent considerable time addressing public questions about why the district continues building projects and installing turf fields while facing budget shortfalls, explaining the legal distinction between capital and general funds.
“Why are you building a new school and not paying teachers? Why are you doing a turf field and not paying teachers? Why are you building a classroom addition and not paying teachers or saving our schools?” Chambers said, summarizing common questions. “There’s different pots of money in the school district.”
Capital funding, which includes the half-cent sales tax revenue, can only be spent on new construction, classroom additions, maintenance and renovations, technology, buses and debt service payments, according to Chambers. He added that some maintenance and transportation employees can be paid from capital funds, but that’s limited to about $43-45 million.
General funding covers all operational expenses including teacher salaries, educational support staff, administrator salaries, benefits, instructional materials, supplies, utilities and operating expenses.
- “We cannot use capital dollars to do teacher raises,” Chambers said. “You cannot spend it on anything other than that. We have audits. Those audits dictate how exactly dollars are expended each year.”
The half-cent sales tax, approved by voters, brings in approximately $29 million annually but can only be used for the specific capital projects listed on each school’s half-cent sales tax plan.
Before the sales tax passed, the district was “20 to 25 years behind in facilities,” according to Chambers. The district used to have the oldest bus fleet in the state and struggled to make basic repairs rather than full replacements.
“We used to say we’re a school district with strong athletics, strong arts, but our facilities do not meet the level of excellence of what our students and our employees are doing,” Chambers said.
- The district has now purchased nearly 120 new buses, is building its first new school since the mid-2000s, completed roof replacements instead of patches, upgraded air conditioning systems, and renovated middle school bathrooms.
The disconnect frustrates residents who see construction activity while hearing about budget cuts. State statute dictates exactly how each funding stream can be used, with no flexibility to shift capital dollars to operational needs, according to the District.
“Approximately 85% of general dollars go to people — positions, benefits, contracts, salary, supplies, operating expenses, utilities,” Chambers said.
Community pushback
Mary Esther Mayor Chris Stein asked the board to slow the process, noting communication gaps between the city and district.
“Communications with the city over the last 10 years I’ve been mayor with the school board is not so much, hardly at all,” Stein said. “This transition, I highly recommend to do more communication with the city.”
Mary Esther City Manager Jared Cobb said the city developed its community vision plan from 2021 to 2023, identifying the elementary school as central to community character.
- “At that time, no one indicated that enrollment was a threat to the school’s future or that a partnership was needed to address it,” Cobb said. “We’re asking for this conversation, an opportunity to understand why this recommendation has come forward.”
Kelly Carlstrom, a Mary Esther Elementary teacher since 2011, questioned why the district chose schools with more secure facilities and asked whether partial property sales or converting buildings to district offices had been considered.
“Is this the only way out of the situation or the easiest in this challenging moment, bringing in the most money, the quickest?” Carlstrom asked. “What happens when all of the money is gone?”
Parent Nicole Potter said her son thrives at Mary Esther because “his teachers know him, because his school feels like a community and because he feels secure walking into that building every day.”
- “My son is not a data point,” Potter said. “He is a child who thrives because his teachers know him.”
Longwood parent Sophia Lopez described how her oldest daughter, who attended for a language delay, started a garden club this year that now has more than 20 students.
“Last week when she learned about the school closing, she asked me, ‘Mom, what’s gonna happen to our garden?'” Lopez said.
Board member responses
Board member Dr. Lamar White opened his remarks by sharing personal experiences with school closures.
“In 1963, I started first grade at the old Fort Walton Elementary School, and Mr. Max Bruner was our principal,” White said. “Our school was closed and I think there are now plans to develop that property on Eglin Parkway.”
White continued through his educational journey, noting he later attended Oakland Heights Elementary under Principal Hayes before that school also closed. The property is now the site of Home Depot on Mary Esther Cutoff.
- “Then later I was blessed to be principal of Ocean City Elementary off of Racetrack Road, and I worked with great folks and we all helped many students and families,” White said. “But today, that former school site is now a housing development.”
White acknowledged the difficulty of the moment.
“These school closures are emotional and personal for me,” White said. “Schools are institutions designed to survive as vibrant places of learning. But when they lose their customers for whatever reasons, their financial viability is undermined.”
White said the district has been hoping enrollment trends might reverse but the projections show continued decline.
“The fact is, and appropriately so, we are compelled by state law to have a balanced budget,” White said. “I dare say that none of us sought this elected post because we wanted to close schools. For me, closing schools is either the first or second of the worst things that we are called upon to do.”
- White thanked community members who came to speak and wrote to the board before concluding: “I will vote in support of your recommendation, though I know it must have been hard for you to do.”
Board member Parker Destin said he struggled to explain school finance complexities while knocking on about 4,000 doors during the last election cycle.
“Property tax collections really only cover about half the operating costs,” Destin said. “The other half comes from the legislature and the state, and that is allocated per head. If you do not have children at the desks, that money shrinks.”
Destin said the district has been “doing everything we can to bob and weave to dodge” financial problems but noted public schools face more regulations than charter or private schools while being required to educate every enrolled student.
- “We can’t afford as a community, as a state, as a country, as a society to allow that system to sputter cough and crash,” Destin said. “This is not something that any of us want to do. It is a necessity for survival.”
Board member Tim Bryant said he has visited both schools and seen “firsthand what good things are going on there.”
“What makes it tough is that we have to deal with what comes to us from Tallahassee,” Bryant said. “If we could get everybody together to go to Tallahassee and talk to our representatives to save public schools, because this is what it’s about, saving public schools.”
Chairman Linda Evanchyk, who spent 38 years as an educator before joining the board, addressed comments from speakers about students being treated as data points.
“Never in 38 years did I ever consider one of my students or any student in my area as a statistic or data,” Evanchyk said. “We are thinking about children, we are thinking about our teachers. It is personal to us too.”
- Evanchyk said the board is looking at “the big picture of our public school system” and that while the decision is “so emotional and tough right now,” the goal is to maintain the district’s long-term strength.
Statewide trend
Spolski noted that 45 of Florida’s 67 school districts are experiencing enrollment decline. Last school year, 25 Florida schools closed. This year, 50 schools either have closed or are proposed for closure, with four more districts expected to be added to that list.
Lindsay Maxey, Assistant Superintendent over Human Resources, assured employees in good standing they will have positions for the 2026-27 school year and that the HR team will visit the schools monthly throughout the process.
If approved, students from Mary Esther and Longwood would be rezoned to Shalimar, Kenwood, Wright, Elliott Point, Edwins and Florosa elementary schools. District officials said the receiving schools have capacity to absorb additional students without overcrowding or significantly increasing class sizes.
