ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Emotions ran high during a crowded Orange County community meeting Tuesday night as parents and residents questioned district leaders about the possible closure of their children’s schools.
The meeting was the first of several scheduled by Orange County Public Schools as the district considers shutting down seven campuses due to declining enrollment. Parents filled the room at Union Park Middle School seeking answers and voicing opposition to the proposal.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Carmen Hernandez, whose daughter is a sixth-grade student at Union Park Middle School. Hernandez attended the meeting to express her disapproval of the plan.
“As a student, you look forward to growing with that friend group,” Hernandez said. “She is now bonding with friends, some of them from her elementary school. This is a community here, and we just have to stick together, but it’s very unfortunate.”
Elaine Kaufman, who lives near Union Park Middle School, said closing the campus would have lasting impacts on the neighborhood.
“It’s just a breakup of the community,” Kaufman said. “It’s not going to be the same.”
District officials outlined a proposal that would close Union Park Middle School along with Bonneville Elementary, Chickasaw Elementary, Orlo Vista Elementary, Eccleston Elementary, Meadow Woods Elementary and McCoy Elementary.
According to Orange County Public Schools, the schools are operating well below capacity due to several factors, including an aging population, declining birth rates and increased participation in school choice programs.
Union Park Middle School, for example, has a capacity of approximately 1,500 students but currently enrolls fewer than 600, district officials said.
School Board member Angie Gallo acknowledged the frustration expressed by families but said consolidation is necessary.
“I feel for them. I understand why they are frustrated. I understand why they are mad. I would be, too, as a parent,” Gallo said. “We want to do right by all these families, and we know this is hard and difficult. I wish we didn’t have to be here.”
The Orange County School Board is scheduled to discuss the proposed closures during a workshop meeting on Jan. 27.