BREAKING: School Enrollment Declines to Below 14,000 in Spite of Indian River Receiving an ‘A’ District Recognition.
Dr. Moore addressed the issue in a sit down interview with The Sunshine Journal.
Ed note: It’s a school issues focus as the new board is organized following the 2024 elections.
It was a surreal moment at the October 7th school board workshop when chair, Teri Barenborg, suggested the Superintendent should be paid $250,000 a year. In her effort to ride the political winds, she wildly offered a 27% increase to go with his many benefits as being the “CEO of the school district.”
After board member, Dr. Gene Posca, brought up the raise in September, Mrs. Barenborg stated her case. She cited many of Dr. Posca’s reasons for rewarding the Superintendent - chief among them, the ‘A’ rating for SDIRC and its movement into being a Top 10 district. She said, “We’ve gone from schools that are failing to schools that are rising to the top. Thank you, Dr. Moore. I think you deserve $250,000…. the reason I say that is because I know what the market is.”
Does she know families are leaving the school district for alternatives in the market? Enrollment numbers are down to 13,935 students in K-12 classes for the Fall of 2024-2025. The Sunshine Journal met with Dr. Moore who confirmed the enrollment. It is also below the 14,245 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) students forecasted for the 2024-2025 school year by the Florida Department of Education. FTE is defined as a student who takes 6 courses of 50 minutes of instruction each day.
School choice scholarships are not the only reason for the exodus
In the last 3 years, the Florida Department of Education shows that scholarships awarded for school choice have increased dramatically. For 2022-23 school year, there were 554 funded FTE scholarships. In 2023-24 it increased to 1172. This year, it was forecasted for an additional 500 scholarships. However, Dr. Moore shared the number is 584 which is higher than projected. The last 3 years have seen well over a 300% increase for approved scholarships in Indian River County. The enrollment in the 6 additional charter schools adds 2347 students to this year’s number which is nearly 10% higher than forecasted.
With Chief Financial Officer, Bruce Green, providing real time data, Dr. Moore said, “In the middle school space, we have lost 186 kids. So the bleed is biggest in a middle school. We have to do something different. The plan of waiting to push into K-8 space over time … we may not have the time to wait. So, I am going to have to engage in a conversation with the board of saying, ‘we may need to accelerate our plans as fast as possible.’”
This urgency was made clear last Friday at the “School Innovation” event held by the Taxpayer’s Association. Dr. Moore addressed the audience concerning the future of public education in Florida. He said, “If the leaders of public education - school board members, superintendents, educators - don’t decide to innovate, they will not be in service of their community and they will dwindle away and die.”
At the Taxpayer’s Association, he shared that principals of 5th grade graduating students were assisting parents in filling out paperwork for competing private institutions. Parents don’t want to send their kids to the traditionally structured middle schools. Being reminded of his comments, he told The Sunshine Journal, “We just did our evaluation with principals. Our magnet principals and the Beachland principal all say independently - these are private individual meetings - ‘I’m starting to fill out the forms.’ The scholarship money doesn’t cover the cost of private schools … Which is to the point, parents are willing to spend a significant amount of money to avoid middle school. The same thing, at a lesser extent, happens with high schools.”
Dr. Moore mentioned that there is a bad perception about traditional middle schools. Some of it is reality that can be backed up by data. Department of Education assessments historically show that middle schools see an 8-12 point drop in student performance for ELA and Math in Indian River County.
The K-8 model is popular with parents and proven successful.
Dr. Moore pointed out that parents are wanting K-8 schools. Currently, only one school in the county, Imagine South Vero Beach is a fully operational K-8 school. Its current enrollment is 892 students with an extensive waiting list.
He noted a new private school in Fellsmere that just launched. It will be a K-8 middle school. Dr. Moore described how the people behind the project are starting with the middle school and “working backwards” to build it out. He commented, “Fellsmere Elementary is one of our top schools and one of the greatest communities in that school that you will ever, ever, ever see. But to drive to Sebastian River Middle School? I don’t think it’s bad. But for that community? It’s like you are asking them to drive to Key West.”
His comments underscore the tight knit community in Fellsmere. He added, “This new school is in a portable or old building, and they are building space, and, they pulled kids right away because ‘hey, my kid is going to be going to school right down the street.’ They have to raise the funds and they have to pay. So, we have to think quicker, faster and harder to make decisions and meet the need.”
To combat the problematic exodus from the public school system, in February, Dr. Moore went to the board to receive approval on a new K-8 classical magnet school. In his presentation, Dr. Moore acknowledged the decreasing enrollment which at the time reflected a revenue shortfall of $1.6 million annually. Yet, that amount is even more today. At the time, he said, “The only way we have to increase money is to increase students. We have been bold in embracing choice. It was one of the first things the board approved when I got here to insure we had choice across the entire system.”
However, the superintendent’s biggest encourager on the board, who has been outspoken for the classical model school at Pelican Island, ended up not voting for it in October. Board member, Jackie Rosario, cited the watered down proposal. She said, “I fully support having a classical school. It was my item, my idea, and my push. I just did not support the proposal as it was written because it didn’t plainly indicate 'classical’ in the title of the school nor did the district commit to a classical curriculum.”
Asked about the disagreement, Dr. Moore told The Sunshine Journal that as the curriculum is developed, even Mrs. Rosario will come to fully support the initiative. Mrs. Rosario remarked, “We had almost a year to properly select true classical curriculum and make a solid commitment to use it in the new proposal for the classical school. That wasn’t done. I’m hopeful though, that they will make these adjustments fast.”
Yet, that is one of the problems. Bold choices concerning the basic elements that differentiate a classical school are not being made in a timely manner. Is this how all school proposals are going to proceed in the future? The political grandstanding, arcane policies and procedures are slowing down innovation.
Furthermore, Florida’s Department of Education has not approved any curricula designed for a classical model’s implementation. State approved curriculum is paid for by state funding. If the District chooses to step outside of the state approved textbooks, it must pay for it themselves. Mrs. Rosario added, “The Dept. of Education does not recommend classical curriculum. They should. They definitely need to do better in this area. Districts become hog tied to a narrow choice of curricula, often making us choose the better one in a bad bunch.”
But what is probably more significant is the reality of how government really operates. The Sunshine Journal brought up the fact that it may take three months to put the term ‘Classical’ in the name of the school. The board’s policy on naming schools has a very lengthy process. It requires citizen input and other procedures that detractors use to share their disdain. Dr. Moore commented, “I have to follow policy and procedures which is not a bad thing. But in this case, it takes longer than it needs to.”
In closing, Dr. Moore truly believes in the mandate of choice given to public education will make Indian River County a successful school district. He started the conversation on the enrollment issue describing the work. He said, “It is an uphill hill battle to reform public education. We have to do something bold.”
He ended, “Can it happen? Absolutely, yes! But we have to be united to not work around policy, but through it. How much of this policy is hoop jumping and not aligning to statute? Public education has got some catching up to do, if it is going to truly compete.”
Let's be clear. The mass exodus is because of insane woke ideology and sexualization of children by activist teachers. Don't forget the porn in school libraries that school boards won't remove. Parents are tired of it and they are pulling their kids. Just like I did by putting them private schools.
The handful of "Porn book grandma warriors" show up are every school board mtg to perpetuate this woke perversion. Increase in parental involvement creates a bulwark push back against Marxism as evidenced by the presidential election of DJT and red nation . Private schools are often just as guilty as pushing, but quieter in their grooming style. Be mindful of all academia and get involved- the real work has just begun. Good stuff!