Parents on Fort Myers Beach are starting to wonder if their school will ever open again. The ad-hoc committee of parents and community leaders are very frustrated with the lack of communication or plan to reopen the building from the school district.
The Beach School was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian in September of 2022 and remained closed for over 13 months before the kids returned to a huge ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration. The building was damaged again by Hurricane Milton in October of 2024 and remains closed as the school district considers what to do to repair the building. After Ian, beach school students were bused to San Carlos Elementary and that’s where they go now.
Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt, who’s a member of the ad-hoc committee, says a meeting held with the district last week was very discouraging. He said it’s clear the kids will not be returning to the beach school when the next school session begins in August. Atterholt said the district is considering 5 options to remediate the school ranging from 7 months to 18 months to repair, with cost estimates ranging from $3 million to $16 million. All 5 repair options are detailed at the end of this story.
The committee was also told a consultant would be hired to explore whether the school is viable. That’s what set committee members off. The School Board had already decided, after Hurricane Ian, in a 7-0 vote, that the school would reopen and a plan was put in place to rebuild portions of the damaged structure as long as the enrollment numbers increased to a certain level and the cost to operate the school came down. The school had worked on cutting down the cost and was making great progress on that item.
At the time Ian hit enrollment was about 50 students. By the time Milton hit enrollment was up to 72 so ad-hoc committee members believe they are keeping their end of the deal. Hiring a consultant to determine if the school is viable makes no sense to them, and, they believe, it goes against the deal the district signed.
Committee members also believe that district delays in deciding what to do will cut into the increased enrollment numbers as parents look for ways to stabilize where their kids go to school. Ad-hoc committee member John Koss told Beach Talk Radio, “We now have 66 kids. We lost 6 due to their current inaction. So we should be at 72. The last consultant they hired told them we would never exceed 40. There is no consultant who can look at this situation and accurately predict the outcome. That’s why we have an ILA.”
Following the 7-0 school board vote the agreement signed by the district and the community said: “An inter-local agreement between the town and the Lee County School district states that by 2024-2025 the district will build additional facilities on the campus to accommodate a permanent kitchen/cafe. Also, by 2024-2025 the district will improve the historic building with additional classroom space to accommodate up to 80 students. After that, the school board will design and construct additional facilities to accommodate no more than 150 students.” Hurricane Milton appears to have thrown a monkey wrench into that plan. The additional projects agreed to have not even gone out for bid as of today.
While running for election, on Beach Talk Radio, current School Superintendent Denise Carlin said the beach needed a school and she supported keeping it open. Carlin has directed staff to meet with the ad-hoc committee on a weekly basis.
PTO Treasurer and Ad Hoc Committee member Jenny Tardiff told Beach Talk Radio she was disheartened by their meeting with the district. “I personally have asked parents to have faith in our school district because I believed they were going to do the right thing – what they promised in the ILA. We have been moving forward towards our mutual “goal” in good faith. Sad that it feels like the rest of the committee wasn’t doing so. It’s hard enough to promote a school that’s on a barrier island. Now try throwing in that the building has been sitting empty for 6 months and that there are rumors everywhere that it’s never going to reopen. How are we as parents and the town supposed to combat that? Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to, and sadly, it feels like it’s on purpose, and it makes me sick to my stomach. I teach my children to be true to their word. If you say something, you do it. Period. It’s unimaginable that the leaders of our local education system are having a hard time with the concept.”
Vice Mayor Atterholt told Beach Talk Radio an option being explored now is converting the town hall trailers into a school while they wait for the district to decide on what they plan to do with the building. The town should be in their new town hall at 6231 Estero Boulevard in the next few months and they are having trouble getting out of their lease for the trailers they are in now.
The Beach School does have a new Principal. Her name is Kimberly Egdish-Baxa. We reached out to Ms. Baxa by e-mail on March 24th and asked her to come on the show. She never responded. Baxa replaced Dr. Tracy Kohler who retired from the school district in November of 2024 and took a job with the Town of Fort Myers beach as Executive Assistant to the Town Manager.
Here are the 5 options in detail the school district says they are considering.
I want to know how we had 50 kinds before Ian and now we have 70? No one is moving to the beach so how did we gain 20? Last I heard we had 10 teachers. So I guess now each teacher has 7 students. Wow, talk about an easy gig…..7 students is less than private schools. That really is ridiculous. Can’t these kids share a school with Sanibel and Captiva? Maybe Lee County needs Doge to come in and see where we can cut expenses. Town Hall now has a huge building. Can they spare a few rooms and have the school there? We have a school, a library and a town hall that should be able to figure something out to combine them. We can’t have a school that everytime there is a storm, there is damage and they have to close the school for repairs.
How many students actually reside on FMB
50 elementary students reside within the jurisdictional limits of the town of Fort Myers Beach. The Florida Department of Education strongly recommends against the operation of public elementary schools with fewer than 400 enrolled students due to the comparison between the fiscal requirements to operate a public school and the amount of funding received by the School District for each student.
400 for an elementary school is ridiculous. We had over 70 kids since Ian before Milton, with a constant increase since Ian. I mean, every family lost their home, so… that was to be expected. But that’s not a time to pull the rug out from underneath them. Beach school was the best K-5 school in the entire district. That is because it is a community school. Max capacity was always around 150 or so anyway. We were on a plan to make sure that the cost per student was brought to the same as other island schools, so it’s not more costly to keep them here than it is to send them off somewhere else. With enrollment on a constant rise and our work to manage costs better, what you’re saying makes no sense.
Save. The. School.
Almost 90 years of public schooling on the Beach.
If not, rebuild on higher elevation… maybe the highest point on San Carlos Island would work.
Seems my fine little alma mater is in Peril. The Superintendent says she wants it left where it is and reopened. We are about to see just how much drag she has with this school board.
Stay tuned.
So what happens to the land that was donated for a school only
If Lee county schools abandons their signed agreement
Does the land revert back to the family who donated that land? They best not be able to loop hole a way into profit on their side at the expense of our beach kids!!!
Like many families on the beach, we’ve spent the last two years fighting to rebuild our home and our community. The town was incorporated to represent the interests of its citizens—many of whom are families with children who attend, or will attend, Beach School.
As the previous school board said after Ian, “losing the school will be the death knell of the Fort Myers Beach community.” This school is more than a building—it’s a vital part of our island and a cornerstone of the connectivity we share as neighbors.
People if we need a school do what many other midwestern schools do. Get trailers for the classrooms that can be with proper notice removed from the area when necessary. The cost is substantially lower than any of the options mentioned and the quality of the classrooms is pretty darn nice. Jim A check with Lawrence township in Indiana they have dozens and it works. They are easily removable or can be relocated in no time.
First of all – what kind of a town is one without kids? Kids are the future of every successful community. So, the discussion should be – what is best for the kids and their families? A lot of the families that send their kids to the Beach School, don’t only live on the beach, but work here too. They are the ones that serve all the tourists and cater to everyone’s wellbeing on the island. They can only work the hours they are if their kids are close, and they don’t need to spend half their time driving. Everyone who knows the traffic on the island knows what I am talking about. So, sending them off island is an additional stress factor that needs to be calculated. The school was up to 72 students before Milton – it would most likely be closer to 80 by the end of the schoolyear with the way development is going and if the school wouldn’t be in limbo out at San Carlos Park. Outside of all emotions there are a few facts that need to be considered: After Ian, the District / Town of FMB and the parents signed an ILA. There are certain conditions and to-dos in this ILA that govern each step of the way. These include additional capacity for additional students when certain numbers are reached, and they include a cafeteria. The District has been stalling for over 170 days now in coming up with a plan for reopening the Beach School Campus – during which time, most families have put up with the commute to San Carlos Park (which is everything but close). They have entrusted the most valuable things they have – their kids – to the District and the believe that the ILA is in place to save and not break the school. It shouldn’t even be a discussion, that the District’s responsibility is to get the kids back to their campus as soon as possible. Coming up with some of these options while still bussing the kids to San Carlos Park, is not “having only the best for the kids” in mind. The way ahead is very pragmatic and should be a no brainer: (1) Get the kids back to the island to a temp campus by the start of 25/26 (2) Decide for a rebuild option within the next 2 months (i.e. before the end of the current schoolyear so, the parents know what to expect) and (3) stick to the terms of the ILA and build what was agreed so, capacity can be increased.
Beach school makes no sense with the insanity and rudderless direction of FMB – majority of homeowners with grade schools children have zero chance to maintain housing on FMB .
A private Charter school should be the goal where there is performance, accountability and skin in the game –
A public school on FMB is a complete waste of resources- start a homeschooling group – kids will benefit infinitely from ownership of their education vs being pawns in public education.
One thing you may not be aware of Marty is Fort Myers Beach Elementary is one of the highest-rated schools in the state. Thought that might be worth sharing–it’s a school worth saving!
https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/florida/fort-myers-beach-elementary-school-214858
“Majority of homeowners with grade school children have zero chance to maintain housing on FMB?” What?!
And then you also expect FMB families to pay for a private school? What?!
You think the district, who benefits quite a bit from our tax payers, don’t have to educate our kids? And we should not only pay tens of millions to the district, but then also pay for our own private school?
Wow. Ok.
After Ian, everyone agrees that they took too long to respond and bring the school back. Water was to the ceiling. Yet in April of the following year, they had a plan in place, and by summer, they had broken ground. How is it that after Milton, when the school only took on a few inches of water, it is taking them LONGER to act? How does that make sense? Is it incompetence? or is it on purpose?
The rational option is to close the school and sell the property. It doesn’t seem to make sense to have a full staff that’s necessary to run a school for a small number of students. The District as a whole would be better served to close the school.
Emotionally everyone who hàs been associated with the Beach School wants it to continue. Strategically, the Town of FMB would love to say there was a school on island.
I get all of this. However, all of Lee County pays for the schools (at least the property owners do). Most would be reluctant to support a school repair/replacement and staffing of a mini school with very low enrollment.
Well, seeing that Lee County makes more money off this Island than any other part of the county, maybe some consideration should be given to families who work and live on the island. There are neighborhoods here you know, not only bars. Estero Island is a cash cow for the county, not a cash drain.
My guess is that you don’t live on the beach. The beach is a family community. We live and work and raise kids on the beach. We need the school. My guess is that you also have no idea what has been going on with the school, the growth, the planning, the agreements in place, the zoning for that property, the fact that it is a historic building that needs to be preserved, the fact that Lee County is dishing out tens of millions to build schools because we are running out of places to put kids, and the fact that we contribute in tax money way more than that school costs – many times over. We have plans in place to continue to grow the school, and we were well on our way doing that. A lot of people put in a lot of work to see progress since Ian. The bottom line is that the district had an AGREEMENT in place to keep the school open and build out the cafeteria, and the school was to cut costs and raise enrollment so that the cost per student would be in line with the other schools. In other words, it would not cost more to send them to Beach School. The plan was in place. It was getting done. The district is not holding up their end of the deal. They used Milton as an excuse to not proceed with the planned building of the cafeteria, but that did not stop them from building on the empty land behind the historical building. The money for that building was money that they saved, on the request of the beach parents and town, by not having to put our kids in portables. They were going to spend over $5M to put our kids in rented portables after Ian, and we told them to take that money and put it into a permanent structure. In exchange, we suffered having to send our kids to San Carlos Park Elementary and worked to increase enrollment so that it would be worth it. That was THE DEAL. So you are completely incorrect in what you are saying, and that seems to be because you are not speaking from facts. You’re guessing. And you are guessing wrong. The whole idea was to make it cost no more per student than other barrier island schools. When you say “Most would be reluctant to support a school repair/replacement and staffing of a mini school with very low enrollment.” That makes no sense, because under the plan in place, the expense to educate those kids would be the same if they went to beach school as opposed to another barrier island school. We would have a combination of bringing cost down, bringing enrollment up, and/or offsetting operational costs. That was all part of the deal. But we needed the school. And we have been waiting patiently for them to do what they promised. They got insurance money and FEMA money due to our loss, and saved on portable money to our detriment. We did what we promised to do. They need to proceed with what they promised.
Option 6
Build a shared community elevated school to hurricane/flood /storm surge specifications on Summerlin rd between San Carlos and where Mcgregor comes in. The school would serve Ft.Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva. No more small schools on barrier islands. Regardless of what the storm does to the barrier islands, we won’t be repairing school buildings and grounds constantly either with our tax dollars. With this option, the children will not have to deal with being shipped off to another school during the year due to a storm.
Yes schools don’t need to be local, my kids road buses for about an hour each way morning and evening and turned out to be outstanding members of the community. CEO and EVP of separate companies.
Option #4 with option #5 budget and the school. Build affordable housing for beach employees….wishful thinking
The School District just announced they are cutting 50 employees from District and will be saving $15 million. The smallest proposed of $3.5 million here is a large percentage of that savings. 66 students can get school g elsewhere. But now 50 people are unemployed. Which one is more important? I won’t answer that but it’s the situation the district is in.