Despite steady population growth in Palm Beach County, public school enrollment is on the decline, according to a new report.
Data obtained by CBS12 News from the Palm Beach County School District’s official 11th-day enrollment count shows the district lost more than 5,500 students in a single year. District-operated schools reported 159,098 students at the start of the 2025–26 school year, down from 164,614 last year — a 3.4% decline.
Charter schools also experienced a drop, falling from 21,527 students last year to 20,773 this year, a 3.5% decline. In total, Palm Beach County schools — both traditional public and charter — are serving 6,270 fewer students than they did in 2024.
The losses are far steeper than previous years. Between 2022 and 2023, the district saw a decrease of just 131 students. The following year, enrollment fell by 2,002. This year’s plunge of more than 6,000 marks the largest shift yet.
The pattern reflects what is happening in neighboring Broward County, where enrollment has fallen by more than 10,000 students this year alone. School officials there are already weighing possible closures and consolidations in response.
Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) released its 10th-day enrollment count last week, showing a 4.7% overall decline compared to last year. The district reported nearly 11,370 fewer students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — including 10,360 in district schools and 1,009 in charter schools.
Enrollment in BCPS district schools dropped by about 5.4%, from 198,362 students last year to 188,002 this year. Individual schools saw sharp declines, including 116 fewer students at Sunset Lakes Elementary in Miramar, 247 fewer at Lyons Creek Middle School in Coconut Creek, 254 fewer at Dillard 6-12 in Fort Lauderdale, and 313 fewer at Western High School in Davie.
Charter schools in Broward also fell by 2%, with enrollment dropping from 49,555 to 48,546. Losses included 181 fewer students at Franklin Academy – Pembroke Pines High School, 132 fewer at Renaissance Charter Schools at Pines, and 288 fewer at Ben Gamla Charter School South Broward in Plantation. At the same time, some schools gained students, such as Ben Gamla Charter School in Hollywood (+287), Imagine Schools–Plantation Campus (+108), and Northeast High School in Oakland Park (+133).
BCPS’s official “Benchmark Day” enrollment count, which determines state funding, is set for Sept. 8.
Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County Public Schools also reported a steep decline, with about 13,000 fewer students than last year. Superintendent Jose Dotres attributed roughly 2,000 of the losses to declining birth rates affecting kindergarten enrollment.
“Not one teacher is going to be let go,” Dotres said, emphasizing that Florida’s funding formula ties resources directly to student headcount.
