A last-minute addition to the Lee County Board of Education agenda Tuesday evening continues to leave the future of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School in limbo, despite an agreement between the town and the board to reopen the school by fall 2026.
The agenda item was prompted by a report received Sunday from independent consultants on the future of the school site.
The report will be submitted to that state Department of Education for review and if approved “will allow us the flexibility to do different things on the site than what we presently have available to us,” said Deputy Superintendent Ken Savage. Superintendent Denise Carlin was not present at the meeting.
Teardown of the three buildings of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is on the table. State approval would be required to raze the buildings or construct any new buildings on the site.
The school was first closed after significant damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022 and reopened briefly in December 2023, only to be closed again after damage from the 2024 hurricanes. Former Fort Myers Beach Elementary School students are being bused to Heights Elementary in Fort Myers, although enrollment in the beach school has declined since the shut-down.
Although a town and district agreement purported to have the school open by 2026, board members have considered other options at earlier workshops, including tearing the buildings down. The new consultant’s report, if approved by the state, would give them that option.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers was one who spoke in dismay over the potential of losing the school and the buildings.
Following the meeting, he wrote on his Facebook page a statement condemning the board’s apparent willingness to raze the buildings.
“We are no longer just fighting to save a school; we are now fighting to save a piece of our community’s history,” he wrote. “There is absolutely no reason to destroy a structurally sound, historic building that has survived the worst that Mother Nature could deliver, only to be taken down by those who don’t understand what it means to lose everything.”
According to the study, preserving the school would cost $3 million to $4 million. Building a new one could cost $4 million to $5 million.
“Yet in a previous meeting they admitted to spending nearly a third of that amount already on ‘studies’ and ‘maintenance.’ And they still have the audacity to call that fiscal responsibility,” Allers wrote.
He urged citizens to “Email and call every decision maker – local, state and federal.”
Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is on the National Register of Historic Places.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
