The rumor is true.
The Lee County School District plans to close two elementary schools at the end of this school year.
Tice Elementary School and Orangewood Elementary School will close if the board of education approves the measure, which will come before the board at its Dec. 8 meeting, according to an email from the district communications office.
Rumors of the school closings began circulating Tuesday, after a Facebook page for Parents for Transparency published a post about the closings attributed to an anonymous source. The school district responded to WGCU’s inquiries made Tuesday on Thursday afternoon. “Sadly, the only people hurt by the early release of this information on Facebook are the children, their parents, and the staff members at each school,” read the district’s email to WGCU.
Emails about the closure plans were sent to the families of both schools late Thursday afternoon. The reasons for the closures in both cases were decreasing enrollment and high operating costs.
Tice Elementary is located in the district’s east zone. It served 516 students during the 2025-2026 school year according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The majority of its students were Hispanic.
The school earned a C rating from the Department of Education last year.
The building dates from 1926 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Orangewood Elementary School, in the district’s south zone, served 679 students last year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Among them, 311 were Hispanic, 234 were Black, 101 were white, and 22 were students of two or more races.
The school earned a B rating most recently.
Orangewood Elementary has been open for 77 years.
Both schools are Title 1 schools, meaning a majority of the students are from low income families and eligible for free or reduced lunches and the schools receive additional federal support.
A meeting with Orangewood parents is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. at the school, according to the district’s email. A meeting for Tice parents is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the school.
Both sets of parents were informed that if the measure is approved, “district staff will work with you for the preferential placement of your child in a school for next year.”
