Uncertainty over future of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School
Lee County School District officials say they are considering five repair options months after closures due to hurricanes Helene and Milton
To say Fort Myers Beach Elementary School parent Monica Schmucker is concerned about the future of the building that has been empty of students since Hurricane Helene, would be a vast understatement.
Worry, outrage and anxiety over the future of a school she has worked so hard with other parents and community members to preserve since Hurricane Ian are all feelings she is still processing after months of weekly ad-hoc committee meetings with district officials, school parents and other community members to reopen the school.
The school has sat for months without any classrooms open and only some remedial work done since two hurricanes struck last fall.
After Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, the school was closed due to flood damage. Weeks later, the school district disclosed that they had also found termite damage and damage to the flooring. Since then, students from the school have been attending San Carlos Park Elementary School.
Months later, there has been no word from the school district on when the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School will reopen. Or if it will reopen at all as officials study five repair options.
That last part is the most troubling part for parents like Schmucker who banded the community together to work with the school district’s leadership and school board after Hurricane Ian in 2022 to see that the historic building was repaired. An agreement was made in which a second building would also be rebuilt once the school’s population grew again.
Yet the messaging from the school district office has been slower than parents expected since the last two hurricanes as to the timeline for repairs.
Lee County School District Superintendent Denise Carlin denied an interview request from the Fort Myers Beach Observer. Carlin was elected in November by Lee County voters to be the new superintendent of the district after Lee County voters approved a referendum making the position an elected, rather than an appointed one.
A report from a consultant hired by the district to review the school’s future is expected soon as is expected action from the school board on June 3 when plans are further reviewed. That is the last day of the school year.
The ad-hoc committee has been discussing five different plans for the school with district officials, with rebuilding and repair costs that range from $1.3 million to $15.9 million.
Three of the repair plans would take seven to eight months and cost $1.3 million to $5.4 million. Taking into account the time needed to bid out the project, construction might not even be completed until the end of the next school year. That would mean another year of students being transported to San Carlos Park Elementary School.
If the work had started quickly after Hurricane Milton, it could have been completed potentially by the end of this summer.
A fourth repair plan, with more extensive work, would take eight to 10 months, while a fifth plan would entail the construction of a whole new building at an estimated cost of $15.9 million.
Schmucker is concerned that the school district’s future is being delayed and in part decided through the hiring of the consultant. Instead of repairing the building months ago, the district is awaiting the completion of the report to mull further action.
Schmucker said the district should be abiding by an agreement that was reached between the school and the town after Hurricane Ian which required the district to also build a second building that will house a cafeteria and auditorium for students. Schmucker said that second building was supposed to be built this year but hasn’t been put out to bid while the district considers its options.
A request for a copy of the consultant’s contract was not immediately provided by the school district. As of press time, the school district had not fulfilled a Sunshine Law request submitted by the Fort Myers Beach Observer for a copy of the contract. Lee County School District spokesman Rob Spicker did not respond to a question as to whether the school board had voted to approve the consultant.
In a letter to parents, school district officials notified the community of the hiring of the third-party planning consultant. “This consultant brings a wealth of experience in school facilities planning and will help us analyze current and projected needs, assess rebuild options, and ensure that any recommended solutions align with both the values of our community and the long-term vision for the School District of Lee County. Their work will include data review, site visits, and direct input into the evaluation of rebuild options,” the letter stated.
“Now they say they have engaged an expert to study the viability of our school,” Schmucker said. She said parents haven’t been contacted by the consultant. Schmucker has a son who attends Beach Elementary School. Her daughter previously attended the school before and after Hurricane Ian.
There is concern, Schmucker said, that the district is looking to “backpedal” on the interlocal agreement the district has entered into with the town. Schmucker said recent weekly meetings with school district administrators have given her the impression the district is considering a way to “back out of the agreement.”
Schmucker, who had previously considered a run for the school board and who currently serves as the town’s magistrate, said one of the options district officials said they were considering was putting up a referendum for voters countywide to decide the future of the school. Schmucker is concerned that could be part of an attempt to close the school.
Part of the agreement deals with future growth at school. The number of students at the school was 72 before Hurricane Helene, Schmucker said. The current building is meant to house up to 80 students. A second phase of construction would house up to 150 students. Schmucker said the student population grew from about 50 students after Hurricane Ian to its present number. “They didn’t think we would get to 80 students,” Schmucker said.
Meanwhile, the district has cut costs at the school as students attend San Carlos Park Elementary School with fewer teachers and personnel. Schmucker is concerned that the new superintendent is more concerned with cutting costs than providing an elementary school close to home for students.
“Every parent wants to be back on the island,” Schmucker said.
Schmucker said parents have suggested other locations to reopen in the meantime like the Fort Myers Beach Public Library. The district has also looked into a former school building on San Carlos Island located on Lee County property.
Schmucker believes the district’s citing of termite damage at the school is “an excuse” to delay reopening. She does not believe the termite damage was caused by the hurricanes last fall. Termite damage can be found in many buildings in the region, Schmucker said. “They want to use Milton as an excuse,” she said. “The termites were not caused by Milton.”
Schmucker cited the school district’s quick actions in obtaining portable classrooms at Cypress Lake Elementary School after Hurricane Milton as an example of how the district could have acted on Fort Myers Beach.
“When they want to find a solution, they do it and do it fast,” she said.
District officials had explored using the Town of Fort Myers Beach trailers located next to the elementary school that the town will be soon be vacating to move into a new town hall.
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt told the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council last month that the district was considering using the trailers and received pushback from Town of Fort Myers Beach Community Services Director Jeff Hauge, who said the town is awaiting a $1 million matching grant it intends to use to construct a pickleball court and ballfield at the site.
Atterholt later said that he was informed that the manufacturer of the trailers “declared to our Town Attorney that the type of trailers the Town has cannot be used for a school purpose.”
Atterholt had been hopeful the trailers would be a temporary solution to letting students attend school on the island while repairs were made to the existing building. “We really tried to make the Town trailer option work. The reason given for the lack of viability was the company we lease the trailers from said the trailers were not designed for school use and they would not allow us to use them for that purpose,” Atterholt said.
School officials ultimately decided against using the trailers.
“Several key factors contributed to this decision, including the high cost of installation, the need to meet strict State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF), and the challenges of securing appropriate approvals for educational use on the site,” Spicker said in an email, which cited a letter that had been sent to parents last month.
The Fort Myers Beach Elementary School has been cited as one of the best performing elementary schools in the state over many years.
Lee County School District Board President Samuel Fisher did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
“We are in a holding pattern as the Lee County School District decides between one of five options to repair/rebuild the FMB Beach School,” Atterholt said in an email. “The lack of a sense of urgency from Lee County School District staff has many parents concerned. Given when Hurricane Milton occurred, I share their concern.”
Atterholt said he hopes the school board will take “positive action” at their next board meeting.
“We are like the forgotten stepchild,” Schmucker said. “It’s hard to believe we are this far out of Hurricane Milton and we are further away from a resolution than we were after Ian. My husband could have gone into that school and fixed it in a weekend.”
The future of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is slated to be discussed at the next Lee County School District Board meeting on Tuesday, June 3. The board will hold a workshop from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at their Colonial Boulevard chambers. The official meeting where they can take action begins at 4 p.m.
“I feel fatigued, I feel horrible for the kids and the families. We’ve been through enough. We worked so hard on that agreement and worked so hard to meet those terms,” Schmucker said. “It’s such a blow. I am in complete shock and disbelief that we are where we are.”