Chamber of Commerce calls upon school board to reopen Fort Myers Beach Elementary School
The Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce has passed a resolution calling upon the Lee County School District Board and Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin to repair and reopen the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School.
The school has not reopened since Hurricane Milton in October. According to the district, approximately $600,000 has been spent on remediation and it would cost about $1.3 million at a minimum to reopen the school. On Tuesday, the school board was given a presentation by a firm chosen by Carlin to conduct a feasibility of the school in which the consultants claimed that the cost to reopen the school would be far higher without provided any evidence to back up their estimates.
Parents have immediately challenged the contents and data of the report including what they say are inflated cost per student figures and other inaccurate data.
In the resolution voted on by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce, the data in the report by the consultant Accenture is described by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce as “flawed, erroneous, and questionable.”
The firm was hired in 2023 by the school board to work as a consultant on helping to oversee construction and rebuilding projects in the district. They were given a three-year retainer with a $2.33 million contract in 2023, $2.58 contract in 2024 and $1.3 million deal this year. In April, they proposed doing the study on Fort Myers Beach Elementary School for $185,000 after being requested to do so by Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin.
Carlin has not responded to interview requests from the Fort Myers Beach Observer and did not make any statements at Tuesday’s school board meeting indicating a desire to reopen the school. She did not respond to an email through her spokesperson asking if she was committed to reopening the school.
The school board met Tuesday and held a workshop to hear the presentation and board members had mixed opinions about the future of the school, with no action taken to call for reopening the school.
The school district has an interlocal agreement that was signed in 2023 with the Town of Fort Myers Beach which requires the school to be open through at least 2027.
The following is a letter from Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce President Jacki Liszak to the school board and superintendent calling for the repair and reopening of the school:
“The FMB Chamber Board of Directors and I strongly OPPOSE the closure of our FMB Elementary School. The attached Resolution outlines the reasons for our opposition, and we know the document speaks to the feelings of our business community. In addition, we believe that the majority of our island residents and voting population feel the same way (as do many other Lee County residents who attended Beach School throughout the decades).
The Chamber and its membership stand with the Town of Ft. Myers Beach, and we back our FMB Elementary School. We respectfully request that the Lee County School District fund, repair and reopen our school as per the existing Interlocal agreement (ILA). In addition, we feel our community deserves the opportunity to rebuild our school population as agreed upon in the ILA. The FMB Chamber stands ready, along with our business partners, as promised, to do our part to promote enrollment at the Beach School and fulfill the terms of this legally binding agreement.
As always, we encourage dialogue and the use of accurate data to resolve community issues such as this.
We look forward to your support and participation in our School’s path forward and to partnering in the recovery and reopening of our Beach Elementary.”
The entire resolution voted on by the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce is as follows:
FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RESOLUTION NO. 25-01
A RESOLUTION OF THE FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
URGING THE LEE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD AND SUPERINTENDENT DENISE CARLIN TO
SUPPORT FORT MYERS BEACH ELEMENTARY AND UPHOLD THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT
(ILA) CURRENTLY IN PLACE WITH THE TOWN OF FORT MYERS BEACH.
WHEREAS, the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce is an organization that represents
businesses, residents and guests of Fort Myers Beach, Florida; and
WHEREAS, the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce is committed to advocating at the
local, state, and federal levels to improve Ft. Myers Beach’s quality of life and be a catalyst for
positive change impacting business, residents, the environment, and tourism; and
WHEREAS, the Lee County School District serves the children of Estero Island, surrounding
communities in the 33931-zip code and Ft. Myers Beach businesses and
WHEREAS, the Lee County School District is financially sound, fiscally prepared for the future
and has metrics in place to continue to serve, educate and protect the children of our island
community and
WHEREAS, the Ft. Myers Beach community is one of the largest contributors to the Lee County
School District’s Tax base and
WHEREAS, the Ft. Myes Beach community continues to recover and rebuild from Hurricane(s)
Ian, Helene and Milton and
WHEREAS, there is a legally binding ILA in place between the Lee County School District and the
Town of Ft. Myers Beach that outlines the enrollment and rebuilding plan for the Beach School
and
WHEREAS, the Beach School and the FMB community have upheld their end of the ILA,
increasing enrollment while decreasing the cost per student (metrics set forth by the Lee
County School District) and
WHEREAS, a “surprise” consultant report was initiated and completed (without community
input or knowledge) that outlines the reasons for a proposed involuntary closure of the Beach
School and recommends its closure and
WHEREAS, the results of the report and proposed closure have been based on data that is
flawed, erroneous, and questionable and
WHEREAS, the parties affected by the proposed closure (students, parents, employers, town
residents, town employees etc.) were led to believe that the closure of the beach school was
NOT on the table and
WHEREAS, the closure of the Beach School would place an extreme hardship on island
students, families, employers and staff and
WHEREAS, for Resolution NO. 25-01, the definition of Involuntary closure refers to the forced
or mandated shutting down of an institution, organization, or facility, without the consent or
initiation of those directly operating or affected by it and
WHEREAS, the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Council has voted unanimously to OPPOSE
such involuntary closure,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce does
NOT support the closure of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School (Beach School). We believe
this egregious action will cause irreparable harm to the students, residents, and broader
community of Fort Myers Beach. The closure of the Beach School will result in longer travel
times for very young students, increased costs for families and businesses, and diminished
appeal for families living on the island. It would also lead to reduced classroom time, potentially
lower test scores, compromised learning outcomes, and increased hardships related to before-
and after-school care and activities. The absence of a local school will severely hinder our
community’s ability to attract new families to live on the island and will make it significantly
more difficult for local businesses to recruit and retain top talent. Most significantly, it would
deal a crushing blow to the spirit and heart of our island community.
Therefore, we unequivocally OPPOSE the closure of Fort Myers Beach Elementary School and
call upon the Lee County School District Superintendent and School Board to honor the existing
Interlocal Agreement (ILA), fund the necessary repairs to the Beach School building, and allow
the school to reopen and rebuild its enrollment, as previously agreed.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of
Commerce on this 1st day of June 2025.
Jacki Liszak
Jacki Liszak
President and CEO
FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
100 Lovers Lane, Ste. 3E, Fort Myers Beach, Florida 33931