Fort Myers Beach Council calls for mediation with school district over Beach Elementary
Frustrated by the inaction of the School District of Lee County in repairing and reopening the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council passed a resolution on Monday to initiate mediation proceedings with the district over what the town considers the district’s failure to honor the interlocal agreement that governs the operation of the school.
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said he considered the upcoming mediation a nicer word for the beginning of litigation with the district to enforce the interlocal agreement. The agreement requires that the school be opened through at least 2027.
“The administration, for whatever reason, sort of fails to appreciate what this school means to Fort Myers Beach,” Atterholt said.
Atterholt addressed School District of Lee County Supt. Dr. Denise Carlin directly in his comments. “I would just say to the superintendent of Lee County Schools: Really? Is this necessary? We have met in good faith since right after the storm for the last three years. We established a decent working relationship with the ILA (interlocal agreement),” he said. “Hurricane Milton hit and it feels as if all of our input has fallen on deaf ears since then,” Atterholt said.
“The kids are obviously not back at the school. There is no plan to have them back at the school. There is no plan at the school,” Atterholt said.
Atterholt said the town’s contribution to the coffers of the School District of Lee County, more than covers what it will cost to repair and reopen the school.
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said town taxpayers contribute $29 million annually to the School District of Lee County.
“We generate a lot of revenue for Lee County,” Atterholt said. “The people of Lee County I believe are good people. They have seen what Fort Myers Beach has been through the last three years, they have seen it firsthand. Many of them experienced similar impacts.”
Atterholt called on School District of Lee County Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin to “lead or follow the elected school board and get out of the way. We need your help. We need our school back.”
Asked for comment from Dr. Carlin on Tuesday, school district spokesman Rob Spicker said he was expecting “conversation amongst board members” at Tuesday night’s school board meeting regarding the subject.
Parents who were involved in an ad-hoc committee for dealing with the administration over the reopening of the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, have complained of what they saw as the administration’s foot dragging over the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. They feel the school, which had a budget of less than $1.5 million at the time of Hurricane Milton, was being singled out for budget cuts in a district with a $2.9 billion budget.
The delays in reopening the school has led to less enrollment in the school’s classrooms, which now operate out of Heights Elementary School. After reopening Fort Myers Beach Elementary School in December of 2023, it closed after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in the fall of 2024, sending students to San Carlos Park Elementary.
The school’s administration estimated it would cost $1.3 million to make repairs to reopen Beach Elementary School though after asking for a consultant’s report, the estimates grew to $7 million. Those figures have faced scrutiny in the Fort Myers Beach community, particularly since the entire repairs and demolition of buildings after Hurricane Ian at the school’s campus cost just $6 million and the damage from Hurricane Milton was much smaller and limited.
According to figures provided by the school district in June, Hurricane Helene resulted in more than $163,000 in damage to the school, while Hurricane Milton resulted in $641,000 in remediation and stabilization costs. Insurance has reimbursed the school district $414,000 as of June.
The council’s resolution calls for mediation at Fort Myers Beach Town Hall on Nov. 5.
The school district has 10 days to respond to the town’s request for mediation and can also respond to make their own request for conflict resolution, town attorney Nancy Stuparich said.
The meeting date could potentially change based on the district’s response, Stuparich said.
“They will have to participate,” town attorney Becky Vose said. “They are under an obligation to take this seriously and go through the process.”
Vose said the first meeting will be a negotiation, which would be followed by a meeting with a certified mediator if the dispute is not settled.
It is not yet clear what type of public participation there could be, though the meeting would be held in public.
In May, the town council voted to call on the town attorney and town manager to meet with the school superintendent to communicate the town council’s desire for the school to be reopened though that meeting did not appear to be quite effective. The school board subsequently heard from the school district’s consultant in a report that effectively recommended the closure of the elementary school and has declined to take any action regarding the school ever since.