Fort Myers Beach Manager says agreement reached in principle on Fort Myers Beach Elementary School
School board expected to hear proposal May 12
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager Will McKannay said a verbal agreement is in place “in principle” for the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School, following negotiations he recently wrapped up with School District of Lee County Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage.
Just exactly what that agreement looks like was not divulged, when McKannay made the statement to the Town of Fort Myers Beach Council on Monday. McKannay did not elaborate when questioned following the meeting. McKannay has previously stated that negotiations were centered around the town getting the school property to start a charter school, with details hinging on whether the school district would offer the town any funds to make repairs to the elementary school or to rebuild the school. The school has been closed since incurring flooding during Hurricane Milton in 2024.
McKannay has been in negotiations since November with the school district’s administration on the town’s request for the elementary school property in order for the town to take over the operations of the school.
According to McKannay, the proposed agreement is expected to go in front of the School District of Lee County School Board at their next workshop on May 12. If approved by the board at the workshop, it could go on the agenda later that day for formal approval by the board.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council would then have to vote to ratify that agreement.
“It’s my understanding, (at) my last discussion with the deputy superintendent, the agreement in principle that he and I ended up at will be on the workshop, if everything goes well in the workshop on May 12 it will then be forwarded to their agenda that same day. I am very hopeful that it does actually happen that way,” McKannay said.
McKannay encouraged supporters of the elementary school to attend the school board meeting on May 12 to speak in support of the school.
“Anybody here in the community who has a chance to attend those meetings and speak on behalf of the town, I really encourage that,” McKannay said. “We think we have made a lot of progress and are really hopeful that the school board can see the benefits of that agreement in principle.”
School District of Lee County spokesperson Rob Spicker did not address specifics of what has been discussed regarding the potential agreement when contacted.
Spicker said “Dr. Savage does not have the authority to reach an agreement with Mr. McKannay. Only our Board can present an offer to the Town Council.”
School District of Lee County School Board Vice Chair Bill Ribble (left) and Deputy Superintedent Ken Savage speak on Friday at Fort Myers High School
McKannay said last month that he has not received any indication through his negotiations with Savage that the district is willing to give funds to the town for a charter school.
At a conflict resolution meeting in November at a Bonita Springs church between town and school district leaders, Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers proposed that the district give the town the school property and $12 million so that the town could start a charter school.
The town eventually lowered its ask.
“I don’t think there is going to be money coming to the town to help with the rebuild (for the elementary school),” McKannay said last month. “The school district, in my opinion, has decided it’s not in the best interests of the district as a whole to do that. Money has been used for other projects in the district.”
McKannay said last month that there were discussions with administrators about a compromise where the school district would deed the school properties to the town and some “in-kind monetary” funds to give the school district “what we need to start the school up again.”
Town of Fort Myers Beach Manager William McKannay. File photo
McKannay said that once that is achieved, he and the town council can go to the public and discuss “how we intend on making that happen as a town school.”
If the town goes down a public charter school route, which is what Allers has proposed, new tax funds will need to be raised as most of the funds paid by town taxpayers into the school district would continue to go into the school district’s coffers regardless of whether there is a charter school, public school or no school. The town would receive a small portion of those funds as well as some state funds for the school. Those precise figures have never been discussed by the town publicly.
The town had previously raised questions last year to the school district over how much much was spent on the Fort Myers Beach Elementary School after Hurricane Ian out of a FEMA award. District officials long held that $6 million was spent on reopening the school after Hurricane Ian though that figure was later revised to $8.1 million.
According to Spicker, the school district was awarded a loan of approximately $55 million through a state loan program after Hurricane Ian for all of the district’s schools. FEMA’s current obligated amount for Fort Myers Beach Elementary School is $12.6 million, which the district said will be used to pay back the loan, Spicker said in April.
On Friday, Spicker gave a further update on how much the district received after Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, saying “We have received $12.8 million from FEMA to cover the costs of cleaning up across the district. Insurance, the LAP loan, and District funds paid for the repairs at Fort Myers Beach Elementary.” The repairs at the elementary school, though, were minimal, and not anywhere near enough to open the school to make it operable.
The Fort Myers Beach Elementary School has been closed since 2024, after flooding after Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. According to Spicker, the school district spent $1.1 million on the school since Hurricane and $33,725 for damage from Hurricane Helene. Spicker said the district is still in the process of finalizing its claim with FEMA.
Allers had pointed to an award letter from FEMA of $18 million that was meant to cover more extensive work, though the district maintains that it didn’t ultimately receive all of those funds.
The school district has given varying estimates on the cost of repairs to re-open the elementary school, from $1.3 million to upwards of $10 million. McKannay took two tours of the building in recent months with professionals to determine the potential cost of repairing the school to reopen it. He has not yet publicly shared those estimates.
The town and school district entered into an interlocal agreement in 2023 whereby the school district agreed to rebuild the elementary school, which it did in December of that year. The agreement also required the school district to build a cafeteria building at an estimated cost of $6 million by the end of 2025, which it never did.
Last year, Superintendent Dr. Denis Carlin ordered a consultant on a multi-million dollar, multi-year contract with the school district, to undertake a review of the elementary school. The review, which was lambasted by school district parents and the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce for inaccurate figures and assumptions, recommended the school district close the school. Among those assumptions were higher costs for the repair of the elementary school based on estimates from a South Florida based consultant than the district had initially estimated through its own local, internal construction consultants.
After the town voted to begin the conflict resolution process last fall, the school board voted to forward to the state plans to raze the historical campus. The state gave the first set of approvals to start the process. The multi-layered process would be extensive and would require approvals from town, county, state and federal authorities. The Fort Myers Beach Elementary School dates back to the 1940’s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The school district had a $2.9 billion budget in the 2025-26 school year, up about $1 billion since six years ago.
Fort Myers Beach Elementary School students have been attending classes at Heights Elementary since last year. A current budget for Fort Myers Beach Elementary School was not immediately available from the school district. According to Spicker, there were 41 students attending classes there as of October. Before Hurricane Milton, the school district had approximately 70 students. There were approximately 80 students attending classes there before Hurricane Ian.
Fort Myers Beach Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization Vice President Monica Schmucker said the school district owes the town the elementary school “and more.”
Schmucker said she wants to wait and see what is presented to the school board on May 12, without knowing any details.
Schmucker said she still believes the school district owes the town a cafeteria building which was required in the interlocal agreement, which had an estimated cost of $6 million. The interlocal agreement was signed between the town and the school district after Hurricane Ian, when the district resolved to rebuild the elementary school.
“I hope that they approach this in good faith and know that from the town’s perspective, we are looking to do what’s best for the students, for the community,” Schmucker said. “If they just hurry up and let us do it (start a charter school), it’s a win for everybody. They unload what they perceive as a liability and we can move forward with what the students, the parents and the community want. If they don’t want to do it, give it to us and let us do it.”