Miami-Dade County Public Schools could close five campuses for the 2027-28 school year under a revised plan released this week by Superintendent Rafael Villalobos.

The list is shorter than the one the district posted in August, which flagged 12 schools for potential closure before Villalobos paused the process on his first day in office. The five schools now targeted are Golden Glades Elementary, Myrtle Grove Elementary, Carol City Middle, Lorah Park Elementary and Hammocks Middle, the Miami Herald reported Nov. 5.

A sixth campus, Southside Preparatory Academy, is marked for conversion from a K-8 to a K-12 school. All five targeted schools were more than half-empty, according to a state utilization-rate calculation. Most sat at 40% capacity or below, the Herald reported.

No Aventura-area schools appear on the five-campus closure list.

Another 28 schools fall under a category the district calls "advised," meaning changes are possible but no specific action has been described. Seven are in the district's North region, six in the Central region and 15 in the South region, according to the Herald.

What happens to students

Students at closing schools would move to nearby campuses. Hammocks Middle students would be rerouted to Felix Varela High, which would become a 6-12 school. Some Carol City Middle students would shift to Carol City High, also converting to grades 6 through 12, the Herald reported.

Villalobos, in a video posted to social media Nov. 4, said parents at schools on either list will receive letters soon. He stressed that a letter does not equal a decision.

"Let me be clear: receiving a letter does not mean a decision has been made, and it definitely doesn't mean a decision about your school has been made," Villalobos said, according to the Herald. "It means your school is part of a review process."

Declining enrollment drives the push

The school board approved the closure of nine campuses earlier this year as enrollment at traditional public schools continued to fall. This year's attendance numbers show 16,000 fewer students in public schools than last year, the Herald reported, a drop that could force deeper cuts.

The district's last official count in February put traditional public school enrollment around 232,000, according to Miami Herald reporting in August. With charter schools included, the total was about 319,000.

In coverage published in September, Villalobos told WLRN he wanted to pause the process to ensure transparency. "There's a lot of misinformation out there and we want to make sure that we clear up all of that misinformation and it starts with us," he said.

Broward faces its own closures

Across the county line, Broward County Superintendent Howard Hepburn issued his own final recommendations Nov. 5 to close 10 Broward schools, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. That district faces a 34% enrollment decline over two decades and roughly 60,000 empty seats, according to district data cited by the Sun Sentinel. The Broward School Board is expected to vote Dec. 15.

Miami-Dade voters, meanwhile, renewed the district's school-funding referendum on Election Day with 82% approval, as we reported Nov. 4. That measure is estimated to generate $500 million annually for teacher salaries and school safety.

The NAACP Miami-Dade Branch posted that an Attendance Boundary Committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. The district has asked families to participate in upcoming community meetings as the process moves forward.