Before you continue with this article from The Epoch Times, I recommend reading an earlier article about the “Homeschooling Revolution” from WND News Center which adds some context. Leftist degeneracy is polluting public schools in every state, but cesspools like California and Illinois are the worst off. You know it’s bad when even Californians are sick of how degenerate their schools are and are fleeing to home schools and private schools in droves.
(The Epoch Times)—In light of steadily declining enrollment in the Broward County Public School System, district officials are preparing for the probability of closing some of its facilities.
In an initiative called “Redefining Our Schools,” Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) officials are developing possible strategies to address the district’s chronic decline in enrollment at their traditional public schools.
“Over the years, some schools have experienced significant enrollment changes, as families have moved to different areas or selected other school options,” the BCPS website states. “The District is exploring ways to reduce the number of under-enrolled schools to ensure equitable funding and instructional resources across the District.”
To involve the community in the planning process, the district has held a series of town hall meetings. The first meeting was held at Fort Lauderdale High on Feb. 8. The second was at J.P. Taravella High in Coral Springs on Feb. 15, and the third was held at Charles W. Flanagan High in Pembroke Pines on Feb. 22.
At the Feb. 22 town hall meeting, BCPS Superintendent Peter Licata informed attendees that enrollment in the district had fallen from 259,130 students in the 2004-2005 school year to 201,273 in the 2023-2024 school year.
While district officials have yet to release a preliminary list of schools under consideration for combination, repurposing, rezoning, or closure, he said the district did release a list of the 67 schools that are the most under-enrolled schools, operating at 70 percent or less of their full capacity.
With an enrollment loss of approximately 24,000 students, Broward is seeing an annual loss of $207 million to the district.
Further enrollment decline is expected.
Across the district, it’s estimated that there are 50,000 empty seats, as 68 of the district’s 332 schools are under-enrolled. Of those, 46 are elementary schools, 17 are middle schools, and five are high schools.
“This process probably should have started about 10 years ago,” Mr. Licata confessed at the Feb. 22 town hall meeting, adding, “We have some time to catch up, but we got to do it quickly.”
Methods proposed to address the decline in enrollment are to combine schools by merging the under-enrolled facilities into one school. One possibility is combining two of the under-enrolled elementary schools to create K-8 or 6-12 schools.
Another proposal is to repurpose some under-enrolled locations by turning all or part of a facility into a space to provide community services. Another consideration is selling or leasing properties to address community needs, such as affordable housing.
Closures are also possible, in which case students will be reassigned to another school.
Also considered is the idea of reconfiguring attendance zones.
‘Many Choices’
According to statistics presented in the 2024-2025 BCPS Budget Workshop on Jan. 30, attendance at Broward’s traditional public schools fell from 221,000 students during the 2014-2015 school year to 197,000 in the 2023-2024 school year, a decline of more than 20,000 students. In the meantime, enrollment in charter schools has grown, rising from 41,000 to 50,000 during that same decade.
The largest increase is the number of Broward students taking advantage of Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship—used to pay for private schools or homeschool programs—increasing to 26,000 in the 2023-2024 school year from just 3,000 during the 2014-2015 school year, more than eight times what it was 10 years ago.
Virtual learning programs are another option.
According to Public School Review, Broward’s virtual instruction program currently serves 403 students. While the number may seem small, it is a 444 percent increase from five years ago.
Homeschooling is another choice. Data compiled by Brighterly shows that Florida ranked second in the nation (22.5 percent) for the number of home-school students in 2023. Data provided by the Florida DOE showed 10,412 (around 6.8 percent) of Broward’s students were being home-schooled during the 2021-2022 school year. For the 2022-2023 school year, that number fell to 6,182. However, with the decline in enrollments and fewer students in the BCPS system, the percentage of homeschooled students dipped only slightly to 6.36 percent.
Charter schools are also drawing students away from traditional public schools in Broward.
Data from the Florida Department of Education shows that charter school enrollment has increased steadily over the past decade.
During the 2013-2014 school year, 229,428 students were enrolled in charter schools.
For the 2022-2023 school year, charter school enrollment hit 382,367 students.
More charter schools were created to accommodate the increased enrollment, growing from 658 in 2019 to 726 in 2023.
“We must acknowledge that our community’s educational needs and expectations have changed over the years and will continue to change,” Mr. Licata said at the Feb. 22 town hall. “BCPS is no longer the only option. Parents and students have many choices.”
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Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
