Amanda Weber met her husband in the halls of Bonneville Elementary School when they were in fourth grade. Now her son is a second grader on the same campus.
The east Orange County school, which opened in 1961, is a nostalgic fixture in her family's story. So when she learned at a district meeting last month that the school might close next year, she was angry and sad. She quickly started an online petition to "save our beloved Orlando elementary school," which had nearly 900 signatures by Friday afternoon.
"They're choosing what they feel would be the best option for their budget or for themselves. They're not choosing us, and they're not fighting for us, and it's really disheartening." she said.
Orange County Public Schools lost 5,539 students this year and district leaders are scrambling to handle the damage, considering the closure of seven schools and hiring an outside firm to try to lure back students who've opted for private school or home school.
Besides Bonneville, the district might close Union Park Middle School and Chickasaw, Eccleston, Meadow Woods, McCoy and Orlo Vista elementary schools.
The closure news has made the district's dilemma more urgent for parents like Weber and public school advocates, who blame state policies that favor voucher programs to pay for private school education and privately run charter schools over traditional public schools.
The Orange County School Board meets Tuesday afternoon to discuss the schools, the "impacts of declining enrollment" and "space optimization strategy." If the schools are closed, they would shut at the end of the current school year with their students assigned to new schools for the 2026-27 school year.
In total, the closures would impact about 3,200 students. Each school enrolls only about half the students it has room for, according to December enrollment counts. Union Park, the emptiest school on the chopping block, teaches about 560 students on a campus meant for more than 1,400. Bonneville has 380 students in a school built for more than 930.
OCPS blamed enrollment losses -- 5,539 fewer students this year and 8,300 fewer over the last three years -- on "demographic changes in established neighborhoods," lower birth rates, expansion of Florida's taxpayer funded vouchers, and changes to federal immigration policy, which the district fears has scared away some families.
Public schools in Florida are funded on a per-student basis, and schools that operate at about half capacity or less typically do not generate enough money to be self-supporting, instead draining the district's budget.
OCPS says it lost more than $40 million in state funding this year.
"Operating schools well below capacity is not sustainable, and it limits the opportunities we can provide to students," the district said in a statement. "Our goal is to work collaboratively with families and school communities to make thoughtful and strategic decisions that strengthen educational opportunities for all of our students."
The district, in meetings last month with parents, tried to soften the blow, Weber said, framing the potential closure as "consolidation" and necessary to continue providing opportunities to all students.
"They had intentions to deliver bad news with a bow on it," she said.
OCPS has tried to bolster enrollment by hiring Caissa K12, a Tennessee-based public relations firm, to recruit back students who left the district. The school board first approved the agreement in April.
The firm claims to have brought back 1,932 students this school year, but the district did not provide additional details on how Caissa reached that figure. On Dec. 9, the school board approved an contract extension with Caissa to continue its efforts.
"None of the things we've done over the last five years has moved the needle as much as you have in one year," board member Angie Gallo said to representatives from Caissa at the meeting.
The district's decision to consider shuttering campuses comes as "schools of hope" charter schools have made pitches to move, rent free, into traditional public schools that aren't filled. Such moves are allowed under a new state law, and OCPS this fall received 53 requests.
Bonneville Elementary is one of the schools the charter companies want to occupy. If a charter school were to move into a school such as Bonneville, the district would have to pick up the bill for food, transportation and custodians despite receiving no state funding for their students.
By closing campuses, OCPS could preempt charter companies' efforts to occupy the space and avoid those expenses.
The district likely faced an uncomfortable decision on school closures either way this year, but the threat of charter school operators occupying public schools has prompted the district to expedite these decisions, school board member Stephanie Vanos said.
"We do want to move quickly, because these notices are out there," she said.
If Bonneville closes, Weber said she may have to send her son to nearby East Lake Elementary School next year, a larger school with more than 380 empty seats.
News of the potential closures prompted swift community backlash, with save-our-school petitions started by Weber and others garnering thousands of signatures.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, attended Bonneville in the late 1990s. She signed her classmate Weber's petition, and said the closures are an intentional byproduct of the state's expansion of vouchers and charter schools.
"The legislature sabotaged public education, the legislature created this crisis on purpose," she said.
Regardless of where someone stands on vouchers, homeschooling or charter schools, Eskamani said the field has been tilted too much in favor of privatization, leaving public schools behind.
"You can't have school choice without options. So when you're losing public education as an option, then that's less and less choice for families," Eskamani said.