School board, council make deal on Beach School

By NATHAN MAYBERG nmayberg@breezenewspapers co

U n a n i m o u s v o t e s b y t h Lee County School Board and Town of Fort Myers Beach

C o u n c i l o n a n i n t e r l o c a l agreement for the rebuilding o f t h e B e a c h E l e m e n t a r y School, will return students t the school this fall.

The move was lauded by parents d board members after months of gotiations on the terms of the greement, which requires the cost-per-student at the elementary school to be lowered to the level of the other barrier island schools in the disr i c t t h r o u g h i n c r e a s i n g nrollment If costs do not go w n e n o u g h a n d e n r o l l m e n t doesn t increase enough by 2026, the public school could be turned onto a charter school per the terms of the agreement

“It’s something we can live with,” said B e a c h E l e m e n t a r y p a r e n t M o n i c a Schmucker Schmucker helped negotiate the agreement with other parents and community members as part of an ad-hoc committee

“I think it’s a win for us,” Schmucker said.

Schmucker thanked town attorney John Herin Jr for his efforts in working with the school district’s attorneys to formulate the agreement and represent the town.

Schmucker said she felt Herin was “thrown in almost blind at the beginning He worked very, very hard to listen and engage with us, understand the parents, understand the concerns, and most importantly involve the parents ”

See BEACH SCHOOL, page 12

FEMA approves $6 million in aid for beach restoration

By NATHAN MAYBERG nmayberg@breezenewspapers com

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that it approved a grant of $5,978,207 to reimburse Lee County for emergency work after H u r r i c a n e I a n a t Fort Myers Beach