Local

Orange County School District reduces number of portable classrooms

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The number  of portable classrooms in the Orange County School District has dropped by about half over the past decade, WFTV Channel 9's Michael Lopardi learned.

The change happened as the district built new schools, but Eyewitness News learned the portables won’t go away entirely.

Frangus Elementary is one of the last schools in Orange County made up almost entirely of portable classrooms, but not for long, because the district will remove dozens as part of a plan to open a new school.

The school board will vote Tuesday to remove more than 100 portables from its inventory.

A spokesperson for the school district said the overall number of portables in Orange County dropped from about 4,200 in 2007 to about 2,200 in 2017.

“We not only replace existing schools, but we've been building new schools in places where they're needed,” said Lauren Roth, spokesperson for Orange County public schools. “We do either have to rent or maintain our portables, so if we can move the students into a building, a facility that's been built for them, that's ideal."

The portables provide extra space in a state where class sizes are capped.

Some of the structures date back to the 1980s and are cheaper to get rid of than repair. The district said there will always be a need for portables, as long as the county keeps growing.

Removing all 110 portable classrooms could cost more than $700,000; some may be sold, depending on their condition.

Michael Lopardi

Michael Lopardi

Michael Lopardi joined Eyewitness News as a general assignment reporter in April 2015.