Broward County Public Schools face a crisis: They’re currently missing about 51,000 students.

And 67 out of the total 239 schools in Broward — or 28% — are operating at 70% of their capacity or less.

For some reason, families are fleeing. To address the issue, the school district is planning to close at least five school by next year.

And it’s not a problem unique to Broward.

In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, enrollment has dropped by more than 51,000 students in the last two decades, according to district records. In the 2002-03 school year, enrollment was 371,482. Last year, it was 319,612 students.

During the pandemic years, from the 2019-20 school year to the 2020-21 school year, the district’s enrollment fell from more than 347,000 to 334,400 students — a reduction of nearly 12,700 students.

So we really want to know why. We want to put faces to these numbers, and then tell the stories.

If you’ve ever left a public school in South Florida, considered it or plan to do it, please consider filling out the form below. It shouldn’t take more than two minutes.

(And if you can’t see the below form, click here.)