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At the Dec. 9 Brevard School Board meeting in Viera, public comments and signs centered on the future of Cape View Elementary in Cape Canaveral.

At Brevard’s final school board meeting of 2025, parents and community members once again brought forth concerns about the potential closure of Cape View Elementary School, Cape Canaveral’s only public elementary school.

After numerous unanswered calls from the public for a town hall with members of Brevard’s school board, a small but driven group of residents took matters into their own hands: On Dec. 8, they gathered to discuss issues faced by students, parents and teachers and to craft a plan for getting voters out during the 2026 election cycle.

“With a new expansion of a state program allowing certain state-approved charter schools to co-locate in public school spaces, Brevard Public Schools is facing the possibility of having to share classrooms and resources with schools that won’t have to follow district policies.

The original livestream video, which has since been redacted to remove Gene Trent’s explicit hatred of transparency: Internet Archive

The editing of a Brevard Public Schools board meeting to remove board member Gene Trent’s explicit comment against transparency, one made on a hot mic as a public commenter addressed the board about that topic, is likely in violation of the law, according to a First Amendment expert.

“The Brevard County School Board on Tuesday discussed a controversial proposal to shut down a decades-old elementary school. The district is considering closing Cape View Elementary School in Cape Canaveral because of a decline in enrollment. If shuttered, the nearly 300 students at Cape View would be moved to Roosevelt Elementary School, about 7 miles away.” (ClickOrlando, 11/19/25)

Members of the public who rallied in the parking lot and held a food drive to benefit the school ahead of the meeting brought their grievances and concerns inside, with community members, students and parents speaking for nearly an hour in a half in support of keeping the school open.

Cape View Elementary and its potential consolidation with Roosevelt Elementary in Cocoa Beach were a significant topic among the public, with parents urging community members in the weeks prior to the meeting to come speak to the board about the possibility of keeping the school open.

Charter school operators are targeting Brevard Public Schools to co-share the public school buildings as part of the controversial “Schools of Hope” program. One operator alone filed notice to get access to dozens of schools in the county, prompting advocates to raise alarm.