2026-09-28 - Workshop

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11:03>> Good morning everybody and welcome to

11:05the September nomber 28, 2026 workshop

11:08of the Orlando City Council. So,

11:12commissioners, the flowers smell

11:14sweeter, the sun shines brighter. The

11:18mighty Gators defeated Old Miss

11:19[laughter] on Saturday.

11:21>> It's all good.

11:24>> All right. Um,

11:27nice to have Orange County Public

11:28Schools with us, represented by their

11:32OCPS Chief Communications Officer, Scott

11:35Howitt, who spent many, many hours with

11:38me doing COVID press conferences a few

11:40years ago. So glad to see you without

11:42your mask. And then board member

11:44Stephanie Vanos is here with us as well.

11:47And I don't know the other gentlemen.

11:54>> Okay.

11:55Well, welcome. Um, today we're going to

11:58hear from them on their special millage

12:01renewal. Orange County voters first

12:03approved the one mill property tax in

12:062010 to help support essential operating

12:08expenses, and they've renewed it every

12:10four years since then. So, they are

12:12coming today to ask voters um to

12:16continue that one mill property tax to

12:18fund teacher and academic programs. And

12:20if approved, it would take effect on

12:22July 1st, 2027. and remain in place for

12:25four years. So, Scott, come on up. Or

12:28Stephanie, whichever way you want to do

12:29that.

12:30>> Do you want to

12:33I'll defer to board.

12:35>> Thank you. I'll just quickly say thank

12:36you so much for um giving us the time

12:38today to come speak to you. I think it

12:41is um so important for the school board

12:44um school district to speak in front of

12:46our county and our city today. Um, you

12:49know, I think it is is important that we

12:51work together and I know I've worked

12:52with many of you on issues with our

12:53schools and I'm really grateful for

12:55that. Um, the 1 mill is incredibly

12:58important to our budget. It represents

12:59about 11% of our budget. So, thank you

13:02again for giving us the time to speak

13:03today and I will turn it over to Scott.

13:07>> And we are broadcast on Orange TV as

13:10well as streaming on the web and we

13:12usually have several million viewers for

13:14our meetings.

13:15>> [laughter]

13:15>> should be

13:17>> not to put any pressure on. Right. So,

13:19thank you, mayor. Thank you,

13:21commissioners. We certainly appreciate

13:23uh being invited today to be here to

13:25speak before you. Wanted to um today

13:28just go over and give you uh kind of the

13:30the really great things that are

13:32happening in Orange County schools, walk

13:34you through some of the challenges that

13:35we're having certainly with declining

13:37enrollment in the budget, talk about our

13:39budget, and then the one mill um walk

13:41you through and happy to answer any

13:42questions. Of course, the hard questions

13:44will go to member Vanos, so she that's

13:46why she's here, I think. No. Um, but uh

13:48but we're uh we're happy to answer any

13:50questions related uh to the school

13:52district. So, thank you. Um so, this is

13:56our uh superintendent schoolboard. We're

13:58going to have some changes at the top uh

14:00top row of that. So, Angie Galla will be

14:02our new school board chair, and we'll

14:05have three new members. Uh Teresa Jacobs

14:08decided not to run is retiring and we

14:10have um uh the two others will be

14:13replaced. So we'll have three new board

14:14members and a new board chair. Um and

14:17Dr. Maria Vasquez will be retiring at

14:19the end of uh this school year. She'll

14:22actually help open up next school year.

14:24Her last official day will be August

14:2631st of 2027.

14:30We are the eighth largest school

14:31district in uh the United States. We're

14:34we're the fourth largest in Florida. Um

14:38if you look at just uh district operated

14:41enrollment, we're actually the third

14:43largest. We've surpassed Hillsboro as

14:46being the third largest enrollment in

14:48district operated schools. Um and then

14:51we're we're quickly approaching Broward.

14:53We were about 3,800 students behind as

14:56far as district operated. That means

14:58that the citizens here are supporting

15:00our public schools. we are in declining

15:02enrollment like they are but a lot of

15:04their uh students are taking

15:06alternatives uh other than their

15:08district operated. So uh to give you

15:10that we are an A school district. It's

15:13the third year in a row uh that we're an

15:15A. Very proud of that. That's the first

15:17time in Orange County Public Schools

15:19history and 101 A schools among our

15:23traditional schools. That is the highest

15:24number of A schools that we've had and

15:27100% of our schools are A, B, or C rated

15:31by the state. Our graduation rate is

15:3497.2%.

15:36That's up uh from 49.5% in 2000. So, a

15:41significant increase. A lot of work, a

15:43lot of uh dedication goes into that.

15:45Really getting down to the student level

15:48and ensuring that our students have what

15:50they need earlier, not later. because it

15:53used to be a lot of times they'd go

15:55through high school, they'd get to that

15:5711th or 12th grade and then if they

15:59didn't have enough credits, if their GPA

16:01wasn't there, they would just drop out

16:03or move on. And we were held accountable

16:06for the graduation rate and this was

16:07reported back in January. Uh it is the

16:10highest in the history of OCPS.

16:13Our vision and mission is B sum sum it

16:16up for you. Prepare, inspire, and

16:18empower. And that's what we do with our

16:20community partners, with our parents. We

16:22want to make sure that they have a

16:24superior academic experience and those

16:27uh boundless opportunities that are

16:30there for them. Why public school

16:31matters? Just to go through community

16:34and neighborhood based schools

16:37that um uh we have certified and trained

16:40teachers in all of our schools. Uh that

16:43is a certainly a differentiator from

16:45some of the private schools and and

16:47potentially charter schools. Um, we're

16:50nationally benchmarked and Cognney

16:52accredited. So, every year we go through

16:54the process of um of accreditation every

16:57five years. And we're going through that

16:59this year. We have the highest quality

17:01academics, arts, and athletic programs,

17:04extracurriculars, all students, all

17:07meals, uh, no charge. And it's been that

17:10way for the last three years and is that

17:12way this year. that will change next

17:14year because of some of the uh changes

17:17at the federal level when it comes to

17:18the school uh food nutrition program.

17:22We also uh have outstanding supports for

17:25special education gifted and our English

17:27language learners. Let me talk a little

17:30bit about declining enrollment because

17:32that's certainly been something that has

17:34been talked about and has had an impact

17:36not only on schools and and and uh

17:39closures that we've seen over the last

17:40year but some of the uh some of the

17:43things that we've had to do and

17:44adjustments of staffing at the school

17:46level because of the enrollment. Uh

17:48recently we talked about 98 um uh

17:51teachers, probationary teachers that

17:54were uh unassigned. Uh we're that number

17:57is down to 60. So, we've been able to

17:59work those teachers back in, but we

18:01still have teachers that want to teach

18:02that don't have a job. And so, we want

18:04to make sure that we're doing everything

18:06we can for those that are out there that

18:08want to teach our children to make sure

18:10that they do. But, let me talk a little

18:11about about declining enrollment. Give

18:13you a history. So, this includes

18:15traditional, charter, exceptional, and

18:16alternative. Going back to 2002, you can

18:19see our our um our enrollment was just

18:24uh around 60 160,000 students. And

18:28during that time there was a significant

18:30runup. We had quite a few uh families

18:32that were moving here, jobs, the economy

18:35was good and then the recession hit and

18:37you can see how the the enrollment

18:41leveled off and continued. Houses

18:44obviously housing was an issue as far as

18:47turning over. Uh during that time a lot

18:50of people um you know unemployment was

18:53uh was uh 10%. We had a lot of issues.

18:56we were losing uh funding at the state

18:59level per student uh during that time

19:02which I'll show you in a in a minute but

19:04then as we started to come out of it you

19:07saw us slowly gradually uh enrollments

19:10came back until about 2014 when it

19:13accelerated truly out of the recession

19:16and uh a lot of uh housing was

19:19relatively inexpensive compared up north

19:22again people could get uh mortgages and

19:25and things started ed to loosen up and

19:27we saw that increase. Hurricane Maria in

19:302017, we saw about 3,000 u Puerto Rican

19:34students come here from Puerto Rico um

19:38and and um into our schools which helped

19:41enrollment during that time. And then in

19:432020, the pandemic and we lost about

19:4510,000 students overnight. And uh as

19:49they started to come back post pandemic,

19:52uh universal vouchers passed in 2023.

19:55and then you saw a continued decline.

19:58Now, you would think that universal

19:59vouchers are the reasons why that that

20:02decline is taking place or that uh

20:05significant drop where we went back to

20:07189 uh,000 students. Let me walk you

20:11through some of the numbers of of what

20:14it costs and then what's happened. So,

20:16we've lost about 19,000 students since

20:192022.

20:21That's about 9.1% of our total student

20:24population. Um, if you look at the

20:27factors, there's four factors that go

20:29into that. And we'll I'll talk a little

20:31bit about that. So, you have declining

20:34births. In in 2007,

20:37I'll go ahead and show you the chart. In

20:392007, we had the highest births in the

20:41history of our country. We had more

20:43births than we did in 1957 at the height

20:46of the baby boom. Now, the birth rates

20:48were not as high as then because our

20:50population was higher, but we had more

20:52births. Ever since then, the births have

20:55been lower each year since 2007. And you

21:00can see the decline. This is CDC data

21:03that we pulled. And you can see it

21:05declined until after the recession. It

21:07went up a little and then continued to

21:10decline. and then after the pandemic

21:12went up and then continued to decline to

21:15where we're at the uh lowest birth rates

21:18in the history of our country 2024 and

21:212025. So what we're dealing with is

21:25those those kindergarteners those

21:27children will be kindergarteners in five

21:29years. But what's happened is in 2007

21:32the babies that graduated that or that

21:35were born that year graduated last year

21:37and the year before. So, every class of

21:41students that have come in have been

21:42smaller. Na nationally, we've seen that.

21:45Now, in Orange County, in Orlando, we've

21:48had um it's it's sort of been masked

21:51because we've had relatively low housing

21:54costs, a lot of people moving into

21:57Orlando, into Orange County from up

21:59north. And we've seen an in we saw an

22:02influx of that, and that was evident

22:03within the enrollment. What's happening

22:05now is the kindergarten classes are the

22:08smallest that we've seen and the each

22:11class is smaller. So, we've had very

22:13large high school classes, but our

22:15elementary uh our elementary school

22:18level has been a lot smaller. That's one

22:21reason. The second reason is housing

22:23trends. What we're seeing is a trend

22:25that's happening, and many of you may

22:27have seen this in your um in your

22:29neighborhoods. Uh people are aging in

22:31place. They're not moving out of their

22:33homes. Homes are not turning over in

22:34established areas. What we've seen as a

22:38typical pattern where individuals would

22:40buy a home, maybe a starter home, they

22:43would move into another home and it

22:44would turn over and new families would

22:46move in and new children would move in

22:48and it would repopulate the schools.

22:50We're not seeing that at the same rate.

22:52People are raising their children in

22:53their homes. They're staying in that

22:55home. They're renovating it. They're

22:57expanding it. They're putting garage

22:58apartments. They're putting additions.

23:00They may even be moving their adult

23:02children back into their home. And

23:03that's happening in some places as well.

23:06But that's also impacting some of our

23:08more established neighborhoods and

23:10schools.

23:12You can see 88 to 95% of adults 50 and

23:15older want to stay in their home.

23:17They're not interested in in in moving.

23:20Uh some of the data that we've seen as

23:22far as the turnover rates, we've seen

23:24turnover rates drop about 41% in Central

23:27Florida. um specifically going from

23:31about 40 uh homes out of a thousand up

23:34to 44 out of a thousand post pandemic to

23:37down to about 26 out of a thousand in

23:40Central Florida turning over. So you're

23:42seeing those uh the the lack of turnover

23:46in some of the neighborhoods and that's

23:47also causing the decline in enrollment

23:50in our schools. the sunsetting of

23:52temporary protective status for

23:54immigrant groups. About 2500 students we

23:57lost overnight when when the policies

24:00first went into place and about 1,200

24:02Venezuelan students uh as part of that

24:052500. So that was a big chunk of the uh

24:09of the students that we lost. We're

24:11we're looking at data right now on our

24:13Haitian students and how many uh have

24:16declined as a result of the the TPS

24:19removal for our Haitian uh Haitian

24:22families uh within um thei within

24:25Florida. And then the family empowerment

24:27scholarships or the taxpayer funded

24:29vouchers, those have caused a a pressure

24:33obviously uh specifically we're seeing

24:36it in kindergarten and first grade. a

24:38lot of your daycarees, early childhood

24:41centers, uh your uh are expanding into

24:45kindergarten, first grade, they're

24:47keeping their families in there. They're

24:49leveraging the scholarship in order to

24:51keep keep families um there versus maybe

24:54going to their locally uh neighborhood

24:57uh uh public school. And so we're seeing

25:01some of that happening as well. So, um

25:04they're they're able to leverage the

25:06VPK, the scholarship, and then and so

25:09that's some of the pressure. And then

25:11we're seeing, you know, uh various uh

25:14areas where you may see some movement,

25:16especially in the later, um elementary

25:19grades or early middle school. Um but

25:23it's like what I'm what I like to sum it

25:26up as we don't have an exiting problem

25:29as much as we have an entering problem.

25:31There's not enough individuals coming

25:33into the school system at the same rate

25:35that we've had in the past that has kept

25:37the enrollment up. So, you're not seeing

25:39those numbers that you've seen in the

25:42past. They're not exiting in droves.

25:44They're just not coming in. Whether

25:45that's kindergarten, first grade for

25:47those reasons, whether it's, you know,

25:49those that would be flying in and moving

25:51here because of jobs from other

25:53countries around the world that we've

25:54seen in the past, uh, who have who have

25:56put off those plans or hesitant to do

25:59that. or if it's the the taxpayer funded

26:02uh vouchers.

26:05Uh the impact to our budget last year

26:07was about $23 million for enrollment.

26:10This year at the school level it's about

26:13$30 million um over that that it's uh

26:17that it's reduced our budget. Um working

26:20through those obviously uh enrollment

26:23drives budgets. So the more students you

26:25have, the more money, the less students,

26:27the lower the less uh the budget. And so

26:30you adjust your staffing levels to that.

26:32Uh we've actually uh cut at the district

26:35level about eight.5 million. Um and then

26:39uh and reduced by uh 5% over the last

26:43two years in order to rightsize uh the

26:45district uh level. And then the school

26:49level uh the adjustments. We had 214

26:52teachers that were originally um

26:55unassigned as a result of declining

26:57enrollment. We were able to place all

26:59but 98 uh during the first round. And

27:02we've been able to place, like I said

27:04before, all but 60 probationary teachers

27:06that we're still working to place. But

27:09that's how we've had to adjust our our

27:11budgets. Talk about the dig district

27:13budget. 56% of the budget is local local

27:17property tax. 44% is state. This is uh

27:22this is down. It used to be closer to

27:255248.

27:26Uh the federal you can see is about a

27:29quarter of a percent. Um but generally

27:32shifting. We're not getting as many

27:34dollars from the state uh revenue side

27:37as we have in the past. Now the the

27:39taxpayer funded vouchers at the state

27:41level is a $5 billion cost to the state.

27:45Five billion with a B. And so that is a

27:49lot of money that's being deferred

27:51directed towards scholarships. They

27:54still come through our budget, the

27:56proportionate share of it, but it goes

27:58right into uh the scholarship side. So

28:02that's what we're funded. This is u just

28:05to show you the breakdown of where our

28:07dollar goes. 80 cents on every dollar is

28:09towards teaching, supervising,

28:11counseling students. 6 cents on

28:14operating, purchasing, and maintaining

28:16our facilities. 10 cents is spent on

28:19library materials, curriculum, staff,

28:21training, and 4 cents goes towards our

28:24central uh offices, fiscal services,

28:28legal, uh general administration, and

28:30technology. We have the lowest admin

28:33costs amongst the seven largest

28:35districts in Florida. So, when you look

28:37at the per student cost for

28:39administrative, Orange County is the

28:41lowest. were the 12th lowest amongst all

28:4367 districts in Florida. Here's our

28:46here's our budgeted per student just to

28:49give you a quick overview. Going back to

28:522007, pre uh pre-recession,

28:55we had some of the highest uh state

28:57funded uh uh funding for uh per student

29:01for our public schools in 2007. When the

29:04recession hit uh after the that the

29:07session that was u that ended in 2007,

29:11they brought us back into special

29:13session and reduced the per student

29:15funding by $500. and then the following

29:18session uh they reduced by another 500.

29:21Now fortunately we had some federal

29:23stimulus dollars. We were able to

29:25approve some critical needs millage

29:27through the board action but the funding

29:30at the state level continued to drop.

29:33Fortunately the voters in 2010

29:37approved the one mill special millillage

29:40which helped to increase that revenue or

29:42at least stabilize it over time. And you

29:45can see this the consumer price index

29:48line or the inflationary line where we

29:50would have been had the recession not

29:53happened and we were funded um per the

29:57uh inflationary rates over time. We're

30:00still about $1316

30:03below where we were, but we'd be more

30:05we'd be double that if it wasn't for the

30:07one mill. So the one mil helps us at

30:09least to get back to um half of where we

30:13would have been post uh post recession.

30:16Here's our millage rate. So in in two in

30:202010, our millage rates was were at 5.4

30:24mills roughly. And so over the past 16

30:28years, our millage rates have been

30:30reduced

30:32by the legislature by more than two

30:34mills. So the board does as you know the

30:37board doesn't adopt their millillage.

30:39They are told what millillage to adopt.

30:42They adopt it. The required local effort

30:44has been reduced. It was reduced uh

30:47following the recession in order to

30:49provide a tax cut um and and using the

30:53required local effort to do that. So the

30:56one mill fortunately brings back one of

30:59the two mills that have been lost over

31:02that time. But it's more than two mills

31:04that it's been reduced. It that's why it

31:06becomes even more critical to our

31:10budget. Here's how the one mill is spent

31:14uh for budgeted purposes. So our

31:17projected revenue is $255 million from

31:21the one mill. Um we're legally required

31:24to share with charters. So 28.2 million

31:27will go to charters. The remaining

31:29funding 163.4 4 million 72% is 1,842

31:36teachers. That's what's funded out of

31:38that money. Um you can see 100 uh,042

31:42instructional positions, 749 art, drama,

31:45music, uh 51 athletic coaches and uh um

31:50uh trainers. And then our recurring

31:52staff uh compensation expenses is 24% of

31:57the money goes directly towards

31:58compensation

32:00for our teachers and then teacher

32:02supplements for arts and athletics is 6

32:05million. The bottom line is 99% of the

32:08money goes directly towards teachers

32:10whether it's actual bodies teachers 1842

32:14or if it is towards their compensation.

32:17Here's I give you a little comparison

32:19between the two other large districts in

32:21Florida. So you can see our millillage

32:23generates half of what Miami Dade less

32:26than half of what Miami Dade generates

32:28and 90 million less than Broward. I'll

32:31I'll I'll draw your attention to um

32:34something that is that that we value and

32:36have here and the board's been very

32:38purposeful in Orange County is uh making

32:42sure that we're funding those

32:43non-classroom school-based

32:45instructional. We have 2965

32:49of those positions that are funded that

32:51are directly supporting students and

32:52teachers at the school level in the

32:54classroom. That's 562 less than Miami

32:58Dade and a,062

33:00less than Broward. And our average

33:02teacher salary recurring teacher salary

33:05here in Orange County is higher than

33:07both Miami date and Broward. It's

33:09$60,000 uh dollars is the recurring uh

33:12average teacher salary.

33:15special millage election results since

33:172010. Uh 54% approval 2010 and no uh in

33:21November of 2014 76%

33:2584% in 2018 and 82%. We've been very

33:29grateful to the voters of Orange County

33:31and the support that they've had for our

33:34schools, for our teachers, for our

33:36students, and [clears throat] the

33:37student programs that this supports. Uh

33:40this is the ballot language. Uh

33:42compensating teachers and educational

33:44support employees which is our those

33:47individuals those pair professionals um

33:49school supports preserving academic

33:52programs, arts, athletics and student

33:55activities and it will be on the

33:57November 3rd ballot. Um it the cost to

34:01this is a continuation. So the cost of

34:03the current homeowner that has a median

34:05assessed home of 355,000 is $28 a month.

34:10Um it's it's not going to be more. This

34:13is what they're paying now if that's

34:15their uh value. We're just asking the

34:17board is asking for a continuation of of

34:21that. And you all know these dates very

34:23well. Um want to make sure that the

34:27those two million viewers that are

34:28watching us right now also know the

34:30dates to make sure that they're aware.

34:32So um uh we we will be sharing this

34:35between now and election day. and uh I

34:38am the chief communications officer. So

34:40if you're not following us on social

34:41media, there's our social media channels

34:43and some of the positive news stories

34:45that are coming out of Orange County

34:46that we uh that we share through the

34:49slice. Um wanted to share that as well

34:52and happy to answer any questions. Thank

34:53you, Mayor. I appreciate your time.

34:55>> Okay. Thank you for the presentation.

34:57Um, you know, I I'm enlightened with

35:00that because I thought the vouchers are

35:03the had more to do with the uh declining

35:07enrollment than the other factors that

35:09you called out. And so [clears throat]

35:11that's definitely interesting to me on

35:13that. How many total teachers do you

35:15guys have?

35:16>> 13,000 teachers.

35:18>> 13,000. Okay. Commissioner Rose and

35:21Commissioner Sheen, Commissioner Chap

35:22and Commissioner Burns. Commissioner

35:23Rose.

35:24>> Thank you, Scott, for your presentation.

35:25I do have a couple of questions. So

35:28ultimately we're in competition with

35:30charter and private schools. Is OCPS

35:32planning to make adjustment in classroom

35:34sizes to meet the needs of the parents?

35:36Because I hear it often and as a public

35:39school parent like I go through the same

35:40thing. Um is there a a goal or a desire

35:44to lower the classroom sizes so that we

35:46can start meeting the needs of those

35:49parents who are taking their children

35:50out of public school setting because of

35:52this the classroom sizes? I I it's a

35:55good good question, Commissioner Rose.

35:57Thank you. Um I think it's important for

35:59everyone to know that we still hold and

36:02value the um the the ratios for our for

36:06our classes. So 18 to1, 18 12:1, uh 22,

36:1222 and a half to one, 25 and a half to

36:15one for each of the levels that we're

36:17talking about. So when we're budgeting,

36:19that's what we're budgeting to within

36:20our core classes. So when you're looking

36:22at uh you know your grade level

36:25elementary schools uh they're they're

36:27budgeting at that. Will a will a

36:29kindergarten teacher have 19 in a class?

36:31Yes, possibly. Will they have 17 in a

36:34class? Possibly. But the goal is to keep

36:37them budgeted at at that 18 to one all

36:40the way up. And then fourth through 8th

36:42grade is 22 to one and then 9 to 12 is

36:4525 to1 for the core classes. Now, some

36:47of the elective classes are larger and

36:50and need to do that in order to leverage

36:52some of the uh you know, some of the

36:54decline in in in budgets and so forth,

36:56but try to keep that uh that where it

36:59is. And granted, some other uh models

37:02when you don't have certified teachers

37:04and you're not paying them at at the

37:06highest uh level that they are, they can

37:09afford to maybe have smaller class

37:11sizes. when you have uh maybe somebody

37:13who's uh not a certified teacher but is

37:16a facilitator or trained, they can maybe

37:18pay them less. But when when we when all

37:21of our teachers are certified, they're

37:23all trained and they're getting paid at

37:25a certain level as we're required to do

37:28per our contract, then we try to budget

37:30within those parameters.

37:32>> Okay. Thank you. And then the last

37:33question I have, um so I noticed that a

37:36portion of the budget was talking about

37:38specialized needs for our kids. How much

37:40dollars comes from the state do we

37:42receive for those special services? So

37:44our IEP students and all of their their

37:46social needs.

37:47>> So it it depends on it depends on u

37:50which level. I mean we have uh different

37:52levels of funding. We have a ESSE

37:54guarantee that comes through based on if

37:57a student has exceptional uh needs but

37:59not at a level where they need

38:01significant uh additional services.

38:04those that do, we get funded at a at a

38:07higher level uh than than the basic. So,

38:11every student gets a base student

38:12allocation and then they get the add-ons

38:15based on what their uh potential

38:17disability or special need is and then

38:19that gets uh that gets funded uh through

38:22the budget.

38:23>> You're welcome,

38:24>> Commissioner Sheen.

38:26>> Uh thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the

38:28presentation and I just want to thank um

38:30board member Vanos for being very

38:31transparent and coming to meetings and

38:32she takes her beatings well at the

38:34neighborhood meetings. So, thank you

38:35very much. Um although there are some

38:38there are some real concerns at the

38:39neighborhood level. Um the highest part

38:42of people's property taxes are school

38:43taxes which aren't going to be impacted

38:46by this amendment and we're concerned as

38:47a local government that you know the

38:49perception is that taxes are going to go

38:51down precipitously which they won't and

38:53it's you know now I'm a senior over 65

38:56never had children. I've paid the

38:57highest part of my property taxes has

38:59been for schools and I want to pay my

39:01part of my social freight. But that's

39:03the frustration is that, you know,

39:05schools aren't going to be impacted by

39:07this. But, you know, the rest of our

39:09services are and, you know, it's going

39:11to be a substantial hit to to Orlando.

39:13So, I'm just concerned about that

39:15because people think, oh, if they don't

39:17read their tax bill, they think, oh, I'm

39:19going to be getting this huge decrease.

39:20And that's just really not true because

39:22the majority of their, you know, taxes,

39:25our school taxes, which aren't going to

39:26be impacted. I'm I'm glad for that, but

39:28I wish they would have exempted us too

39:30or come up with something that was more

39:32fair, which I think the original, you

39:34know, plan was over 65, you don't pay

39:36school taxes anymore, which morphed into

39:38this crazy cuts, you know, to local

39:41government. So, you know, and again, as

39:43someone over 65 who's never had kids,

39:45you know, we're not come, we're not, you

39:46know, we're not putting kids in school.

39:48and I don't understand why should we we

39:50should have to pay that. But I think

39:51that was like the only fair,

39:53>> you know, thing they came up with and

39:55that's the that's the first thing that

39:56was off the table. So, um, something

40:00that I'm noticing in my district is that

40:02we're going away from the community

40:03scale schools. We're doing the larger

40:05schools. And I know that was supposedly

40:07to to to save on administrators and

40:10different things like that. We have more

40:11kids, but we have larger we have larger

40:15schools. So, I'm wondering if we're

40:17saving money by having the larger

40:19schools, why is it that the teachers are

40:22complaining about compensations and

40:24different things like that? I thought

40:25that these larger schools were supposed

40:27to make it more efficient, yet the

40:29teachers are complaining about their

40:31their your um you know, insurance and

40:34stuff being cut. So, I don't understand

40:36what's happening. What's the disconnect?

40:37if the idea was to be have the larger

40:40schools for them to be more coste

40:42effective, why are the teachers taking

40:44that hit?

40:47So, all great questions. I' I'd like to

40:51kind of um go back to the original um

40:55statements about the millage rates and

40:57what's happening. And it's not lost on

40:59us, the impact that amendment three is

41:01going to have on uh local government and

41:03what's happening and that we were pulled

41:05out of that. I think one of the things

41:08uh one of the points to um ensure that

41:11people understand that if they and and

41:13part of the disparity that's happened is

41:16if you look at your trim notice going

41:18back to 2010 so prior to um the our roll

41:24back in millillage and you look at the

41:26caps the 3% caps your trim notice

41:29probably for the RLE the required local

41:32effort because of the caps and because

41:33of the over 2 mill roll back excluding

41:36the special millage. If you look, you're

41:39probably paying the same amount in real

41:40dollars today as you were in 2010

41:44>> because of that. So, so that causes the

41:47disparity between the homeowner that's

41:50owned prior to 2010 and the one that's

41:52moving in, the brand new homeowner who's

41:54never owned before. And that's causing

41:57the issue for us. Obviously, the

41:59investment in a system of public schools

42:02has been important. I think to your to

42:05your point or question about the larger

42:07schools and what we're doing. Health

42:09care as we all know and I I'll go back

42:11and talk about the teachers health care.

42:13Health care as we all know is is is is

42:16increasing the health care um costs

42:19exponentially. We've seen a 23% increase

42:21in health care costs. Uh what we're

42:24trying to do and what we've done, what

42:26the board has done since uh post

42:28pandemic is offset the cost in order to

42:31try to keep those costs low for our

42:33employees. We're at a point now where we

42:35can't do it. That's no longer

42:37sustainable. At $20 million a month

42:40having to go into a healthcare in order

42:42to keep the employee trust uh functional

42:44and operational, that's not sustainable

42:46over time. It has to get to a point that

42:48the the board's invested over $11,000

42:51per employee in health insurance and

42:54that's including what they've offered

42:56for this year. Uh and and it the we need

43:00revenue and and revenue in order to

43:02sustain the health insurance is is

43:04critical. And so asking our especi

43:07especially those that have families uh

43:09to help to offset and make some changes

43:12in order to make sure that we have

43:14health insurance for every employee

43:16because every employee we want to make

43:18sure that we're giving health care

43:19options to. So uh that's part of it to

43:22to talk about larger school model. Um we

43:25have modeling that shows that in order

43:27to have an operationally efficient and

43:30again this is having every resource

43:33available for every child that that a

43:36elementary school I'll give you an

43:37example of is 680 students. That's that

43:40ensures that it pays it's it generates

43:42$1.3 million which pays for the

43:44principal, the assistant principal, the

43:47school counselor, the social worker, the

43:49portions of them that that's for every

43:51school to be equitable to have every

43:53single resource. Now, could we have

43:56smaller schools and do we? Yes, we have

43:59to look at combining resources in order

44:01to make sure that happens. The budgetary

44:04piece is trying to ensure that that um

44:07that we can uh create models that every

44:10student has access to every resource but

44:13not and not jeopardize that but still be

44:16able to fund it at a level where it can

44:18fund itself by the number of students

44:20that are attending. So that's a that's a

44:22very uh careful balance through the

44:24budgeting process and we're working on

44:26that right now. Right now we have 10

44:27schools that are sharing assistant

44:29principles. they're going to two schools

44:31because we're able to split that cost.

44:33So there may you may see more of that,

44:35you may see more discussion and again

44:37the board will be board will be taking

44:38that up. But um as we move forward, but

44:42the idea is to ensure that our students

44:44have the resources they need even within

44:46some of the budget constraints uh that

44:48that we have and that we've experienced

44:50over the last uh several years. We're

44:52just not getting the state revenue at

44:55the same level uh in order to keep up

44:58with inflation. when you get a 1.5 uh%

45:01increase in your state budget and you're

45:03cutting in order to give the teachers

45:05highly effective teachers a 2.65%

45:08increase in pay that there's a lot of

45:10work that goes into that. And so we're

45:12trying to give all our employees a two

45:14two and a half% increase in in salary to

45:17offset some of the increases in health

45:19care. And so it's a that's a careful

45:21balance and we're working through that.

45:22I know the board's working very hard and

45:24has had a lot of really hard uh

45:26discussions and decisions around that.

45:29>> And could you talk a little bit more

45:30about the um school food and nutrition

45:32programs being cut because I mean that's

45:34something that's really critical to our

45:36most needy students.

45:37>> So we've been fortunate to be um uh to

45:40have uh all students all meals at no

45:42charge uh for the past three years. We

45:45during the during the pandemic we were

45:47able to do it and then coming out of the

45:49pandemic it stopped for a year. So, we

45:51had to go back to uh filling out free

45:54and reduced lunch forms and going

45:55through the process, which we did. And

45:57then we were able to apply to get an a

46:00waiver so that all of our schools could

46:02go back and be um 100% um uh free uh or

46:07no cost uh for all students. that uh

46:11those changes have taken place at the

46:13federal level through the school food

46:14nutrition program where that's been

46:16pulled back and the qualifications to be

46:19um what we call C um um C uh has been

46:24rescended. So, we're going to have to go

46:26back to the to having uh individual

46:30families apply for free andor reduced uh

46:34meals as we've done in the past. They'll

46:36still be offered. It's just not all all

46:38children at all schools.

46:40>> Okay. So, as long as the most needy

46:41children will still be taken care of.

46:43That's that's that's my concern.

46:44>> They will still get it. It just they'll

46:46have to apply for it. Commissioner. Yes.

46:47>> Because you know I mean we even have in

46:49our after school programs we've even had

46:51to provide food because sometime that's

46:52the only second meal that they get in

46:54the day. They get the they get lunch at

46:56school and then they'll they'll get a

46:57you know like a dinner at the community

46:59center but that's all the food they're

47:00getting. So I'm just when you said that

47:02I was a little concerned. So, you know,

47:04well, I think that having all the

47:07children getting the the food takes the

47:09stigma away from children that were

47:11getting the reduced. I mean, I I think

47:13that was a way to be more equitable and

47:16not put a stigma on the children that

47:17needed the the meals. But, you know, I

47:20mean, it's better to have a stigma

47:21attached and then go hungry.

47:23>> I mean, that's a horrible thing. So, I'm

47:25glad to hear that at least that part

47:27will continue. And um board member Vanos

47:30knows me knows this very well. And this

47:32is one of my this is one of No, no, it's

47:34okay. She doesn't have to come up, but

47:36she knows that one of my um one of my

47:37frustrations

47:39um with OCPS has been that, you know,

47:42transportation, sidewalks,

47:45signalization, all those things that are

47:47created by, you know, a larger school,

47:50especially since they're you're drawing

47:51from a larger area.

47:53>> Um we have a lot more parental drop off

47:56and things. And let's just say the

47:57parents are will not will not go and the

48:00and the drop off loop. I understand that

48:02you all install them, but the parents

48:04they're late. They drop their kids off.

48:06I had a situation at Millennia

48:08Elementary that was terrifying. Um pe

48:10people were dropping their children off

48:12on a road with a 45 mile per hour speed

48:14limit and I could not get the school

48:17board to agree to do signalization. Now,

48:18I was able to get a developer to put the

48:21signalization in um so that there was

48:24actually a crosswalk there so the

48:25children could walk across safely when

48:27their parents dropped them off a 45 mile

48:30per hour road. Oh my god, I still can't

48:31believe we had to deal with this. But,

48:34you know, I mean, my concern is that

48:36those those improvements are and we we

48:39support your 1 cent sales tax. We

48:41supported, you know, all these things.

48:43And then we get told, well, that's

48:45considered an off-site improvement.

48:46You're going to have to pay for the

48:48crosswalks. You're going to city of

48:49Orlando, you have to pay for all these

48:51other things. And you know, and and

48:54right now signalization is ridiculously

48:56expensive. And I'm just concerned going

48:59these tax cuts that it's going to impact

49:00child safety. And every other developer

49:03that we work with is required to put in

49:06the infrastructure that they that they,

49:08you know, impact. And you all are

49:11impacting infrastructure. And I didn't

49:13even go to those Cherokee meetings

49:14because I knew it was going to happen.

49:16they're going to point to me and say,

49:17"City of Orlando, you pay for all these

49:19issues and you deal with all these angry

49:21residents about these pickup and drop

49:23off situations." And I'm like, "Wait a

49:25minute. You know, this isn't fair that

49:27we have to take on the responsibility

49:30for something that's being caused by

49:31y'all." And, you know, I mean, work with

49:34us. What is what I'm what I'm begging um

49:37and and saying is that we you know, we

49:39can't take all of this on ourselves. you

49:41know, if if amendment three passes,

49:43we're not going to be able to do it at

49:44all because, you know, a a signalized

49:46intersection is over half a million

49:48dollars now. So, and the other thing is

49:51we need to, you know, we are hearing

49:52from our constituents when they're upset

49:55about these impacts and, you know, let's

49:57work together. Let's not, you know, I

49:59mean, you know, let's not be adversarial

50:02and then don't say, "Okay, let

50:04Commissioner Sheen deal with that." And

50:06like I say, I didn't even go near that.

50:07And I'm like, you know, I told my

50:08Cherokee folks, I'm like, "Look, this is

50:10not my circus, not my monkeys. You know,

50:12you're going to have to tell the school

50:13board, you need to deal with the with

50:15the concerns about the um the pickup and

50:18drop off and how that all that

50:20transportation stuff." And our

50:22transportation folks were good enough to

50:24attend the meetings and hear the

50:25concerns. But we can't keep paying for

50:27all that, y'all. It's just, you know,

50:29you are the highest part of the tax

50:30bill. We're the smaller. We can't be

50:32looked at as sugar mama and sugar

50:33daddies to bail it bail it out when

50:35these situations happen. You know, as

50:37someone who who has paid school taxes my

50:40whole life um and doesn't have children,

50:42I would like a level of community, you

50:44know, concern and advocacy to make sure

50:47that you all are paying your fair share.

50:48That's all I ask.

50:50>> Thank you.

50:51>> That's all.

50:52>> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner

50:53Chapen.

50:53>> Thank you, Scott. Thank you, Member

50:55Venice. Um

50:57you mentioned we have an entrance

50:59problem and an exit problem. not enough

51:02students coming in and we do have some

51:03students leaving. How does that line up

51:05with um the grades of our schools? I

51:09mean, I know, for example,

51:13Orange County Public Schools is dealing

51:15with special needs kids and kids with

51:16disabilities. They're obviously not

51:18going to these for-profit charter

51:20schools. Um but I was just curious,

51:23are are A and B students leaving? Are C

51:26and D students leaving? Staying just any

51:29feel for that yet?

51:30>> Yeah. Um, I don't know that we can tie

51:32it directly to academic performance. One

51:34thing we do see is when they when they

51:36leave, if they've been gone for an

51:37extended period of time, a lot of times

51:39maybe a homeschool setting where they're

51:41not getting the academic necessities,

51:43we're seeing them come back a grade

51:45level or two behind and then having to

51:47catch up on that. So, we've seen some of

51:50some of those things happen and I think

51:51that's putting some additional pressure

51:53on some of the schools to try to make

51:54sure that they're catching them back up.

51:57I think um you know that's kind of been

51:59part of that uh that discussion around

52:02are they getting what they need because

52:04when they're taking the voucher the

52:06$8,000 and they're go they're taking it

52:09to homeschool their child or taking to a

52:12a private school the accountability is

52:14not there. We're not seeing it. And as a

52:17taxpayer whether you've had children in

52:19school system or not you should be

52:21expecting that your money is is being uh

52:24accounted for. and what is what is what

52:26is that investment? And we don't know.

52:28So, and and I'm sure there's there's uh

52:31very uh reputable private schools out

52:34there that are taking uh the dollars and

52:36that are able to uh turn students and uh

52:39you know, and and give them the the high

52:41academic uh uh skills and and outcomes

52:44that that they need. But that's not

52:47happening across the board. And our

52:49money is essentially our tax dollars are

52:52going to that effort and there's no

52:54accountability. And that's really we we

52:55believe in choice. We believe that uh I

52:58think the superintendent has said it a

52:59number of times. I think board members

53:00have said it. Uh we have choice within

53:03our system but choice with

53:04accountability and we're not seeing

53:06that. So

53:07>> and there's still some private schools I

53:10I can think of maybe three Windmir Prep

53:12Lake Highland Trinity Prep that are not

53:14taking the vouchers. Are you is that

53:16>> not at this time?

53:17>> Are those the only three that we're

53:18aware of? Um

53:20>> those are the three that I that I know

53:21of. Yeah, the big Yeah, the bigger ones

53:23that I know of. So,

53:26>> they don't take them at all.

53:27>> They don't take them until sixth grade.

53:28They take them at six.

53:31>> I don't think so.

53:34>> Like like Highland takes vouchers

53:35>> at sixth grade

53:36>> in at sixth grade on

53:39>> they don't take it through.

53:41>> Um

53:44>> I didn't hear anything in the

53:46presentation on the sales tax and

53:47infrastructure. And so we're we're we're

53:50going to be closing some schools, but at

53:51the same time, we're collecting we're

53:52still we we've got a big runway on the

53:54sales tax, right, till

53:56>> another 10 or 15 years or something.

53:58>> 10

53:58>> 10 years.

53:59>> How does that how does that play out?

54:01>> Yeah, so it's a great question. So the

54:04the uh the halfsent sales tax, which was

54:06renewed in 2024,

54:09extends through uh 2035 essentially, but

54:13that's to take care of the existing

54:15buildings that we have. So it's not

54:17about building new because new

54:19construction is built with impact fees

54:21which is a whole another discussion. The

54:23halfsent sales tax is really about

54:25taking care of our current uh facilities

54:28and ensuring that we have that we're

54:30able to you know upgrade those

54:31facilities when necessary ACs roofs all

54:34the infrastructure building a new

54:36building if we need to things like that.

54:38So,

54:38>> and closing a school is I mean you're

54:41looking at enrollment, you're looking at

54:42age of facilities, you're looking at

54:44everything, right? There there are some

54:46opportunities. I I I assume I mean

54:48nobody wants to see a school closed, but

54:51um you're you're looking at all those

54:53things I presume

54:54>> that so uh so we put a pause on uh any

54:57closures or discussion of closures for

54:59this this year going into next year. the

55:03board when it's seated in November, I'm

55:05sure we'll be taking up the issue of

55:07declining enrollment and what what will

55:09be happening, but there's a number of

55:11different things that, you know, they

55:13they could be looking at in order to

55:14address the declining enrollment. But

55:16yes, those opportunities and looking at

55:19that and I can tell you I would say at

55:21least six of the seven schools that were

55:23consolidated last year weren't impacted

55:26because of choice. they were impacted

55:28because of the other issues that we

55:30talked about birth rates, housing

55:32trends. Um, you know, I did a number of

55:35um or well, I did two uh community

55:37meetings um at at Bonavville um

55:41elementary which at one time had about

55:43700 students and has less had less than

55:46400 students. And when I talk to the

55:48residents about well who are your

55:50neighbors who are moving in are they is

55:52the housing trends their neighbors are

55:54college students. their their houses are

55:56the houses in that neighborhood are

55:58being rented because it's so so close to

56:00UCF. And so the trend in that

56:03neighborhood is different. So you have

56:04these different housing trends in

56:06different areas. Like I said, some areas

56:08they're just not moving. I mean, you

56:10have a 3% mortgage or less or your house

56:12is paid off. If you leave, you're going

56:14to upsize your costs, not downsize. And

56:16so a lot of are staying.

56:17>> But we're not seeing declining

56:19enrollment and increasing school grades,

56:22are we? Um we've seen well I mean we've

56:25we've seen declining enrollment. We

56:27haven't had so for the last probably

56:30>> for the last two years we haven't seen

56:32um uh we've had 100% of our schools have

56:35been AB or C and we've had and we've

56:38been in a school district for the last

56:40three years. I don't know that there's

56:42any correlation between decline because

56:45the decline was initially was small you

56:48know and it just it's grown over time.

56:51So certainly having about 7,800 student

56:53decline this year, including VPK, has

56:57has been the largest decline that we've

56:59seen.

56:59>> Yeah. I'm just wondering if 7,500 A

57:01students walked out the door, 7,500 C

57:04students walked out the door, what does

57:05that do to the overall grade, but I

57:07guess there's just no direct correlation

57:09and maybe there's no it's spread out. So

57:12I appreciate it.

57:13>> And like I said, they've never come, so

57:14they they haven't come in, so we don't

57:16know either. you know, if the majority

57:17of them haven't entered our doors, then

57:19we

57:20>> Thank you very much for the

57:20presentation.

57:21>> Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you.

57:22>> Just to follow up on one question from

57:24Commissioner Chapen. So, do you

57:26anticipate continued decline for the

57:28next how many ever years?

57:31>> I would say based on what we've seen in

57:33birth rates and housing trends and

57:35unless there's a you know, unless

57:37there's a obviously a change in in the

57:40immigrant policies, uh we're not going

57:43to see an increase in that area. So,

57:45yeah, we're seeing at least not a

57:47turnaround maybe until uh 2030, I think,

57:50is what our demographers are looking at.

57:53>> All right, Commissioner Burns and Keen

57:55and Ortiz. Commissioner Burns.

57:57>> All right. Thank you, Mayor, and

57:58[clears throat] thank you, Scott, and

57:59and member Vanos for for being here

58:01today and thank you for the

58:02presentation. Um, my my question is

58:05along some of the lines of uh

58:07Commissioner Chapen mentioned. So, when

58:09[snorts] we're talking about uh schools

58:11closing and I want to say thank you to

58:14uh your teams uh because I participated

58:16in some of those discussions and they

58:17were hard discussions, but your team

58:19handled it well. Uh so, thank you for

58:21that. But, so when we're talking about

58:23schools closing

58:25um and now this millage uh this millage

58:29referendum, what's the message to the

58:30community? you know, because I know in

58:33in uh in my district there's a you know,

58:36school that was closed, Eckleston

58:37Elementary that I that I attended and as

58:40you said, the surrounding community is a

58:42aging community. Not many babies are

58:44being born and things of that nature.

58:46So, what is the message to the community

58:48where we're, you know, some of us may be

58:51encouraging them not to vote for

58:53amendment three, uh, but then vote for

58:57this this mill referendum. What so what

58:59what what would you say the the message

59:01needs to be to the community?

59:02>> I I think that's a great question

59:04because I think what you're seeing and

59:06what we've seen in the declining

59:07enrollment is a loss of like I said

59:10about $30 million this year to the

59:12budget. What I showed you on the screen

59:14was this is over $200 million that would

59:17be cut from the budget. So it's about

59:1910% of our operating budget could if if

59:21it were not to be renewed. That would be

59:25catastrophic to the budget because you

59:27would see situations where those the the

59:301842 teachers that are supporting

59:34that. We'd have to find funding for

59:35that. Not to say that all those

59:37positions would disappear, but you'd

59:39have to find funding for that. Uh the

59:41funding for the $54 million in

59:43compensation that that's compensation

59:45that's going directly to to our teachers

59:48and has been invested in them. So what

59:50does that look like if that were to go

59:52away? when you're talking about um you

59:54know budgetary adjustments and adjusting

59:57for a $30 million and reducing your your

1:00:01staffing levels in order to adjust to

1:00:03it, that's one thing. But to take a a

1:00:0610% cut to your budget and try to go

1:00:09across and do that, that that could be

1:00:11that would be catastrophic. And granted,

1:00:14over time, as the as the decline

1:00:17happens, we still need to maintain the

1:00:20schools that we have. and then right

1:00:23size as we go. We didn't get here

1:00:25overnight. Like I showed you, it's

1:00:27happened over a long period of time with

1:00:29the birth rate decline and housing

1:00:32trends, but it's something that we're

1:00:34going to have to deal with. It was

1:00:35almost the perfect storm where you look

1:00:37at four things occurring at one time

1:00:40causing that reduction. And I would say,

1:00:43you know, we need to look at very very

1:00:46closely at do we want to maintain the

1:00:48high level of academic success that

1:00:50we've had within the schools over time

1:00:53and let let the board look at what

1:00:55they're going to do moving forward as

1:00:57they deal with the decline. So great

1:00:59question.

1:00:59>> Okay. I also and I want to just give

1:01:02some feedback on some um a few parents

1:01:05have come to me over this last year uh

1:01:09expressing to me their experience with

1:01:12Eckleston closing and them being told

1:01:14that they could go to one of the

1:01:17neighboring schools. Um but what what

1:01:20they started to encounter was a lot of

1:01:22barriers that they felt that and the

1:01:25message was you can go to you know

1:01:27Washington shores or or eagle's nest and

1:01:30it should not be a problem you know to

1:01:31enroll your children [clears throat] but

1:01:33I've had several uh parents come to me

1:01:36stating that it was a lot of barriers

1:01:39put and then they decided to then go to

1:01:42a private school and a charter school.

1:01:44So, so I think that when we're giving a

1:01:47message to our parents, we have to

1:01:49ensure that what we're telling them will

1:01:52happen when they go to enroll their

1:01:54children in another school, it actually

1:01:56happens. Because I know it was at least

1:01:59five different occasions where parents

1:02:01have come to me and expressed they had

1:02:04barriers. They and they just got

1:02:05frustrated and went to uh a local uh

1:02:08charter school that was not, you know,

1:02:10within OCPS. So, I just think when we're

1:02:13making these, you know, these decisions

1:02:16that everyone has to be on the same page

1:02:18of if, you know, if it's enrollment at a

1:02:20school, yes, we want you to come in and

1:02:22not, you know, uh, I guess barriers

1:02:25being put up or perceive barriers for

1:02:27them to enroll their children.

1:02:29>> I'm so sorry that happened. I mean, it's

1:02:31very disappointing because, you know, we

1:02:33we want to do everything we can to try

1:02:35to streamline. we have a new online

1:02:37enrollment process, but if that was

1:02:39happening at the school level, then we

1:02:41certainly need to deal with that. I, you

1:02:43know, if there's specific schools that

1:02:44you know of, please, please let us know,

1:02:47Commissioner, and we'll we'll address

1:02:48that because we should be removing those

1:02:51friction points. We should be removing

1:02:53those barriers and and and to ensure our

1:02:55children have an easy path, especially

1:02:57in a not so easy situation like a school

1:03:00consolidation. And again, I think part

1:03:02of the consolidation was to get to get

1:03:05to ensure that we have the same

1:03:07resources for all our children. We

1:03:09certainly don't want those children to

1:03:11move on to a different academic setting

1:03:13that may not be as high a level and

1:03:15offer the services. So, yeah, if you

1:03:17know, please please let us know.

1:03:19>> Yeah, I I'll share. And then the last

1:03:20thing I just wanted to uh commend uh the

1:03:23partnership, the new partnership with uh

1:03:26Lyft Orlando and Orange Center uh uh

1:03:30elementary school. My daughter my

1:03:32daughter's a kindergarten and she's

1:03:33there uh and she seems to enjoy it. So

1:03:36that was I think that was a innovative

1:03:38or creative arrangement. I'm

1:03:40>> rooting for it to you know to be

1:03:42successful. But I do think we need to

1:03:44there needs to be more discussions of

1:03:47how can we innovate uh and what can be

1:03:50done to just help everyone uh in this

1:03:52area. So thank you.

1:03:53>> Absolutely. Thank you,

1:03:54>> Mr. Keane.

1:03:56>> Thank you, mayor. I've got a a comment,

1:03:58a couple questions. Um the first the

1:04:01comment part is that district one is

1:04:03actually probably the opposite of the

1:04:04rest of the city that we we actually

1:04:06have increasing enrollment. We you do

1:04:08>> we have more

1:04:10>> space available right now and that's

1:04:11that's so it's kind of an opposite

1:04:13problem right at one part of the city

1:04:16you you've got declining enrollment

1:04:17other part so that balance gets is kind

1:04:20of hard sometimes I think

1:04:21>> to to your point commissioner we closed

1:04:24seven schools but opened two new schools

1:04:27one in Lake Nona and one in Horizon West

1:04:29and those have been planned for a number

1:04:31of years but they were to offset the

1:04:34explosive growth in those areas and and

1:04:36again That's not established

1:04:38neighborhoods. Those are new

1:04:40construction and new families,

1:04:41>> right? And we're going to continue. I

1:04:43mean, there's probably another 10 or

1:04:4415,000 houses in the next 5 or 10 years

1:04:47that are going to come to

1:04:48>> No plans for new No plans for new

1:04:51schools. We can point how many schools,

1:04:53this is a question that how many schools

1:04:54did we have back in in 20

1:04:58uh

1:05:00in in 2002 when we were at the lowest

1:05:02versus how many do we have today? Well,

1:05:04I think we've I think I'm just

1:05:06guesstimate we we've built about 70

1:05:09schools since then. 76 school. I'd have

1:05:11to go back to my previous presentations

1:05:13on that half cent sales tax, but it was

1:05:15it's

1:05:16>> so there's no question there will be

1:05:17more schools closed because the if the

1:05:19enrollment's not there, it's just not

1:05:20there. Right.

1:05:21>> And and and the enrollment issue

1:05:23obviously is spread out in you know in

1:05:25different areas. So other areas are

1:05:27impacted others. And so just looking at

1:05:30that data and what were you know what is

1:05:32available. There are schools that um are

1:05:35impacted by choice and by vouchers and

1:05:37could you bring those students back

1:05:39through marketing directly to the

1:05:41students and bringing them back. Sure

1:05:43there are schools like that. There's

1:05:45other neighborhoods where you know the

1:05:47school's underenrolled and there's no

1:05:49students there. This the the the houses

1:05:51are uh the residents there are are don't

1:05:55have any children. they've lived there

1:05:57for a long time and so there's no uh no

1:05:59new students on the horizon in those

1:06:01areas. So yeah,

1:06:02>> and that's not unique. I mean that's

1:06:03something that happens with all

1:06:04neighborhoods as they age out, right? Um

1:06:06and and then one last question. I I

1:06:08don't quite understand ignorance here.

1:06:10So with charter schools, did they get

1:06:12rated by the state as well because

1:06:13they're still in the same category where

1:06:15the school board has some kind of

1:06:17oversight, right? With charter schools,

1:06:19>> we So the school board only only

1:06:22approves them to exist. they essentially

1:06:25they have their own governing boards,

1:06:27they have their own oversight, all of

1:06:28that. So, um when we talk about our

1:06:31schools, traditional schools, district

1:06:34operated schools, those are the schools

1:06:36that are

1:06:36>> But we include them when we're looking

1:06:38at the total enrollment though, right?

1:06:39To

1:06:40>> our total enrollment. Yes. And when we

1:06:42look at um like charter schools for

1:06:45example, their enrollment is flat. Like

1:06:47I think they gained about a hundred

1:06:49students last year. So they're not

1:06:51declining but they're not they're not

1:06:52taking on

1:06:53>> as opposed to private school which we

1:06:54won't go but are charter schools

1:06:56themselves are they rated by the state?

1:06:58>> Yes,

1:06:58>> they are rated.

1:06:59>> And do they have you may not know this

1:07:02but here in Orange County how do they

1:07:05compare

1:07:06>> to Orange County Public Schools in terms

1:07:08of ratings? Are they are they an A-rated

1:07:11>> uh county with all the different I know

1:07:13there's they're all under different

1:07:16>> jurisdictions if you will but

1:07:18>> yeah I mean I can get that information

1:07:20for you. I wouldn't want to speak you

1:07:22know one way or the other. I know that

1:07:23some of them are alternative charter

1:07:25schools so they don't get an A, B, or C

1:07:28uh compare apples to apples. Right. You

1:07:30can't Right. Yeah. I get that. Okay.

1:07:32Thank you,

1:07:33>> Commissioner Ortiz.

1:07:36>> Apples to apples, huh?

1:07:39Thank you for being here. Great

1:07:40presentation. It's good to see you

1:07:42again. Had a few questions. Definitely

1:07:44the key issue here is as the enrollment

1:07:46declines. Most people are going to

1:07:48think, well, it's less, you know, it's

1:07:50less money. Why are we going up? And

1:07:51it's it's the opposite because now you

1:07:53have expenses that are not covered by

1:07:54the money that is coming from the state.

1:07:56So, we're going to have to hard uh a lot

1:07:59of explanation to give to most people

1:08:01because they don't understand sometimes

1:08:02that that relationship. So, how are we

1:08:06gauging in reference to the family

1:08:08empowerment scholarship, which has

1:08:09become a little chaotic to understand to

1:08:12some people because there's a lot of

1:08:14good parents out there that that can do

1:08:15the job, but we don't know if there's

1:08:17others that, you know, the income of

1:08:19their household may not be enough and

1:08:21they're saying, you know what, since the

1:08:23state is giving this money, let me go

1:08:24ahead and replace some of this or let me

1:08:26go ahead and So, how is the state or the

1:08:28school board uh gauging um how these

1:08:31parents are doing their job? how

1:08:33successful this is. This is happening. I

1:08:36mean, there's any metrics that we we

1:08:37have established for them.

1:08:39>> Well, the short answer would be no.

1:08:40Yeah, we don't have So, we don't know

1:08:42until they come back. Commissioner once

1:08:45those families choose to keep their

1:08:48child at home, say they keep them there

1:08:50kindergarten, first, second grade, then

1:08:52they decide to bring them back in third

1:08:54grade, then that's when we know. We

1:08:56don't we we don't have any idea because

1:08:58we're not getting any uh any academic

1:09:01data coming back. Uh you know, they're

1:09:03just simply signing that they've

1:09:05completed the necessary requirements for

1:09:08that grade level to go on. we're not

1:09:09getting uh any any um any

1:09:12>> accountability back to the legislature

1:09:13to to put some some kind of parameters

1:09:15on that in order for us to to understand

1:09:18I mean to know that those kids either if

1:09:20they come back they're not behind and

1:09:23then it's going to be more troublesome

1:09:24for them and they get affected and

1:09:26>> we certainly been advocating for that to

1:09:29to go back to the apples to apples

1:09:31comparison. How do you know the

1:09:32education that you're getting in one

1:09:34school in this school versus home school

1:09:38versus your traditional public school?

1:09:41You know what kind of education you're

1:09:42getting there because of the testing?

1:09:44>> There's no way for us to gauge the

1:09:46parents in terms of their capabilities

1:09:48to to do this either.

1:09:50>> Yeah, there there there isn't a

1:09:52mechanism for that. Uh we certainly do

1:09:55everything we can to educate our parents

1:09:56that we have uh through parentmies and

1:09:59through other things as far as what

1:10:01we're offering um out to the parents as

1:10:04resources. But again, if there's a

1:10:06situation where like you said a parents

1:10:08taking uh the voucher, have multiple

1:10:11children and they keep them at home for

1:10:14a couple of years and then send them

1:10:15back to school. We don't know until they

1:10:17come back and then they're tested

1:10:19through the through the testing process

1:10:21exactly where they are.

1:10:22>> Of course, you take a training. No.

1:10:24>> Wow. Wow. Wow.

1:10:27Sometimes I wonder why our nation is

1:10:30declining intellect.

1:10:32But anyhow, let's move forward.

1:10:34>> At the state level, I was going to say

1:10:35just remember five billion with a B is

1:10:38what the vouchers cost at the state

1:10:40level. That's a lot of property tax

1:10:43property taxes.

1:10:44>> Wow. And no assurance that it's going to

1:10:47work since Okay.

1:10:49>> Well, that's good. That's a good

1:10:50legislation to take uh or a um proposal

1:10:54to take to a legislature. So all these

1:10:57buildings that now now we're uh

1:10:59shrinking. So all these buildings are

1:11:02going to be and you were talking um you

1:11:04want to expand on what's going to be

1:11:05happen to McCoy. So so people you know

1:11:08that are listening know you know at

1:11:10least because there's a lot of people

1:11:11now making offers. I want to use that

1:11:13building for this building for that and

1:11:15and I have a comment about all this

1:11:16after you're done. Well, certainly uh it

1:11:19does it does leave some uh room for

1:11:21capacity and partnerships and ensuring

1:11:24and so what we've done is tried to

1:11:26really take a good look at um

1:11:28repositioning some of the district um

1:11:31services and assets that we have into

1:11:33some of the schools to put them in a

1:11:35setting where maybe they're um you know

1:11:37more convenient geographically. Um the

1:11:40uh the student enrollment will be moving

1:11:42to McCoy Elementary. We talked about the

1:11:45global family welcome center which is uh

1:11:47the which is part of uh the enrollment

1:11:50process. It's it goes into a little

1:11:52deeper detail for those new arrivals to

1:11:56Orange County to help them navigate uh

1:11:58through the system of enrollment and

1:12:00getting their child into school. And so

1:12:02those uh are moving to uh will be moving

1:12:05over to McCoy in order to be more of a

1:12:08centrally located.

1:12:09>> Mayor, I was I was um conveying to Mr.

1:12:13that we could possibly partner up and

1:12:15put the Ola office over there. So, you

1:12:18know, for when people come in now, we

1:12:21have a greater service right there uh

1:12:24next to the airport.

1:12:25>> But, um so is the school board keeping

1:12:28this billings because how about if in

1:12:30the future this reverse and we have to

1:12:32go ahead and expand on this, you know,

1:12:34on our sites for for schools. Yeah, I

1:12:37think uh in the short term I think the

1:12:40we're looking at trying to repurpose

1:12:43these facilities either through

1:12:44partnerships or through uh the moving of

1:12:47of of staff or existing schools. We do

1:12:50have some schools that that are

1:12:52operating in not school facilities. they

1:12:55were converted facilities like um you

1:12:58know Acceleration East that's on 436 was

1:13:02a former Scotty's uh hardware warehouse

1:13:06if you remember that. Uh but but that's

1:13:08a that's a situation where you could

1:13:10take a school that's in a non-school

1:13:13building and be able to put it into a

1:13:16renovated uh building and put in a

1:13:18permit structure and then look at what

1:13:20you can do with that facility as far as

1:13:23partnerships, reuse, and so forth.

1:13:25>> Don't take it away from district 2. I'm

1:13:26very proud of that school.

1:13:28>> Keep it Keep it close. It's a great

1:13:30school. It is a great school. So, so

1:13:34is the school board going to keep those

1:13:35buildings in?

1:13:37>> Right now, we're looking at ways to

1:13:39repurpose and and how we can um uh

1:13:42reutilize those. So, we're going through

1:13:44that process right now. And a few of

1:13:46them have already uh uh been uh been

1:13:49decided and determined. But yes, we

1:13:51right now the plan is to reutilize Union

1:13:54Park uh middle school will be uh our

1:13:56facilities operations will be moving to

1:13:58Union Park area too. So, we're we're uh

1:14:01we're going through that process right

1:14:03now. Commissioner,

1:14:03>> thank you so much. That was a great

1:14:04presentation.

1:14:06>> Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner

1:14:07Chapen,

1:14:08>> just uh to clarify, I mentioned the

1:14:10three big private schools. They take

1:14:13they some of them still take needsbased

1:14:15scholarship money, but none of them take

1:14:17vouchers. The Lake Island doesn't take

1:14:20vouchers.

1:14:21>> Yeah, the you're talking about the

1:14:22family empowerment scholarships. Yeah,

1:14:24correct.

1:14:26>> Okay. Anybody else? Thank you very much

1:14:29for being here and we hope it passes.

1:14:31>> Well, just one reminder, mayor. So,

1:14:33Orange County Public Schools, first in

1:14:35your heart, last on the ballot. Just to

1:14:38remind everybody. So, me little mental

1:14:41picture there. It's after the amendment

1:14:44three. Last on the ballot. So, first in

1:14:46your heart, last on the

1:14:46>> I assume amendment three will be up

1:14:48where the state stuff is.

1:14:49>> Yeah, it'll be up above us, but we're

1:14:50always the last on the ballot. So, we'll

1:14:52just we'll just remind everybody that's

1:14:54easy to find.

1:14:55>> Yes, it'll be it'll be easy to find,

1:14:57right? That's exactly right. Thank you.

1:14:58Thank you, Commissioner, mayor. We

1:15:00appreciate you.

1:15:02>> Okay.

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