001Heat. We got We got the person who never tells us no in charge. It's going to be a glorious day. >> We're done in 10 minutes. >> Bridget doesn't know the word no. >> Good. >> We got Mr. Smiley at one end and the girl who can't say no on the other. >> Hey, how are you? This is going to be an episode of the of the board gone wild. >> Dear God, >> your >> wow. >> All right, we're going to start. >> There's no one here to stop us. >> You know, we're going. >> All right. >> Good afternoon, everyone. We ask for the courtesy of the board members, staff, and members of the public that you please silence your cell phones. Good morning and welcome to Orange County School Board's work session
002which has been scheduled today, Tuesday, March 31st, 2026, for the purpose of discussing charter application for Orange Center Steam Academy policy FEA, educational adequacy and construction specifications for new and renovated facilities. Reszoning for spring 2026. It's a targeted resoning of Wolf Lake Middle to Kelly Park K8, Zelwood Elementary to Wolf Lake Elementary, and Orange Center Charter. The public will not have an opportunity to participate in this work session to provide public comment. Because this is not a regularly scheduled schoolboard meeting, no action will be taken and there will be no open public comment period in which the public normally addresses the school board on relevant topics that are related to the work of the school board. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon because I earlier I said good morning because that's
003what was in the script but I meant good afternoon. Um okay, let's do a roll call because we have a few u um at the deis this afternoon and then a few that are calling in. So members Front, Douglas, Vanos, and Felder are present. Vice Chair Salamanca is joining telephonically. Member Salamanca, >> Not yet. Okay. She'll be joining us shortly. Um, Chair Jacobs, Chair Jacobs will be joining us. She's not joining us at all. Okay. She will not be joining us today. Member Bird. >> Yes. Hello. >> Hello, Member Bird. So, member Bird is um on the phone with us. As a reminder, board members will not be engaging in outside electronic or digital communication during the meeting so we can focus on the matters immediately before us. To my fellow board members and district
004staff, when speaking, please make sure your microphone is turned on and speak directly into it so our YouTube and Orange TV viewers can hear you clearly. Again, thank you so much for participating in or attending today's meeting. Now we are going to do a moment of silence followed by the pledge of allegiance. Now for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> The the one with the mic controls the pledge. >> Just saying. >> All right. Salamanca is just >> member Salamanca, are you with us? >> Hi. >> Welcome. All right. Now, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Williams. Dr. Williams. Good afternoon, board members. We have
005just one charter application this afternoon. And I believe we are all familiar with Mark Shamley, the vice president of community impact for Lift Orlando. We also have Aaron that is with us uh this afternoon. And at this point, I will turn it over to Greg Moody and Dr. Scott. >> Thank you, Deputy Superintendent, board members. Uh, welcome. Thank you for having us. Uh, uh, many years ago, this board has set into policy, into practice that, um, coming before you will be charter applicants. uh given you an opportunity to ask questions uh and for the charter applicant to uh provide more information of their uh proposed charter school. Uh so Dr. Kia Scott will walk us through uh this process and then she'll turn it over to you for additional questions and or comments. Uh Dr.
006Scott, >> thank you. Good afternoon, Chair Gallup, school board members, and deputy superintendent. Uh today we're meeting with the application team for Orange Center Elementary Charter School. The Orange Center Elementary Charter School application was submitted following a parent vote to convert Orange Center Elementary School to a charter school. The vote was ratified on January 22nd, 2026. The application team will share a PowerPoint presentation that will provide an overview of the school. After the school choice staff will ask some clarifying questions pertaining to the application. Finally, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have of the application team. Presenting today are Mark Shamley, board member for NSI, and Erin Albert, the current slashfuture principal of the charter school. Okay, you ready? >> All right. Awesome. Should we get started? >> You may.
007>> All right. Thank you. Um, good afternoon, school board members. Uh thank you for the opportunity uh to allow us to share uh our vision uh for this unique and incredibly uh exciting opportunity and collaboration. Uh I want to also acknowledge the deputy superintendent uh Dr. Williams uh Mr. Pomearini uh as well. Uh again my name is Mark Shamley and I am thrilled to be here with uh principal Aaron Albert uh in this partnership. I would like to uh acknowledge that um one of the NSI board members uh our board chair Scott Boyd unfortunately is dealing with a personal family matter um with his mother-in-law. So uh he sends uh his support of this process uh but he is not with us today. But we do have our other board member uh Allison Kirby who
008was with us. So I'm going to turn it over to Aaron to see if she has some opening remarks. I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for this opportunity and we are very excited to move forward and present this project um not only for NSI and lift Orlando and OCPS but for the students of 3285. So thank you. So we wanted to address the question of why this matters and I um I'm always um reflective on this question of why why go through this process um to u enter into this conversion and to this collaboration. Uh the why for me personally is that I believe that every child should have an opportunity to have access to high performing schools regardless of the community or zip code that they live in.
009Uh and so our goal and my why uh is to ensure that that happens within the community of Westlakes. So that's my why. >> For me, this is bigger than just a school model. This is building legacy for our students and families in 3285 but also the students that are sometimes under reppresented and we get to be that representation for them and build a school model that works specifically for them. >> So how do we get here? Um so this has been a bit of a journey. Um I will say um this conversation started officially uh pursuing this formalized partnership but I would also say the relationship between Lyft Orlando and Orange Center and OCPS goes back a decade. All right. So, it's been some time, but it really became this opportunity for us to
010explore what a um flagship school could look like in collaboration where you have a place-based organization coming alongside a district to do something that's really unique and innovative. And uh it was at a meeting in Boston where a bunch of uh uh really interested and committed partners got together and said what if what if we can do something that's never been done before. So it was from that discussion we decided to okay let's pursue this and discuss ways in which we can implement. Uh and so that was that uh exploration and alignment phase. But we knew that we couldn't sit in a conference room as leaders and figure this out without engagement with the community and other key stakeholders. That was important that we had residents uh we had uh parents, we had key members
011of our community all around the table and committed to have a transparent process for learning and shaping a vision of this partnership with the community and this school. And so that community engagement involved probably close to a dozen or so large engagements, small engagements with HOA leaders uh and education forums where we gathered feedback. Um that led to the parent vote uh which was successful uh back in January and then here we are with the application being submitted and here with you today to answer questions about that application. So that is the journey we have been on together. So, as I mentioned, the parent vote um in my opinion felt like a mandate uh with uh 184 parents voting in favor of the conversion. And what we were really clear about that this was a
012public private partnership, right? This was a collaboration between the district and with Lyft Orlando to do this work together. And that was a clear intention and message that we wanted to emphasize. It wasn't a takeover. It wasn't us coming in and and dominating or doing anything like that. The goal was to say to the community, we are going to do this together. And we wanted to make sure that that was reflected not only in our words, but also in our actions. And I think this vote is reflective of how the community responded uh to that um to that mandate. So, So once the parent vote happened and I want to recognize some of our parents and staff members that are in the room today to support the work really started um post vote we really
013started to look at the mission and the vision and our mission is to deliver an exceptional steam education through strong partnerships because as everyone knows in this room schools can't do it alone. Our partnerships with Lyft Orlando allows us to bring resources and opportunities as well as support systems that we can't do in a traditional school. Our vision stated here is clear. Our community centered school where students become confident leaders, problem solvers, and innovators. This is creating a school that reflects strength, resilience, and the potential of our community. We have so much and oftentimes untapped potential in our community. This is probably my favorite slide. It it really shows just a small amount of who we serve. Um we serve a community with significant need. Whether it's the 95% economically disadvantaged or 95% minority students,
014we also support a population of ELLL and ESSE students who deserve equitable access to highquality instruction. Our model is designed specifically for these students and families we currently serve, not to replace them, but to serve them better. We are prior prioritizing families within our existing community, the Lyft Orlando footprint and 3285. I truly believe that our zip code should not define our future. This is something that was extremely important in the planning process. Um, as someone who comes from a K8 background and and worked there as an administrator, we needed roll out to be strong and we needed it to be thoughtful, strategic and responsible. Our roll out is intentional phased to ensure that we build quality before scale. In year one, serving 456 students and building a what is already off of a strong
015foundation. By year three, we expand to sixth and seventh while maintaining program fidelity throughout the building. And by year five, we will reach full capacity at 764 students serving K8. This gradual growth allows us to invest deeply in staff development, systems, structures, and culture, ensuring that we do this right and not fast. Our educational approach is rooted in steam focused learning ensuring students are not just consumers of knowledge but creators, problem solvers and innovators. Our focus is projectbased learning. Students engage will engage in real world challenges that build critical thinking and making learning meaningful. Something that's super important to myself and the staff at Orange Center Elementary is that we're not just preparing students for the next grade, but that we're preparing them for life. We are deeply committed to the whole child approach, academic
016growth alongside social emotional growth because, as we all know, this is necessary for long-term success. And I think what's in super important is to mention that we are intentionally building leadership in our students, confidence, responsibility, and the ab ability to navigate the world beyond just school. Now, we talk about where we're meeting students where they currently are because we know there's lots of room for improvement in the current Orange Center. We our work really starts with the belief that every child deserves instruction that meets them exactly where they are and accelerates them forward. We are continuing through this new model and access to curriculum to strengthen tier one instruction so that every student has high quality standard lines standard align instruction every single day. our current MTSS framework. We are using real time data to
017identify gaps early and with this partnership as early as 6 weeks old and respond with targeted interventions and not waiting for a student to fall behind. We recognize that barriers to learning don't stop at the classroom door. Our wraparound supports in partnership with Lyft allow us to address mental health, housing, and access to care so we can fully engage in learning. This is not a one all oneizefits-all model. This is a system designed to ensure that every student at Orange Center Elementary grows. So in order to do that, we have to put in proper structures uh for sustainability and long-term success. And one of the ways in which do we're doing that is something I'm really proud of is this governance structure. Um we know that we had to move very quickly to uh put
018in place uh the right kinds of structures to move this work forward but this is the founding board for neighborhood schools initiative NSI. Uh this is not the permanent board. So, we will be moving forward and putting into place permanent long-term board members, but we wanted to make sure we had expertise uh that allows us to do the necessary work uh to transition the organization into the future. You could see here Scott Boyd is the board chair, Allison Kirby, our treasury serving as secretary. uh we will be transitioning uh a couple of those board members um to move to a permanent structure uh in the future and that process is happening as we speak. One of the things we're committed to is ensuring that the individuals we bring on are committed to the mission of
019NSI. They're committed to the partnership with OCPS. They're committed to the community work and they're committed to ensure that there is representation and diversity on the governing board as well as the advisory committee. And as we look at the transition into the permanent board members, these are the things that we'll be highlighting as important aspects of that recruitment process for those new board members. So staffing and development is obviously an important piece of this. We are really excited about the number of teachers who have expressed an interest. some of them are here. Um, and we know this is a major decision for them. Um, you know, we walk into a room and we say, we're going to do all these great things and it's sort of like, well, show me, don't tell me, right? So,
020it's important that we live up to those commitments and one of the things we wanted to send a clear message is that we value you and your work and that's going to show up in the compensation package. And so, there is an increased uh compensation based on where there currently are. there other opportunities for compensation in the form of incentive pay uh as well as signing bonuses for the teachers. So we wanted to make sure that we're really competitive and sending a signal to the teachers that they matter and we are going to lean on them quite frankly in this journey. Uh uh benefits going to be comparable to what they are receiving currently. Uh we also have gotten offer letters out and uh and we want to make sure uh that there's strong alignment
021with the vision of the school. Culture is incredibly important. That's what we heard over and over again from the team at Orange Center is how do we maintain and preserve the culture of the school and that is obviously tied to the people and the processes that are in place. Uh so that drives our recruitment strategy. um uh principal Albert as long along with members of the Lyft team, Lynn Thompson who is a former OCBS principal are driving that effort around recruitment. So we have knowledgeable educators who are involved in that process. Uh and then as Aaron indicated um we're going to continue to invest in the development of our teachers on an ongoing basis. Uh some of them were uh fortunate to fly up to Atlanta recently and visit our sister school, Drew Academy. some
022of you had the opportunity to visit Drew. Uh and there are plans to bring another group of teachers up to Drew uh later this year. So again, we have great national partners who are willing to come alongside of us and make sure that there's transferable learning and knowledge that are coming back to Orlando to these teachers. So we know that there's a financial uh piece of this that we have to acknowledge right and understand and the financials are are you know significant right there is an operating gap that we acknowledge that you'll see in the application and there's a commitment by Lyft Orlando and our funders to address that operating gap and commit to funding that in the startup phase and on ongoing basis for the school. But our goal is to ultimately get to
023a place of long-term sustainability. uh these things around these key key cost drivers such as compensation and teacher development and expanding systems all those things will remain in place as we move to a more sustainable model. So we'll look at phase in enrollment, excuse me, enrollment growth. As Aaron indicated, we don't want to take on too much too soon. All right? So it's about quality and make sure we have the right systems in place. U the board will continue to manage the financial oversight of the organization and we will continue to layer philanthropic dollars on top of public support, not just to sort of keep the lights on and close an operating gap, but also to do more. That's the goal. We want to be able to use those philanthropic dollars to do more and
024invest in a great school. So, this doesn't happen without partnership. And so, we see this is a collaborative effort with the school district and we're excited about that and defining what those roles look like. Um, so from the NSI perspective, that's the school leadership and the operations of the school. uh and then implementing the academic model uh that Aaron talked about and obviously daily operations from OCPS. The continued, you know, role as a charter sponsor, but great oversight and transparency is incredibly important and making sure that we are addressing areas around compliance and reporting. Uh we are excited about the opportunity around facility expansion and what that could look like with the physical representation of the school on the campus and they're going to be shared uh activities around community engagement and then ultimately documentation
025and sharing of the learning that comes out of this process because we see the ability uh with this partnership to influence other districts in the county but also more broadly uh across the state and even nationally with some of our national partners who are coming alongside of us who are very interested in this uh in this partnership. So um I mentioned we are not doing this alone. Uh we have experienced partners. Lyft Orlando is a community placebased development organization. We do uh acknowledge we don't have expertise in certain areas and education is one of those areas we don't have expertise in. But what we do have expertise in is bringing together folks who do and leveraging those resources. And you can see some of the folks that are on this list. Uh, Transcend is an
026incredible um um educational design partner that is doing great work and really centering community in terms of this process. We've heard from Harlem Children's Zone and Purpose-built community. Some our folks are here from Purpose-built uh that alongside of us. We have good great legal counsel and in this journey and then building in the back-end support uh team as well. So again, it's going to take a I guess a village to make this happen. Uh but it's also going to take real effort from skilled and experienced partners who bring their expertise to this process. >> So as we look ahead, we truly are looking community- based first. I want to talk a little bit about the design process we're going through with teachers and community. Um, we are truly able to create everything from a mission
027mission and a vision down to what we want classrooms to look like based off what the parents, the students, and the teachers want. A teacher shared with me this morning that she's never had so much say and what's happening in her classroom and what's to come for her students. And I'm very excited to take this next step. And I want to thank each of you. Um, I just ask you to think back to maybe your trip to Harlem Children's Zone or Drew Charter if you've had the opportunity to go and just think about the potential we saw in those four walls and the potential that Orange Center has to become with this partnership. So, thank you um for your consideration and we know we can't do this alone, but we have some amazing partners, you
028all included in this process. So, thank you. Thank you. >> That's it. Mhm. >> Now the fun part. Okay. >> Just a few clarifying questions from the application and then anyone can answer. >> So you did talk about um you know how long you've been working with Arnson. Lift and Orange have been working together. But how did that partnership start? >> So that partnership started more than a decade ago. Um and Lyft um communities of West Lakes for about 12 years. Um a key part of our work is centered around four strategic pillars. Uh education, cradle to career education, health and wellness, u economic viability, and mixed income housing. Uh the relationship with Orange Center particularly has also been a key part of our work in that community. Uh and so that's where it sort
029of began. Uh and um it evolved over time quite frankly. We we saw different leadership changes at the school. we we have great success with certain leaders and other times we're seeing some drop off but our intention has been to really have a sustained approach uh and that is that conversation that took place in Boston right how do we come together and figure out collectively in a formalized partnership that allows us to do and invest in the foundation of the partnership long term and that has been somewhat that sort of shaped where we are today. Okay. No. >> The application states that Neighborhood Schools Initiative, Inc. was intentionally established to enhance and refine the existing supports and programming available to the students in the local community with Orange Center as the center for student learning
030and growth. What do you mean by that? >> So, we one of the things that was um incredibly important is uh parent v voice and parent agency in this process, right? And so the establishment of uh NSI was centered around that premise, right? To ensure that we were doing this based on what the parents desire and the opportunity for us to enhance programmatically allows us to think about all the sort of what I call the 80% of the things that happen outside of the classroom in a child's life, right? and how our work can serve in a complimentary way to help teachers not to have to wear so many hats. And this allows us to sort of layer on programmatically and enhance that learning experience but deal with the stabilization of the community and the
031family in a very coordinated and clear way. >> Dr. Dr. Scott, if I could just add to that, I think it's also important that we when we talk about being the center of this partnership, that also means in the neighborhood to other OCPS schools. Our goal is truly to become a resource hub to where once we have programs or systems, instructions, structures or professional development that works that we share with the other schools in 3285 um and allow Rock Lake and Washington Shores and other schools in our footprint to benefit from the same benefit that the teachers and staff and students of Orange Center will. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, that's a Dr. Scott, that's an important part of this um collaboration is not to be competitive, right? Uh to really be a a a
032center for learning and innovation that benefits the entire neighborhood and the feeder system uh into Jones High School. >> The application speaks to having a required parent liaison to provide parent access and information to information and to resolve parental issues. talk about how um you intend to involve parents within the school. >> So we intend to involve parents in all aspects of the school including the governance of NSI at the board level as well as the advisory level as well. So there is a governing board of seven, there will be an advisory uh committee of 12 and there will be parent representation uh at those levels. So at the advisory and the decision-making level, in addition, we have formed a parent task force that is currently active uh and engaged in this process and provides
033great insight uh into the work that we're doing currently. Uh and we also have your standard PTA and things of that nature. So these are some of the things that are already in place and what we will be implementing at a governance level to ensure that parent voice and parent agency uh remains part of this process. Okay. And just to piggyback on that last question, you mentioned the um advisory committee. What will their role be? >> So, their advisory committee would be uh supporting uh the school through advising on um education design matters um um you know, experiences for parents uh at the school, making sure that they are um uh engaged in collecting that insight. Um but they're going to be a resource to ensure that um the right kinds of information and insight
034are flowing back to uh the governance structure uh to make sure that that is happening on a consistent basis. There's a plan to have regular meetings u where parents will be engaged uh in the advisory committee but we also will really um lean on the continued um efforts around the uh task force. So, that's going to also be an important place for us to get that feedback. >> Okay. Thank you. And last question. Um, could you tell us um what your what your work is going to be like with the Harlem Children's Zone and purpose-built communities? >> Awesome. Aaron, you feel free to jump in on the Harlem Child Zone. You want to take that? >> Absolutely. So, I think what was most important, I'm going to go back to quoting one of my teachers.
035She said, "I love Harlem Children's Zone and I love Drew Charter, but I want to make it Orange Center." So I think it's important that these are continued resources for us. We are not trying to copy or copy paste or mimic these. We are trying to build off of these resources. I think the other huge advantage to our partners is they are truly a phone call away. And when we get to a part of our day or this this vision or this design um design plan, we are able to pick up the phone and say, "When you were here, talk to me about what you did here. How did you handle this with the community or the parents or how did you implement this in your school? What didn't work for you? We now have
036purpose-built communities and Drew Charter. We already have teachers talking back and forth and we have um the director of early learning talking to our VPK teachers. So, the relationship has already started and the bonds have already been made. So, they they feel like they have someone to reach out to that's been through this. And I also want to be clear, they're not going to play a role in the governance level or the operations of the school. They are here for technical assistance and providing transferable knowledge and experiences to help us uh implement what works for Orange Center. >> So, >> well, thank you all for your presentation and for the qu answering the questions and I'm going to turn it back over to Dr. Williams. >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Scott. All right. Uh
037member front, you're recognized. Thank you. Okay. Thank you guys so much for being here. First of all, this is one of the best partnerships that I think we have done in my time that I've been on the board. Uh watching this all play out. Uh the heart and passion that Lyft Orlando has for the community. U to me it's like you walked into a community, saw that there was a need um just multiple needs, right? and saw that the schools were um struggling in the sense that we want to provide we see that there's you know if a child comes in and um I was actually at a store the other day at uh Costco and a young boy 11 years old uh walks up to me says um my grandpa and I are washing
038windows today. Can I wash your window? Do you have $5? and my little 11-year-old was with me and he looked at that boy and when we walked away he goes, "Wow, I thought that just happened in El Salvador where we do missions work." >> And um I said, "No, those things happen all over." And so, uh you know, I had the opportunity to to talk with them, but I thought to myself, okay, when that little boy walks into school on Monday, he's not just thinking about reading and writing and doing math. He's thinking about how are we going to get food on the table? his worry that day was how are we paying rent uh to stay at the hotel? Um and that's where when I see the work that you're doing, it really lifts
039a burden off of our shoulders as schools because our our goal is to help them get the best education possible and your goal is to make sure that they can focus on that. And I I'm just I I feel like we could sit here all day talking about how amazing you guys are and really it's just the the partnership is awesome. Thank you for the questions, Dr. Scott. Those were um great questions. I really had that um the last question about the Harlem Children's Zone and how that all works. So knowing that um you know really for me I think the the lift Orlando the orange center making it giving it its own stamp where people now are traveling to Orlando and Orange County to see what are you guys doing? How did you do
040this? How did you make this work? And to think that the the public schools were in partnership yeah with you. So this isn't just a we're taking kids away or we're trying to you know cut ties and um however you feel about school choice. To me, this is about educating our kids. So, no matter where they go to school, it's about making sure that they're getting the best education. Um, just a few things just to to say. Um, quality before scale. Yeah. >> So, thank you for that. Um, that was going to be actually a question uh that I had, but you had answered it there. But just that quality before scale, just making sure that you are focused on that the quality every day and making sure that they are getting what they need
041before just blowing it up and and uh getting huge, but then you're you're struggling to kind of make ends meet at the end. Seam focus is amazing. Problem solvers love it. um strong tier one instruction and I know you have a great uh partnership also with uh Reed Charitable and I know that is I we've seen it work time and time again and uh when you're focused on that I'm seeing that in schools right now in district 3 but um where that when the schools are really focused on that you're going to see a huge transformation. I'm excited personally to see uh this this school and the progress that you've made in the next year, two, three years and see the transformation. Um and then just to say thank you for your out ofthe-box thinking.
042>> Thank you for that. Uh because we're in a time right now where we can't just keep doing uh the same old same old and um and hope for different results. So thank you for that. Um and I'm I support this 100%. >> Thank you. Thank you, Member Fant. >> Thank you, Member Fant. Member Vanos. >> Thank you, Member Gallo. Um, I just want to start off by saying what a breath of fresh air it is to have a charter application before us that is well researched, that actually has considered educational policy, that um has asked the community and the district what is needed and what is wanted. um before just coming in and deciding to set up shop. So, thank you for being competent and thank you for um for I you know um
043just the application that you submitted. >> Really appreciate that. Um and I you know specifically again just really appreciate you reaching out to the parents having the the the town halls and the meetings but also making sure that you're incorporating parents into your governance. I think that's amazing. Um, and I appreciate that you are focused on teachers and thinking about how you can relieve burdens um, for them to allow them to be, you know, even more effective with what they're doing. Um, and, you know, hopefully we can, you know, learn from some of the things that you're doing. Um, and I also appreciate that you consider yourself to be an innovation lab. Um, that will help. That sounded very Midwest to me. lab that um that is looking to you know provide kind of those
044examples for other schools in the neighborhood. So I I really really appreciate that. Um and I also uh again just uh looking at the board of NSI am happy to see the addition of uh Miss Kirby on there um because she has provided such a great example um of a charter school that meets an unmet need. >> Yes. and does something that, you know, OCPS, you know, can can use help with. So, I I appreciate that that thought process there. So, very excited to um to know that she's part of that. >> Um, one question that I did have is, >> you know, some and I think this was you spoke about the students that are in the zip code and in the footprint will have priority. Yes. And I just want to so so
045one of the questions that has been you know raised to me by by not me someone else um is just you know making sure that that charter school you know isn't cherrypicking its students. So just want to make sure that as we move forward that that will continue to be your your priority and that it won't be you won't be doing that essentially. >> Yeah. Yeah. We've I've had conversations with um and Aaron, you could speak a little bit to the um uh neighboring school principles, right? We want to be really sensitive about that. we're not cherrypicking uh students uh that we are following a matrix of decision making around a student enrollment with a focus on the current students at Orange Center, their siblings, um uh employees at the school footprint within Lyft and
046then 3285 is and that's how we're going to sort of look at opportunities for students uh enrollment at the school. uh but we also are mindful about how not to uh sort of uh or to avoid uh being perceived as just picking the best students and I think that's really important that we maintain that. So >> and I think the systems and structures we are putting in place along with the resources are going to help the students with maybe those academic difficulties or behavioral difficulties. We're not just saying hey this isn't for you you need to go. we are actually creating the resources to eliminate any barriers to truly help the child and then we'll be able to give the child what they need whether that's ABA therapy >> or parent what the parent needs.
047I think that's another piece that maybe we need to speak to is is we are educating our parents on how to educate their children and when we provide them with the resources and we're able to give the student what they need um our goal is to give them not give them more resources not remove them from the school. >> Got it. I'm very very happy to hear that. So, thank you. Um to make sure that everybody gets what they need. Um also loved how you are are focused on the that prevention piece is like because you have that early learning um you know in sort of the um that that same area that you can kind of identify what a student may need at six weeks or six months or a year which then helps
048them when they get into school. So I think that's a really big huge piece of it too. >> Huge. >> Um okay I think I actually only have one question one more question. Um, and so I read on page three of the application that you are um developing an anti-discrimination policy and it says um that the school's admission process will not discriminate against any student on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, disability or marital status. And I just wanted to compare that to what OCPS's policy is. Um and it uh says uh school board of Orange County, Florida does not discriminate in admission or access to or treatment or employment in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation,
049gender identity or expression, or any other reason prohibited by law. So, I'm just curious if you would consider mirroring the policy with OCPS as you develop it. >> Absolutely. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Great. Thank you. Um, and then yeah, just the last thing is I do uh look forward to also working with um Lyft and with you all um at the legislature to advocate for funding for all of our our public schools. >> Absolutely. Looking forward to that. Member Vanos, thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Yeah. >> Thank you, Member Vanos. Um Member Fder, you're up. >> Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Um >> good afternoon. This isn't indeed has been a very interesting journey uh especially for me uh but uh this picture I think I want this picture framed and
050put in my office or put somewhere of these children. It's >> it's just so defining >> of of of hope and and answer. Um, I got a phone call yesterday from a Jones High School graduate of 1972 and he told me about an article that he found in his mother's junk from that the Sentinel wrote in 1995 outlining all of the successful people graduates of Jones from the 30s or 40s. just kind of highlighted and orange on center of course is a fetus who I had to find out later on they were called the baby tigers I said what's your mascot say baby tigers I say tigers I said okay and when I look at the work the many well the the longtime work that has been doing when they came into the 3285 community
051where I I proudly live um I I'm I'm excited about the control, the trajectory that we're going to set. We went to Harlem, Kids Zone, >> and some of us went to Drew, >> but this is Orlando. This is the city. Beautiful. This is beautiful Washington Shores. I'm so excited about uh first of all the love and the interest that has been shown from people who did not grow up in my community who are not from Orlando but are now living here. Allison Kirby had a wonderful opportunity to be the principal at Jones. She got a good feel of the alumni and the community and she worked and did you know what she did she you know and she's still within this community so obviously there is a love right >> and a care uh
052plus she's married to my old church member's son so that a plus with it but um the fact that um what Lyft is trying to do and and the boldness of OCPS to say, "Okay, this what you want to do? >> Let me see. Let me see. Work work this out. Let me see how this going to work out." >> Because we have issues with charter and what my board member Vanos said was so apppropo. the fact you're just not coming in planting the ground, >> but you are seeking for a real partnership. I get calls on a daily basis about Orange Center being changing chart and what are you doing about it? And I I let them get all that out of their system. Then I say, "Are you ready to listen to what
053I have to say?" >> Then I began to tell them, I said, "You don't understand. We are I know that sounds cliche, but we are really doing it. We are reimagining >> what charter is and what we going to do because as member Vanos I mean Verance said the bottom line is education >> of the students the best educational experience for them and their parents and it's and it's my hope that the governing board that you have will work very closely with the advisory board the parents and of course I'm on one of them boards that we work in sync, that we're not there's nobody in control over anybody. That's how you reimagine the relationship. >> Uh that we work in sync because the bottom line when I was looking at that article and got
054a glimpse of that article that the Sentinel wrote in 1995, most of those people are dead. Some of them are still living. I'm said they went that far to try to talk about the potentuality that's found and it's not it could be found in other places but I live in the 320 805 district and this is where I was raised in 385 and it just makes me feel good that we're still clinging on to a promise that we can create and uh train successful children to successful ful adults that I tell this to my students. I tell them to every day, the first day of school, every year that I taught, don't let your environment desk uh um declare your destiny. >> You have to control that. And I think what we're doing with this
055particular partnership with um Lyft and Orange Center and Charter and OCPS, we are going to do that. And I believe what some of the other board members believe that people will come to Orlando to Orange County and say, "How do what are you doing? How did you do that? How's this working?" I I'm so excited because, you know, I used to tell people all the time, what looks like the end could very well be the beginning. And so I look forward to the work. Uh it is not going to be easy as uh the John and I talked about it. This is not a hurry up and get done thing. Some of us hopefully will be living and some of us may not, you know, but it it's a process and I hope that we're
056up for the process >> because it's going to take process. But I'm just excited that people are wanting to be a part of the process. >> And I'm so proud of this board. We don't always agree on everything, but the intellectual capacity of the people on this board is is expected. It's amazing. And I'm excited. I'm happy that this is what I'm working with down from the superintendent or deputy superintendent, the cabinet. I think we got something good going on OCPS. I'm telling you, we do every day. I'm amazed at things that our schools are doing and what our students are doing. and that we have embraced this beast and we're going to tame it called charter. We're going to tame it and we're going to direct it to say this is how it's supposed
057to go and this is the thing this is how it works and this whole idea with uh neighborhood purpose built communities that whole thing that is phenomenal that they that we have that kind of involvement. So, uh, you'll be hearing more from me. I'll probably say some other things and some come up. I'm upset. I'll tell Bridget first and I'll tell Maria, then I call you Mark and I fuss and say, but I just want to know let you know that >> I'm very excited in the work of Kia and Greg Moody and what they do with Charter. I I'm just so excited about OCPS that uh that I'm on the board when this is happening >> that I I'm on the board when this is happening. So, I just thank you so much and
058again understand and realize process >> cannot be done in a hurry. >> Took us 150 years to get public schools where it is now and we still got some issues. >> 150 years. So uh thank you all so much. Thank you. >> Thank you member Felder. Thank you. >> Thank you member Felder. Member Douglas. >> Okay. >> Good afternoon. >> I just want to say that going to so many events amazing. >> So I I just want to say uh I really enjoy your presentation. really it was very captivating and I specifically like your goals your mission and your vision >> uh to educate all kids and bring parents also to be part of their student education. I think that's a plus just like you said we're building a village >> and we all have
059to incorporate all stakeholders and that's wonderful. Uh a and what I like also you are not only educating kids you are also building communities >> which is absolutely amazing. >> Uh if you have not going gone to 32805 just go and go and visit. >> You know I I used to teach at Washington Shoes Elementary and I used to pass by every time to go home and I'm like oh my goodness this is so bad. Let me get out of here quick. But now I'm like, uh, you know what? Maybe I can live here somewhere. It's just amazing. Um, now my question is, do you have any other uh charter schools who reach out to you and want to have a similar vision to what you're doing right now? Is that something new or >>
060That hasn't happened. There might have been one or two inquiry uh months ago, but we have really been focused on this work. As board member Felder said, this is a process and it is going to require a tremendous focus uh to deliver on the promises that we've made in this partnership and to the parents and to this community. And that is where we are centering our energy and our resources and uh and quite frankly we we don't have a story to tell yet, right? And so we got to do the work >> uh and we don't want to get distracted because this is what's important. Uh to member Vanis's point, we need to make sure we have information and experiences that can be captured that can help influence policy and things uh that are important
061more broadly. and we want to get this right and that is our commitment to get this right. So, >> you know, I I disagree with you when you said you don't have a story yet. That that is a story in itself >> and it's a story that took 10 years to be built >> and what you have done, I'm telling you, it's just absolutely amazing. Uh I won't say more, but I just love what member Felder just said. uh don't let your environment dictate your destiny and a lot of our kids and that's why we try to put drill into their mind that they can be way better than where they live and thank you so much >> you know you're very fortunate 3 to8 okay >> thank you thank you member Douglas >> thank
062you member Douglas okay so I'm up next and then after me is member Solomon and I think we'll be we'll be wrapping up the discussion I just want to say thank you for all that you've done for for the 3285 community. I've had the pleasure of going to some of the meetings and some of the events and it's just phenomenal what you guys have been able to accomplish and so we appreciate you coming into our community. We appreciate the time, talent and dollars that you put into Orange Center and we I'm looking forward to the success of that school to growing the school and to see that you all that you can accomplish in the future. I do have um just a couple of questions. Um how many So you said that the letters to
063the teachers are just going out. Have you got a commitment from how many teachers will be staying or how many will want to go to another Orange County public school? >> So we have about 80% plus of staff staying. Um their offer letters went out and then instructional contracts just went out this week as well and classified will follow tomorrow. Um but the teachers are very excited. Um it it too has been a process for them >> um of understanding, >> right? Cuz there's changes from OCPS to a charter. Yeah. And we have some staff members who have been with OCPS for 25 plus years. So they're but they are excited about the vision and the mission and they are ready to do the work. So 80% plus. That's that's phenomenal. That's so that's such
064good news. And then on the 32 like parents that were opposed, did you reach out to them or talk to them just to to understand what their hesitation was in in converting to a charter school? >> We we did not have the ability because we did not know it was it was anonymous. So we did not have the ability to contact anyone whether you voted for or against. So >> has um anybody any parent >> discussed with you their oppos like what their concern was about converting to a charter? >> The handful of parents that I spoke to it was a lack of understanding. Okay. >> Um so now I think parents sometimes see flyers and advertisement for things like education forum and feel like it's not the space for them. >> But we're now
065educating the parents that this is your space. This is where you're doing the work. And it's okay if you don't have something to say right away or you don't have an opinion or or something to change or add, but just being in the space is something that's huge. So now we're seeing those education forums grow rapidly and the parents have lots of input and opinions now on what they want to see. >> That's awesome. I love that. Well, I did get to go visit the Drew Charter and it's just phenomenal what a purpose-built community can do and what it did for that community. I think it's I think people all over Atlanta are trying to get into Drew Charter School. um even out of private schools. So, that's a testament to how well they do
066what they do. Um so, I'm just super excited. I think this is going to be a great partnership. I can't wait um to see how successful you you all are and then to imitate it where we can. Um and I'm sure that as you guys go further, this is going to be the talk of of Tallahassee because this is the first time that we're doing this in Florida. And I love love love that it's happening in Orange County, Florida. I really do. I love that it's happening here and it's happening in this community. So, thank you both for everything and I'm super supportive. I've always has been and if you ever need my help in anything, let me know. I don't know how I can be helpful, but I'm happy to help if I can.
067Thank you. >> Thank you, Member Galla. >> You're welcome. And now we're gonna call on member Salamanca. >> Thank you, Member Galla. I also wanted just to thank you all so much for how collaborative this whole process has been um with with the community with the school board um for having giving us the opportunity to visit to meet all those in the community who are part of this process. Um I echo a lot of what was said here. I think when we visited the Harlem zone and and visited Atlanta, it was so clear that this is a model that is innovating, creating a space for places where we know that we are thin on resources and teacher time. And um I'm just so excited to see how this works out, all the things and lessons
068that we learn. Um and and really appreciate the transparency. I think you're going into this with the humility that this takes time and it's hard as we know in in public education because there's so many things to address. Um, but we're in this journey with you and and just really excited to learn together um from this model because it really is the first time we're doing this here in Florida and and I think you are all the right mindset and people to do this. So very grateful for for the chance to to see this through. >> Awesome. >> Thank you, member Salamanca. All right, that is all of the input we have from the board. Thank you so much for being here today and and for the presentation. >> All right. Thank you very much.
069Have a great afternoon. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. So, um 4.02 02 was withdrawn the charter application for Achieve Point Virtual Academy North. Um so we'll be we'll be visiting that at another work session. So up next is the resoning 2026. It's a targeted resoning. Dr. Williams, you are recognized. >> Thank you. Once again, this is the Greg Moody show. So we have Greg Moody. Greg, you're doing great. >> Just old age. You heard my name, so I jumped up and hurt my back. >> So before you will be uh our um members of student enrollment, Miss Stacy Neil, uh director, senior director of student enrollment, will walk us through a few targeted resonance today. Stacy Neil. >> Good afternoon, board members, Chair Gallow, Dr. Williams, and any other OCPS uh members
070that are listening or out in the audience. Today, we are going to do a targeted resoning for Kelly Park, Orange Center, and uh Zelwood. First, I'd like to go over the resoning process. Schoolboard policy JC. We have the superintendent who commences resoning. Timeline is developed. We meet with principles, executive leaders, school board members. Research and data is then collected. We have our community meeting, rural development workshop, public hearing, and we keep the resoning notebook. A review of our resoning timeline. A community meeting was held on March 23rd. We're at the work session today. A rule development workshop will be held on April 28th, and the school board public hearing is set for May 12th. This resoning process applies whether we reszone a new school, a neighborhood, vacant land, or school consolidation. To describe the scope
071of the resoning, we use the terms technical targeted relief school or school consolidation. For a technical resoning, there are no students involved. The area to be moved is uninhabited land. For a targeted resoning, only selected areas are recommended to be moved and there is usually a small group of students involved. A relief school resoning when a new school is opening and it affects a large number of students. School consolidation closes underutilized sites and it affects large number of students. You can follow each step of the resoning on our website. Under the school tab, you will click on school resoning. From there, we'll take you to the resoning currently in the works page where you will find the resoning timeline. Today's presentation, maps, data, and survey links. We will begin with a targeted resoning to Kelly
072Park School Zone in including the winding winding meadows and West Ridge Park subdivisions. Since Kelly Park School is a K8, this resoning will also affect Wolf Lake Middle School. Let me orient you to the map. The green boundary lines show the current middle school zones and the proposed new zones are solid colors. Kelly Park School is green and Wolf Lake Middle School is shown in purple. A zoomed in view of the neighborhood and land adjacent to be moved. There are 16 students residing and attending Wolf Lake Middle School recommended to be reszoned to Kelly Park School. The next slide is elementary. Let me help let me orient you to this map. The red lines show the current elementary school boundary. The green area represents the proposed Kelly Park School zone. The purple area represents the
073proposed Wolf Lake Elementary School. The brown area represents the proposed Zelwood Elementary School zone. The hashlines show the areas to be moved to a new zone. Currently, the Winding Meadows neighborhood is split between Kelly Park School and Wolf Lake Elementary. Under the proposed resoning, the entire neighborhood will be placed within the Kelly Park School zone. Here's a zoomed in view showing Winding Metals. It's in yellow. Is currently split once again between Kelly Park School and Wolf Lake Elementary. This map highlights the area of West Ridge Park subdivision to be moved from Zelwood Elementary zone to the Wolf Lake Elementary School zone. Currently, there are 50 students residing and attending. There's a side note. Distance to Wolf Lake Elementary is under two miles and this would eliminate a bus. This slide displays the demographic breakdown for
074each school both before and after the resoning. The first column shows the name of the school involved in the resoning with the school's Florida inventory of school houses capacity, also known as fish. Fish capacity refers to the official number of students a school is designated to accommodate as determined by the state. This figure is maintained by district staff in the Florida Inventory of School Houses. A comprehensive database that includes every room in all district owned schools. For example, Kelly Park School's fish capacity is 1,248. The next column displays student enrollment from February 2nd, 2026 with a percentage breakdown for race as white, black, and other and ethnicity as non-Hispanic and Hispanic. For Kelly Park School, 1080 enrollment, there was 65% white, 23% black, and 12% other. 69% non-Hispanic and 27% Hispanic. The third column displays
075the current number of students residing in each zone. There are 911 students residing in Kelly Park school zone. The next column shows how many students will be residing in each zone if this resoning takes place. Kelly Park School would have 989 students with 63% white, 23% black, 13% other, 66% non-Hispanic, and 34% Hispanic. The final number represents a projected number of students attending for the 2026 27 school year. Kelly Park School is projected for between 1,140 to 1,160 students. The next column is farms which stands for free and reduced meals. The current percentage for Kelly Park School is 32% and proposed is 30%. ES exceptional student education is 15% current 15% proposed. ELELLL English language learners is 7% current and 8% proposed. I'll give you a moment to review the numbers for each school. If
076approved, this resoning will commence in August 2026. I've also we've also provided the project projections for the impacted schools. The top area is as status quo. The below area is winding metals West Ridge Park the targeted resoning should it go into effect. We have three ways for families to provide their input on a resoning. Online survey form, petitions, and email are currently available. A few important guidelines. All input must be submitted by April 14th at 7:30 a.m. for schoolboard review before the April 28th rule development workshop. Input must include name and address. One submission per household will be counted. Duplicate submissions will be excluded from the totals. Additional opportunities to provide input will be available after the rule development workshop and before the public hearing. All feedback will be shared with schoolboard members at the
077April 28th and May 12th meetings. This concludes the presentation for Wolf Lake Middle School Elementary and Zelwood Elementary. Dr. Williams. >> Thank you. And I believe the board member. >> Thank you. Thank Yes. Thank you, Dr. Williams. Um so first up we have um Member Bird on the line. Member Bird, you're recognized. >> Thank you, Chair. Uh, real quick, can we go back to the Zelwood numbers? Um, the projection numbers. I just had a quick question. We have a current enrollment of 653 and the enrollment that's currently in the neighborhood that you're going to reszone, you said, was about 50 students, but you're still projecting the enrollment to grow next year up to 680 to 700. I read that correctly, right? >> Yes. >> Even with moving those 50. >> Yes. >> Okay. That's what
078I thought. Um, and this has not opened up yet to community for any survey results. >> It has. And we have received we have received uh how many four one two three four five uh responses from families and one two three four support only one opposed >> is and we don't know >> why there was the opposition >> um they want to stay in Zelwood And with the grandfather transfer, they would be allowed to remain at Zelwood, >> right? Okay. Um, great. I am in full support of both of these. I think they're great choices. >> Okay. Thank you, Member Bird. Um, member Vanos. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just two just two questions. Um, I saw that it looks like enrollment will increase for all of these schools by about a thousand for next year.
079I was just wondering, this is not my district, so just curious what is accounting for that increase. >> There's uh growth, there's a subdivision that's being developed. Um Tommy's not with me, so right now I can't remember the name. I want to say Wild Oaks um that's grow uh coming. So there is a lot of growth in Apopka. Aka is exploding. >> Okay. Thank you. And then my my last question was um I noticed for I think it's Wolf Lake Middle and Zelwood that they appear to be pretty significantly above fish capacity in the next few years. >> Yes. And we are addressing a lot of that growth in advanced planning for future possible schools. >> Okay. Okay. So there could be another potential school in that area. Yes. Okay. Great. Thank you. >> Thank
080you, member Vanos. That's all the speakers we have today. Do we you just need consensus to move forward? What do you need from the board? >> Consensus forward based on the >> Turn your mic on. >> I apologize. My mic's not on. Consensus. Consensus to move forward based on the recommendation from Greg Moody's team. >> Awesome. Do we have consensus to move forward? >> Yes. Okay, you have consensus. >> Thank you. So, uh, we will now present the resoning to distribute the Orange Center attendance zone to nearby schools. Orange Center is converting to a charter school. As a result, students currently zoned for Orange Center who do not wish to attend a charter school will need to be res reassigned to another Orange County school, requiring the establishment of a new attendance zone for the
081area. This map shows the current elementary school zone boundaries outlined in red. The proposed zones are shown in solid colors. Catalina in orange, Rock Lake in green, Washington shores and Washington shores. This area represents the 2026 27 school zone in purple. Here's a zoomed in view of the area moving students from Orange Center to Catalina. There are 50 students residing and attending Orange Center recommended to be reszoned. Zoomed in area moving students from Orange Center to Rock Lake. And no, this is not an area um error. There are 50 students residing and attending in this uh area recommended to be reszoned. Zoomed in area moving students from Orange Center to Washington Shores. There are 113 students residing and attending Orange Center recommended to be reszoned. Side note, distance to all schools with this resoning is
082under two miles. This slide displays the demographic breakdown for each of the schools both before and after the resoning. The first column shows the name of the school involved and the in the resoning with the school's floor fish and I'll give everyone a moment to review. If approved, this resoning will commence August 2026. We've also provided the projections for the impacted schools. We have three ways for families to provide input on this resoning. online survey, petitions, email. All input must be submitted by April 14th at 7:30 a.m. for schoolboard review. Only one submission per household will be counted. Duplicate submissions will be excluded from the totals and additional opportunities to provide input will be available after the rule development workshop and before the public hearing. All feedback will be shared with schoolboard members at the
083April 28th and May 12th meetings. This concludes our presentation. We appreciate your participation and encourage you to share your thoughts and questions. Dr. Williams, >> thank you. I want to make sure I'm correct. Uh this is just for those students that choose not to attend or center, correct? >> Yes. Make sure that's that's >> Yes. Thank you, Dr. Williams. That was my question. I'm actually first up. So the 50 that you mentioned that reside there, there's no indication that they won't continue to go to Orange Center. Correct. >> Correct. We do not anticipate the it's 213 plus students uh leaving Orange Center. However, in the eventuality, there needs to be a zone created for anyone. >> Yeah. No, I understand. Thank you. And then I have one other question about the projections. Um, and I
084think I know the answer to this, but right now Washington, this year, this school year, Washington Shores is sitting at 269 and then next year we have them going up to 560. That's not because of the orange center. That's because of the other reasonings that we've did earlier in March. Correct. >> That was from the Eckleston's consolidation. >> Okay. because we only have Catalina and the other schools going up with a very small increment. >> Correct. Yes. >> All right. Thank you. Those were my questions. Um, member Felder, you're recognized. >> I think >> Thank you, uh, chair. I think that you just the questions I the concerns I had, you just addressed them. But uh cuz I was and I think even talking to Miss Neil, we we have to put something in place
085in the event students do not want to attend uh Orange Center, but we have not had that, which is good. And I I sort of anticipated that they will they were going to want to stay, but we still need to put something in place. So, I'm glad about that. That was all. Thanks. >> Thank you, member Felder, member front. Thank you. My uh question is really the same. Um however, as far as parents being notified about the new attendance zones, um how are we notifying parents? Is this something that um the school notifies them? Do we notify them? I just don't want there to be a confusion where parents all of a sudden are going, "No, do we have to change or not?" I just want it to be very clear. So per policy and
086our procedures, we always notify families who are being affected by any reasonzoning, either receiving the students at their schools or they're actually the families being moved. So we notify them, connect Orange, email, always newspaper. >> Um yes, go ahead. But I think to your point is um the commun clear communication about it is an option right so parents as as indicated by the vote a majority of the parents want to stay so we'll look at crafting language in some of our connect orange messages that that clearly uh say in the event that you choose or or something I'll I'll let the communication experts deal with that message and and I work with Bridget and Lyft and the school. I I I get your point. Yeah. So, we don't want to confuse people like am I
087going or am I staying? >> That's it. Thank you so much. I appreciate it cuz like you said, the majority of parents want to stay. Um but for the few that may not want to or maybe somebody's coming in from um now just moving in, something like that, I just want them to know that they don't have to move. Um but in the event that they do, um just clear messaging. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. >> Yeah. uh student enrollment's messaging is consistent per policy. Uh but we can send some additional information as well. So I'll work with staff on on that. Great point. Y >> thank you. Member FR. Am I the only one that thought of should I stay or should I go son? Was that the only Was I the
088only person that popped in my brain? >> See, I knew John would have me. >> I'm here all day. >> Thank you so much. That's all the questions and comments we have. So I believe you have consensus to move forward. >> All right. You have consensus. We are good. Thank you so much for the presentation. >> Thank you. >> We have one more um one more item to come before the board today. It is FEA educational adequacy and construction specifications for new and renovated facilities. Dr. Williams, you are recognized. At that point, um, our one and only John Pomerini will present. >> John, are you ready? >> Mr. Pomerini, you're recognized. >> Uh, thank you, Madame Chair, uh, Madame Deputy Superintendent, members of the board. Um this policy is coming before you to effectuate a
089change to align it with what we have been doing the last I would say probably 7 to 8 years at this time. So this all centers around phase three construction documents. Phase three construction documents essentially are documents that assure that we are following the Florida building code, the Florida engineering codes and the Florida fire prevention code. I said in English, let me try that again. the far Florida fire prevention code. And so what was happening is your policy FEA states that the school board was supposed to approve all of these phase three documents. What was occurring is that this was not happening in that order. And what the board was asked to do was to wave the provisions of its policy to allow the superintendent and the chief facilities officer to sign off on those
090documents rather than the board doing it by policy. So I went back and looked and you all had been asked to wave the policy 59 times over the span of seven or eight years. And so that is not an effective policy if we were being asked to wave it you know 59 times over a span of 7 to 8 years. So what we were doing uh with this change is to align the policy to our actual practice. Now the statute is 101337 and 101338 and those statutes allow um the board employees that are certified registered as engineers pursuant to chapter 471 registered as architects pursuant to chapter 481 of the Florida statutes and fire safety inspectors certified under 633.216 216 Florida statutes to sign off on those phase three documents. So the change that we
091have made I'm sorry let me blow this up so I can actually see it. So what it had in the past, you know, can we give me just a second please? There's a red line here and I want to make sure we're looking at the red line. Okay. So, now looking at the red line, um Sarah Capesky in my office has gone through and made some formatting changes. So, most of what everything you're going to see here is formatting changes until the section five. you know, capitalizations and and titles. Um, you know, putting in a comma instead of a semicolon, spelling out state requirements for educational facilities and then saying SREF to say every future references that uh the school reflecting the school board's correct name, spelling out kindergarten through 8th grade, etc. Covered walkways,
092lowercases, all Sarah loves to do that kind of stuff. So that you're going to see all of those technical non-s substantive changes. And now getting down here to phase three plan reviews. So the language states that phase 3 construction document shall be approved by and it used to say the school board. Now we're changing it to say the school board's review agents as authorized under 101337 Florida statutes prior to entering into the existence for construction of new school facilities or comprehensive renovation of existing facilities. We have to approve the phase 3 documents before we let the contract under the statute. So this language aligns with statutory requirements. The authorized review agents pursuant to S section 101338 subsection 2 Florida statute shall either be board employees or contracted entities who are registered as engineers under chapter
093471 Florida statutes, architects pursuant to chapter 481 Florida statutes and fire safety inspectors certified under section 633 216 Florida statutes. So, we can have either board employees that we hired directly do this work or we can have contracted entities. As you all know, we outsourced our building code compliance function last year after the council of great city schools recommendation. So, we are most likely going to be using contracted staff to do this. So upon execution of those phase three documents by the authorized review agents, notification shall be made to the board via anformational item submitted by the superintendent as part of the board agenda at the next regularly scheduled meeting board meeting after the approval of the phase three construction documents. So you will see a superintendent'sformational item that has listed we've approved the phase
094three construction documents for insert your school here. so you know that that has occurred. And um if you care to delve into those documents, the superintendent and her staff will make it available. Of course, if you want to go to sleep early because it's a packet this thick, you can go ahead and do that. But it will be available for you all to look at should you choose to look at it. But we thought this change was necessary because we should not be waving our policy over and over and over again. we should be doing it in conformance with the statute. We should be doing it in conformance making our policy align with what we actually do to conform with the statute. And then section six once again just you know formatting and you know
095just verbiage changes just to make it look prettier and and to make sure it's consistent throughout the policy and that madam chair is the changes. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. >> Thank you Mr. Pomerini. Do we have any questions for Mr. Pomerini? member front. Thank you. Okay. So, mine is not to this exact thing, but to the um this whole document, I guess as as I'm reading it, I have just a couple questions about the difference. What is do you know the difference between building as um like what a public school is required uh to have in their buildings versus like a charter school that is building um a building. I know that um from some of my communication with staff they've said they're like every public school I believe is
096required to be uh equipped to be a storm shelter. Um is that correct? So there is a document adopted by the state through the state board of education called the state requirements for educational facilities SREF and it is a comprehensive system of regulations that say all school buildings have to have the certain things. We have to with respect to storm safety our buildings have to be rated in order to withstand you know hurricanes and that kind of stuff and they have to also be utilized uh be able to be utilized as shelters. Now, the county works out with us and we have a plan with Orange County about what facilities are going to be utilized for shelters. Mostly, it's our high schools cuz they're much bigger and they're able to handle more people, etc. That's
097all worked out. But SREF dictates how we build buildings. SREF does not apply to charter schools. So, charter schools have to follow the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Code, but they do not have to have all of the specific items and standards that a traditional public school building has to have under SREF. So, as a consequence, for a charter school who's building a facility, it is usually a much cheaper proposition to do so than for a traditional public school to do so. >> Yes. No, that's exactly what I'm what I'm seeing because we were trying to build a um which we've stopped because of enrollment, but we were trying to build a facility uh for 50 million that would be housing um a minimal amount of students and a charter school literally across
098the street, three three-story buildings and a gymnasium for 48 million. >> Yeah. >> Housing like increasing their numbers over a thousand. So, I I've just been like trying to scratch my head here trying to figure out like why why is that and what, you know, what can we do to help bring some change to that? >> That is a policy choice of the state board of education and the state legislature. The state legislature explicitly exempted uh charter schools from having to comply with SRF. So if the board chooses to say, "Hey, we think we should have some flexibility in the way that charter schools have," that would be something I would suggest for a legislative platform to going up next year to say, "Hey, we want some more flexibility when it comes to construction because
099construction costs, like a lot of other things, have exponentially increased in the last five to six years." >> Yeah, absolutely. That is one thing. I mean, if we're going to try to be fiscally responsible and uh really protect the the taxpayer money and ex, you know, we're seeing people are seeing in this community for instance that I'm talking about, they're seeing the charter school going up and the amount that it's taking and they're going, "Well, why would public schools why would we want to invest in public schools if they're using the money like that?" And so that's where I think we really do need to be communicating better than uh for myself. I need to communicate better then with my u my reps to make sure that they know and really help them um push
100that through. Thank you for clarifying. I appreciate it. >> Yes, ma'am. Thank you. >> Awesome. Thank you, Member Font. Are there any other questions? >> All right. Thank you, Mr. Pomey. There's no >> And we have consensus to move this forward. >> Do we have consensus to move it forward? Yes. >> Yes. Member Bird, member Salamanca, >> we have consensus to move it forward. >> Thank you. >> Yes. We're good. Thank you so much. So, thank you to all the board members and staff for your participation today. Finding no further business before us, this meeting is adjourned. Heat. Heat.