Orange County CORE Blog

Information and a Chance to Share Your Thoughts

Tom — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:04:00 -0500

Orange County CORE wishes you a happy holiday season, and is passing along to you some information from the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools,below. This is part of the Foundation's Count Me In effort to engage the community in important issues affecting our children. If you can find the time, we think you will find this report interesting. Please take a moment to read it AND to take the survey to let the Foundation know what you think.

Perceptions on Teaching Quality Community Survey

In August, Count Me In! released its report on community perceptions on the quality of ...

OCPS PARTNERS WITH SHRINERS INTERNATIONAL - MAJOR OPPORTUNITY

Tom — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:01:00 -0500

CORE does not usually promote fundraisers. However, we have learned of an opportunity that we think all of you should know about. On January 23, 2010, the 85th East-West Shrine Game will be held in the Citrus Bowl. It will be televised live on ESPN2. www.shrinegame.com

This is the oldest all-star game in history. Throughout its history, the game's proceeds have benefited the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The same is true this year. However, this year, for the first time, some of the proceeds will directly benefit OCPS school-based organizations.

This is, basically, how it works: all OCPS school-based organizations, ...

School ReDistricting Meeting

Tom — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:49:00 -0400

NOTICE OF SCHOOL BOARD WORK SESSION

Notice is hereby given that the School Board of Orange County, Florida will meet on August 20, 2009, 4:30 p.m., Conference Room A, first floor, at the Educational Leadership Center, 445 W. Amelia Street, Orlando, Florida 32801 for a Work Session. The Work Session will be for the purpose of discussing the process plan for district wide rezoning.

The Orange County School Board will, again, be considering closing schools to save money. The first step is to discuss redrawing school attendance zone for the ENTIRE COUNTY.

This affects EVERYONE.

So far, the Board has ...

Orange County parents should be very afraid of plans for wholesale changes in school-attendance boundaries.

Tom — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:56:00 -0400

Mike Thomas
COMMENTARY August 18, 2009
Orlando Sentinel

It is a foolhardy exercise in wasting time and resources, not to mention the disruptions and massive public backlash that will accompany such an exercise.

This march to madness came about earlier this year when the School Board scuttled plans to close small schools in minority neighborhoods.

The uproar spurred board member Kat Gordon to call for a "major rezoning" of schools to achieve racial justice. She was backed by local NAACP President Randolph Bracy.

There are various proposals on the table, including "economic integration." Under this scenario, the district would ship ...

Paco's Mexican Restaurant hosts Fundraiser in memory of its founder, Marjorie A. Myers to fund the Marjorie A. Myers Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Tom — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:43:00 -0400

For over 27 years Marjorie A. Myers greeted diners at her Paco's Mexican Restaurant in Winter Park with a smile and great food. Recently the Paco's family lost Marj to cancer. During her life, Marj was an active member of the community--giving back whenever she could and creating an enjoyable work environment for all of her valued employees, many of whom have worked at Paco's since it first opened its doors over 27 years ago.

To honor Marj's great memory and her commitment to service, Paco's is hosting a fundraiser to create the Marjorie A. Myers Memorial Scholarship Fund for ...

OCCPTA Special Meeting on School Closures

Tom — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:52:00 -0400

OCCPTA will hold a Special General Meeting on Small School Closures

When: May 11, 2009
Where: ELC Building
445 W. Amelia Street
Orlando, FL 32801
Board Room
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

At this meeting we will discuss the pros and the cons of Small School Closures.
If you have any questions, please email Richard Bolam at 2ndVP@OCCPTA.org.

Small School Closure Meeting May 6 at 6pm!

Tom — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:41:00 -0400

The Community Calendar included in the newsletter CORE sent out earlier today accurately reflected the OCPS calendar and list of meetings posted on its website.

The OCPS calendar was wrong.

In an effort to obtain additional information regarding the proposed small school closures/rezoning, CORE learned that there is ALSO a community meeting regarding this issue on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. That meeting is included on pupil placement's revised timeline, but is not listed on any OCPS calendar. CORE has learned that meeting will take place and will include information about the suggestions made by Nancy Robbinson at ...

What we think: School group: Start over

Tom — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:37:00 -0400

Orlando Sentinel Editorial: April 29, 2009

Orange County School District officials still can't seem to fathom - or appreciate - their stunning neglect of a federally ordered biracial committee that went AWOL without anyone seeming to notice.

But at this point, the blame game is secondary to more pressing issues.

For starters, the school district needs a complete accounting of the committee's activities over the years. Did it meet when it was supposed to? Were zoning and attendance issues decided without the committee's input? How many meetings were held without a quorum? How many times were School Board members assured ...

When will Orange County parents get to see new school closing plans?

Mary Jo — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:55:00 -0400

Orlando Sentinel: Posted by ErikaHobbs on Apr 23, 2009 5:34:45 PM

That's when you can review Nancy Robbinson's proposals that I (sort of) sketched out for you last week. I can't tell you why they won't let you peek ahead of time. Here is the official response from PIO Shari Bobinski: "Pupil Assignment tells me they will be posted after the May 6th community meeting as standard procedure."

And here is the new timeline of events:

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Bi-Racial Committee Appointees Approved
Board Work session
5:30 p.m. Public Hearing

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Superintendent Meeting
8:00 a.m.
Bi-Racial Committee Meeting
1:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Community Meeting
4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
School Board Rule Development Workshop
6:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 16, 2009
School Board Rule Development Workshop (continued if needed)
4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Bi-Racial committee Meeting
1:00 p.m.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Community Meeting---Additional Meeting
6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
School Board Meeting—Public Hearing
5:30 p.m.

Bi-Racial Committee Update

Mary Jo — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:54:00 -0400

OCPS to Hispanics: You can join biracial committee if you're white
posted by ErikaHobbs on Apr 23, 2009 5:41:25 PM
Discuss This: Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Linking Blogs | Add to del.icio.us | Digg it
Colleague Victor Ramos writes: A group of Hispanic activists were told today that in order to participate on the Orange County schools biracial committee, they would have to be counted as whites. The committee is part of the review process for the district's proposed school closures.

Activists rejected the district's compromise, calling it ridiculous and an insult to their culture.

They had gathered ...

School Enrollment to Decrease

Mary Jo — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:19:00 -0400

Monday, April 13, 2009
Down Economy Drives Down Student Enrollment
State forecasters said Monday that 10,000 fewer public school students are expected to enter classrooms this fall , the fourth straight year of declining enrollment in what remains the nation's fourth largest school system.
The economy has plenty to do with the downward trend. Migration from other states has cooled as Florida’s unemployment rate climbs to levels above the national average, a glut of unsold homes slows the construction industry, and the state hovers near the top nationwide in home foreclosures.
While 2.6 million students still are expected to fill ...

Education Secretary Says Aid Hinges on New Data

Tom — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:25:00 -0400

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, left, and Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland at Doswell E. Brooks Elementary School on Wednesday. Photo: Brendan Hoffman for The New York Times

By SAM DILLON
Published: April 1, 2009

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told the nation’s governors on Wednesday that in exchange for billions of dollars in federal education aid provided under the economic stimulus law, he wants new information about the performance of their public schools, much of which could be embarrassing.

In a “Dear Governor” letter to the 50 states, Mr. Duncan said $44 billion in stimulus money was being made ...

Small School Proposal Given to the Board by Vicky Bell

Mary Jo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:43:00 -0400

CLOSING SMALL SCHOOLS

Background

At the present we have a proposal for closing eight small schools at a possible savings of $8 million. This would take a long drawn out process of rulemaking to accomplish. There are some who would claim this violates are agreement with the public when we lobbied for the half penny sales tax. We have had a tons of mail asking us not to close these community schools. These buildings are all worth from 10 to 20 million dollars according to Mr. Proi. In this market we do not have a remote chance of just selling ...

March 26 Community Presentation

Mary Jo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:44:00 -0400

Please review the rezoning maps (attachment) and the presentation from OCPS pupil assignment on March 26, 2009

Letter from member in the Community

Mary Jo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:49:00 -0400

Dear CORE,

I am very disappointed by recent decision by the Orange County School Board to close and merge Orlando’s smaller urban elementary schools. Closing these schools is very short sighted and is not in the best interest for the future of Orlando’s downtown neighborhoods. Closing urban schools may be economically, socially and environmentally unsound in the long term. Downtown is where people will want to live once economic recovery begins and downtown neighborhoods should be a focus of future economic development. If the older small downtown elementary schools close, many affluent parents will turn to private schools. Closing downtown ...

Public Notice

Mary Jo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 07:45:00 -0400

From: DeCandis, Andrew [mailto:andrew.decandis@ocps.net]
Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 10:02 AM
To: City/County Managers and Orange County Interlocal Planners Group Cc: Frank Kruppenbacher; Moes, Brian F.; Collins, Richard L.; Blocker, Ronald D.; Simpson, Sandra R. Subject: Consideration of School Closures Please be advised that because of the statewide school funding crisis, Orange County Public Schools is considering closing several small elementary schools in Orange County. This notice is being provided in accordance with Section 5.4 of the Interlocal Agreement for Public School Facility Planning and Implementation of Concurrency. The schools being considered for closure are located within the City of ...

More 'Conversations' with Transportation

Mary Jo — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:52:00 -0400

Mr. Merriam,

Thank you for your reply, except I wish you had answered all of my questions. I will address my concerns after each of your paragraphs to help keep it simple. Your text is in blue.

Last year we estimated that Transportation could reduce its
budget by $3.8 million. At the same time we estimated the
budget for 08-09. Both are estimates of future spending
which we have some control over. You have pointed out
budget line items that have not been fully expended and will
not; therefore not a true determinant on how we are doing. ...

Rally to Keep the Arts in Public Schools

Tom — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:02:00 -0400

Rally at the Rep for Arts Education

“Strategies for keeping arts education in our schools”

The Orange County Arts Education Center would like to help those of you with children enrolled in arts classes to understand the best strategies for working to keep these opportunities available at your school. Information will be provided regarding the importance of arts education along with suggestions for helping you to organize efforts to support arts education.

Monday – March 23, 2009

6:00PM-7:30PM

Each school should send one or two representatives from each of the arts subjects being taught at your school. If for example ...

"Conversation" between Community and OCPS staff

Mary Jo — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:34:00 -0400

Please read below for a 'conversation' between the Chief operational officer of OCPS and a member of the public who has researched for answers.........

Mr. Gledich,

Please review email chain below. I have not received any contact from Mr. Merriam to date, but that is ok because I am trying to find some time to study some of the information I am finding on the OCPS website. In your email you mentioned that the information I received was not clear and concise. Straight off your website I found the information on the furniture in the official transportation budget. ...

A Letter from a Community Member

Mary Jo — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:32:00 -0400

Board Members and Superintendent,

I have been talking recently with a member of the Transportation Committee, assigned by the board, and I am hearing some incredible information about the budget in that area. Being an Orange County Employee myself, I know that our department was asked to make across the board budget cuts and I believe it was done. The Transportation Committee member I talked to informed me of many, many areas of the transportation budget that were not cut, and instead increased dramatically. One example is a huge increase for furniture, an increase large enough to almost fund ...

OCPS Powerpoint on Small School Closure

Mary Jo — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:26:00 -0400

This is the powerpoint from the work session meeting on Monday night about small school closures. The board made no decisions from the information which was presented. There were many unanswered questions when the meeting concluded.

Complete Budget Study Committee Report with Comments

Mary Jo — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:57:00 -0500

Please view the attached pdf. document to view the entire Summary report fromt eh Budget Study Group.

Letter to the School Board Members

Mary Jo — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:57:00 -0500

Please review the attached letter that school board member Rick Roach sent to his fellow school board members in regards to school mergers/ closing.....

Rick Roach Registration Information for Bike Ride

Mary Jo — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:51:00 -0500

Please download the attached files for information, registrationa dn flyers for the World's Longest Bike ride for Education!

Gear Up and let's ride...........

Small School Closure/ Merger Information

Mary Jo — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:18:00 -0500

Attached is the file which shows the way that OCPS decided small school would save $1M in closing smaller schools. Note that there is no place where additional busing, portable rental or other expenditures would be needed---we do not know where or IF this information is available.

Please write your school board and let them know your questions and concerns.

Public Records Request--50% cut in administration

Mary Jo — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:05:00 -0500

At Rick Roach's town hall meeting a request was made to ask for the amount of money which could be saved if all 'non-school based personel were to take a 50% cut in pay'. This would leave the position open for a temporary cut until the economy is back to the growth level.

Please see the attached documentation from the office of the OCPS CFO.

The amount is astounding.

Although this is not a complete record, we are asking for more information on this number. Questions such as: how were these numbers obtained, which positions were looked at specifically, do ...

CORE in the news--- Maitland Observer

Mary Jo — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:42:00 -0500

Attached is the article from the Maitland Observer about CORE and the school budget issues...

World's Longest Bicycle Parade for the KIDS in Orange County!

Mary Jo — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:49:00 -0500

Dear Community,

I am asking for your support in getting Governor Christ’s attention. I will be organizing an attempt at the Guinness Book of World Records with the longest bike parade……ever! We are shooting for 2,009 bike riders. Our message is this, “If our children and families can break a world record, how about breaking a funding record for our schools.”

Our Community must do something bold to even have a chance of getting the proper attention in Tallahassee for our schools in Orange County. We have a window of opportunity right now and we need to do ...

Town Hall Meeting Power Point Presentations

Mary Jo — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:59:00 -0500

This presentation was given to a Town Hall Meeting from School Board Member Rick Roach. THIS IS THE SAME INFORMATION WHICH WILL BE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.

Please review it and read through it. It is attached to this post.

Vicky Bells' Preferred Budget Cuts

Mary Jo — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:48:00 -0500

A NOTE FROM VICKY BELL, OCPS School Bd member Dist. 4.

Personally I am tired of the media reporting things as having been decided by the school board before we have even discussed them. After Flipping back the schedule, I immediately was able to set up a Transportation Task Force. Below my preferred budget cut list, you will see some of the facts on transportation I have discovered.

Here is a copy of the budget cuts I personally prefer:

Transportation: $10,000,000 (stop $7 million in overtime, save $600,000 in paper costs this year and $800,000 each year after. Cut out ...