The new Orange County School Board will take office later this month facing a series of financial and leadership challenges, including declining enrollment, an unresolved employee health insurance dispute and the search for the district’s next superintendent.
Four members are expected to be sworn in during the board’s Nov. 17 meeting. Angie Gallo, who won the countywide chair race, will lead the board alongside new District 1 member Melissa Lopez Marantes, District 2 member Gloria Reina O’Neal and most recently elected District 3 member Susanne Peña.
They are stepping into a district that has lost nearly 12,000 students over the past two years and closed seven school campuses. The enrollment decline has also reduced state funding, putting another tight squeeze on the district’s budget.
Healthcare impasse
One of the most recent issues is a health insurance dispute between the district, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association and the Orange Education Support Professionals Association.
The district says maintaining employees’ current health benefits is costing about $20 million a month. The board postponed an impasse hearing until Nov. 13 after union attorneys brought forth legal objections, and left an open ended question regarding how the district will pay for continued coverage.
Gallo, who will become board chair, says the new members will have to make difficult decisions about that money.
“You don't remove $20 million without there being issues,” Gallo said. “We have to be very intentional on what that looks like.”
Gallo says protecting classroom employees and student learning must remain a priority, even as the district looks for savings.
Peña also says she wants to see a resolution that does not leave teachers struggling to afford their health care.
“I think we need to find a solution for our teachers,” Peña said. “A solution that they can have health care that is good for them, for their families, and that they can afford.”
The superintendent search
The incoming board will also oversee the search for a new superintendent. Maria Vazquez announced plans to retire after more than 30 years with the district. Board members have begun discussing hiring an outside firm to lead the search, with a goal of having a new or interim superintendent in place by June 30, 2027.
Both Gallo and Peña say the next superintendent will need to understand the district's financial pressures and the needs of its diverse communities.
Gallo says she wants someone with a business-minded approach who can help bring students back to the district and improve relationships with teachers and their unions.
“We need someone who is very innovative in their approaches to public education but at the same time understands the challenges that we still face with the achievement gap,” she said. “We have to continue to ensure that our students have the resources they need to go into a skilled workforce, whether that be college or career and technical education or the military.”
Peña, who has experience in district and school administration, says the next leader must understand the differences between OCPS's rural, suburban and urban communities.
She also wants someone willing to listen to educators, families and other stakeholders before making decisions.
Amendment 3 fallout
Beyond the immediate budget challenges, the board will have to consider how changes to local property tax revenue could affect services supporting students.
Voters approved Amendment 3 this week, which expands homestead property tax exemptions. Public schools were exempted from the direct impact, but Gallo said local government revenue losses could have indirect consequences.
One of those losses could be school resource officers.
“That's a shared cost with the sheriff,” she said. “The sheriff has stated he's going to lose close to 300 law enforcement officers, that's going to put a strain on the SROs in our schools and make them less affordable.”
Another concern for the board is after-school programs that are tied to funding from the City of Orlando.
“Citizens Commission for Children in Orange County pays for a lot of services for our kids that could get cut,” Gallo said. “It’s kind of like a wait and see, we know we're not going to be affected this year, but what does the next year look like? And what is the cost?”
Gallo also said the district may need to turn beyond the board and once again ask voters for more money to address teacher pay and rising health care costs. She campaigned on a potential property tax increase of a quarter to half a mill in 2028.
“Even when Amendment 3 passed, because people need that, they need those cost savings, everything is unaffordable, gas is unaffordable, food is unaffordable, and they need some more money in their pocket, they still overwhelmingly chose to support public schools,” she said.
The new board will also have to decide how to address academic opportunities as the district competes with charter schools and other education options for students.
