ORLANDO — Orange County voters will choose next week between two sitting School Board members offering very different ideas about how to lead a district facing falling enrollment, school closures, teacher-pay pressures and on-going disputes over education policy.
by Kevin Seraaj, J.D., M.Div., OrlandoAdvocate.com
Key Takeaways
- Orange County voters face a choice between Alicia Farrant and Angie Gallo for School Board chair, both addressing significant issues in Orange County Public Schools.
- Gallo advocates for a property-tax increase for teacher salaries, while Farrant prefers cutting spending and reallocating resources.
- Both candidates interpret academic performance differently despite Orange County schools holding an A rating.
- The election focuses on issues like teacher retention, student achievement, and managing declining enrollment amidst political conflicts.
Alicia Farrant and Angie Gallo are competing for Orange County School Board chair, an unusually powerful elected position because Orange County voters choose the chair directly rather than leaving the selection to fellow board members. The election is ultimately a choice between competing theories of how Orange County should operate its public schools.
The winner will preside over a school system with a budget of roughly $7 billion.
Both candidates agree teacher compensation is among the district’s biggest problems.
They disagree sharply over the solution.
Gallo supports pursuing an additional quarter-mill property-tax referendum to have voters approve raising money specifically for teacher and support-staff salaries. Farrant opposes any additional tax increases to raise additional funds. She argues that the district should instead cut spending and redirect existing resources toward classrooms and educators.
That disagreement comes at a difficult moment.
OCPS has closed schools amid declining enrollment, while educators are facing negotiations over modest salary increases and projected growth in healthcare costs.
The candidates also differ on the cultural and political disputes that have consumed school-board meetings around Florida.
Farrant has supported removing certain books from school curriculums and argues schools should return their focus to what she describes as foundational education. Gallo says she wants the district’s attention directed away from cultural battles and toward student achievement, teachers and district operations.
Orange County schools carry an A rating from the state, yet roughly half of students are reading below grade level even as the district graduates approximately 97% of students. The candidates interpret those numbers differently, with Gallo emphasizing improvement and Farrant arguing they demonstrate deeper academic problems.
For voters, the election therefore presents more than a choice between two personalities.
It is a choice between competing theories of how Orange County should operate its public schools.
The Advocate Angle
The Orlando Advocate recommends evaluating this election through four questions:
Can the candidate retain teachers? Can the candidate improve student achievement? Can the candidate manage declining enrollment? And can the candidate keep the board focused on governing rather than perpetual political conflict?
Everything else should be secondary.
The primary is Aug. 18.
Suggested visual: Two-column candidate comparison: Teacher Pay | Taxes | Enrollment | Academic Performance | Culture Issues | Governing Priorities. Candidate photos should be equal size and placement.
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
