Hon. Karen Ardaman

Chair

Orange County School Board

445 West Amelia St.
Orlando, Florida 32801

Dear Chair Ardaman,

In recent years, County Watch has published Gateway Reports which outline our views of process and public access for various local institutions. 

We have reviewed the School Board once again and have the attached observations for your review and study. 

Please let us know if you will require additional information or if we can assist you in any manner in improving the quality of our schools and their governance.

Best Regards,

Doug Head

Chair

CC. Hon. Joie Cadle

Hon. Tim Shea

Hon. Rick Roach

Hon. Kat Gordon

Hon. Ann Geiger

Hon. Jim Martin

A REVIEW AND UPDATE

OF THE GATEWAY 2001 REPORT

ON ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

          The purpose of this document is to review current practices within the Orange County Public School System and to provide CountyWatch with an update as to the progress on their recommendations in the initial Gateway Report.

                Over the past several years, the Orange County School Board has made progress in the manner in which it deals with the public and permits the public to participate in its meetings.  In addition, Orange County Schools’ Building Program is well on the way to providing the nation with a model for large public works.  The Public school system and the Board are responsible to the taxpaying citizens of Orange County – not just teachers, parents – for providing education to OUR future police officers, medical providers, teachers, code enforcers, etc.

It is also refreshing to see the Orange County School Board come alive in the last two to three years.  Rather than taking punch after punch and becoming a whipping boy, the Orange County School Board has stepped up to the table and become an equal partner within the Orange County intergovernmental community

                Having said the foregoing, it is also true that Orange County Public Schools has a long way to go.  What follows in this update is a review of our 2001 proposals with an eye toward determining whether progress has been made with our proposals and/or suggestions or whether the Orange County Public School Board needs to take additional action to cause Orange County Public Schools to operate at a much higher level.

                In order to make this review more readable, we will track each of our recommendations in the 2001 Gateway Report and comment on our view as to whether the Orange County School Board has made significant progress toward accomplishing those goals and, if not, why we believe the School Board should continually lean toward those goals or should adjust its behavior and modify the goals we suggested.

                In our 2001 Gateway Report we used the following three headings to delineate areas of operation in Orange County Public Schools:

·   User-friendly Government            

·   Electronic Democracy

·   Citizen-owned Government

We will take each of these in turn and comment on the subheadings in the initial page 1-2 of the 2001 Executive Summary of CountyWatch’s report.

User-friendly Government

·  Public Commentary at School Board Meetings and Work Sessions

                Currently, the Orange County School Board permits public commentary at School Board meetings for any item that appears on the agenda.  Comments from a member of the public are limited to five minutes.  In addition, the School Board permits members of the public to appear as “special order speakers” at any School Board meeting.  However, the special order speakers are only permitted to address the Board during the Board’s pre-meeting Agenda Work Session.  A member of the public can speak on any topic they choose and are able to address the Board using audio-visual equipment or handouts.

                Orange County School Board does not permit public input at work sessions.  Ostensibly, the rationale for not permitting in put at work sessions is that work sessions are designed for Board members to talk to each other rather than take input from the public.  It should be noted, however, that the current School Board has taken the unusual step of permitting public input at work sessions where there is keen public interest in a particular issue.  The School Board is to be commended for opening its work sessions up to public input.

 ·  Use Video Monitors Show Documents in Agenda During Meeting

                The School Board occasionally shows documents on a large screen behind the School Board members.  However, the agenda does not appear during the meeting. 

·  Signage to Welcome and Provide Information to Citizens

                The lobby of the Educational Leadership Center (ELC) is remarkably devoid of any welcoming signage.  The School Board needs to do a better job of having staff members direct citizens in the right direction and provide them with whatever documents they need to follow along at the School Board meetings and this includes abbreviations used by Board members or the Superintendent.

·  Information Resource Person at Reception Desk

                This falls into the same category as the previous bullet.  School Board meetings need to be more citizen-friendly.

·  Information Bulletin on School Board Policies and Procedures

                The citizens often do not know who are the Board members and who are staff, lawyers etc – because they al sit up front.  At other Boards the staff and Lawyers sit off to the side and only the Commissioners are at the dais.  While citizens are only allocated five minutes to speak the Board members can go speak for however long they want and go off the subject.  The green-yellow-red light should be for everyone who speaks.

·  Long-Term Agenda for School Board Meetings and Work Sessions

There is no set agenda for yearly reviews – pupil assignments, budget, buildings etc.  Citizens may want to attend meetings when these issues are discussed but have no information.  Also meetings lately have been at no set time – sometimes Board meets on Monday, Second Tuesday, First Tuesday and sometimes only one meeting for the month is scheduled (i.e. Holiday week).  Meetings should be at same time each month. 

·  Emergency Items on Agenda Only for Health, Safety, and Welfare Concerns

                The School Board continues to place emergency items on the agenda when issues have been postponed or when staff has procrastinated.  This practice should stop.  We once again recommend that the School Board place emergency items on the agenda only for health, safety, and welfare concerns.

·  Vote on Controversial Items Separately After Public Input

                The School Board generally places controversial items on its Non-Consent Agenda.  As a result, public input is taken on the non-consent item prior to votes being taken.  Orange County School Board has made considerable progress on this issue.

Electronic Democracy

·  Televised School Board Meetings

                In late 2002, or early 2003, the Orange County School Board adopted a policy whereby School Board meetings would be televised in their entirety with the exception of student- discipline and employee-discipline matters.  This has been a welcome change and CountyWatch believes an important step toward open government. However, doesn’t help citizens who are without cable.  WMFE has boasted about additional public access stations it has added – perhaps this population can be addressed utilizing WMFE

·  Computer Access to School Board Agenda, Minutes, and Support Materials

                The Orange School Board currently posts its current agenda and support materials on the website prior to the Board Meeting.  Generally, the information is available only a day or two prior to the meeting.  This presents a problem.  If a citizen wants to comment on an item which requires the 11 day notice it is impossible if the agenda isn’t available one or two days prior to the meeting

                Orange County Public Schools should make a greater effort to make sure that citizens have an opportunity to review the Board agenda and its support materials well in advance of the meeting.

                Current minutes are posted as part of the support materials for the agenda and previous minutes for Board Meetings are available through archive.  Orange County Public Schools has been moving in the right direction with computer access to documents.

  ·  Ability to Send To and Receive Information From Officials

                While there are email and voicemail other elected officials communicate to their constituents via local newsletters or on their website.  Each of the Chairs/Mayors of the Boards also communicates with the taxpayers of Orange County as well. 

  ·  Computer Access From Schools, Libraries, and Public Service Centers

While there is access to OCPS and Board from the above other agencies within the system are deficient.  The five learning centers currently provide little information to the community, especially the parents, as to their function.  They should also have their own website. There is limited links to other sites and this can be expanded to include Fedstats, Florida Dept of Education, Orange County Government, Orange County Library and Orlando City Government

Citizen-owned Government

  ·  Budget Published Annually in Easy-to-Understand Format

          Orange County Public Schools—like most other public institutions—continues to publish its budget in a convoluted, hard-to-understand, format that borders on gibberish.  The Orange County School Board has published budget summaries which are a little easier to understand but don’t have sufficient detail for the public to fully understand where expenditures are made.  This needs work.

·  More Use of Citizen Advisory Committees

                There are many standing citizen advisory committees that give advice to both the School Board and the Superintendent.  However, most of those advisory committees report directly to the Superintendent.  The School Board itself should set up its own system of advisory boards.

                Most cities and counties allow for the appointment of advisory committee members by each of its commission members.  CountyWatch believes that Orange County School Board should move toward that model.

·  Limit Use of Consultants

          Orange County School Board has made strides in eliminating “consultants’ for the most mundane of issues.

  ·  Develop a Plan for School Construction

          Orange County Public Schools has made remarkable progress in its School Facilities Construction Program.  With the half penny sales tax and an increase in impact fees, Orange County Public Schools is about to embark on the largest public works project in the southeastern United States.  We believe that the School Board should redouble its efforts to keep a keen eye turned toward the Superintendent’s staff and how they handle the construction dollars that were entrusted to them by the taxpayers.  The Superintendent is an employee of the Board and should respond to all requests in a timely manner.

  ·  Promote Intergovernmental Cooperation

          The Orange County School Board should continue to assert itself to forward the interests of school children in Orange County and continue forward with intergovernmental cooperation

·  Registration of Lobbyists

                There is no registration of lobbyists or regulations listed for OCPS and the Board.  Other county/city Boards of Commission as well as State Government have registration forms and even list the names of lobbyists and who they represent.  There is no sign-in list nor do they have identification – citizens should now who is lobbying our elected officials.

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·  School Board Members More Accessible to Community

          School Board members now have cellphones, e-mail addresses, and have their home telephone numbers and addresses published on the School Board stationery.  When a constituent calls the School Board offices, they are directed toward voicemail.