The Osceola County School Board on Tuesday night approved a tentative $2,021,532,997 budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, following a final public hearing on millage rates. While the proposed rate of 5.306 mills marks a slight decrease from last year, rising property values mean the district’s total tax levy will grow by $16.8 million. The additional funding will support a $151 per-student increase as the district continues to address staffing, special education needs, and infrastructure.

To read more about happenings in the Osceola School District, visit www.osceolaschools.net.

In other meeting business, Board Member Paula Bronson shared outcomes of recent teacher bargaining sessions, stating there were several “wins” for educators. One such win, she said, was the elimination of Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. “We are college-educated professionals with the experience and insight to analyze data and improve student achievements without being handed PLC placemats and QR codes,” Bronson said. “What we need with these two Wednesdays is time to collaborate, to conference with parents, to input the data into Focus and Educlimber for MTSS, to share real strategies and work with each other, and then support our fellow teachers.”

Another bargaining win, according to Bronson, was securing two paid half days for the health center under the Health and Wellness Plan. “We are caregivers, mothers, spouses and daughters, and we rarely put ourselves first,” she said. “This acknowledges that educators deserve the time to care for themselves without penalty.”

Finally, Bronson said the removal of mandatory after-school conferences was a win for teachers who already give so much of themselves during the day. “This honors their time and their dedication,” she said. “We cannot continue to ask our educators to do one more thing for free after their contracted time. Removing mandatory after-school conferences is a win for fairness, for dignity, and for the personal lives of our educators.”

Board member Kahoun added, “While I know it’s not enough to show how much we truly do value all of our teachers and staff members, I do feel like we did the best we could with what we had this year. We are committed to continuing to look at other opportunities and other innovative solutions to bring more benefits to the table next year.”

Public comment at Tuesday’s meeting largely centered around the recent changes in the County’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) program. Parents, advocates, and teacher representatives took turns voicing their frustrations to the Board, some saying their ESE children aren’t receiving what is needed, and others expressing the challenges of teaching in a blended classroom. 

Responding to the speakers, Superintendent Dr. Mark Shanoff said, “We knew that this was going to be a heavy lift. We were segregating students in separate classrooms that belonged in regular standards all along. Now we’re having to play catch-up because there was no learning taking place in those classrooms. It was not tolerable. It wasn’t American. And I wasn’t going to allow it. We knew that we had to make a change.”

“Teachers, we hear you,” Shanoff continued. “We know you need help. We talk about providing help pretty much 90 percent of the day, related to this.”

“We are committed to doing right by our students. It is not about the adults on this dais and it is not about the adults in this room. It is about our students and it is about the professionals that are supporting those students every single day. We are not turning back. We are going to make sure that our students are as successful as they possibly can be.”

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the Board issued three proclamations recognizing milestones in culture, history, and civic education:

Students from Celebration High School and Tohopekeliga High School presented a proclamation naming September 15-October 15 Hispanic Heritage Month, recognizing the contributions of Hispanic Americans and the significance of their culture, noting that 63% of the district’s student population are Hispanic Americans.

Nina Hill, president of the Osceola NAACP, along with trailblazing educator Deloris McMillan and Robert Brown, presented a proclamation honoring the graduating class of 1966, whose resilience during desegregation and the civil rights movement left a lasting mark on the county’s schools.

Cory Puppa, district social studies specialist, presented a proclamation for Constitution Day on September 17 and Celebrate Freedom Week September 15-19, underscoring the importance of civic literacy in Osceola classrooms.