Orange County Schools considers plans for bonds, community weighs in

Orange County Schools is seeking community input on how to spend $125 million in school bond funds and is inviting the public to review three construction proposal plans. 

The funding comes from a $300 million school bond approved by Orange County voters in the November election, which allocated $125 million to OCS over the next decade.

Kevin Smith, chief information officer for OCS, said it's exciting that the county brought this forward so that everyone is united around the idea of putting students into facilities that will help meet their needs for the future. 

In 2023, the Woolpert Study was performed at all district school buildings, rating their age, condition and whether they should be replaced, combined or rebuilt, Fredrick Davis, OCS chief operating officer, said. 

The bond is meant to address the most urgent needs identified for the next five years in the first phase of that study, Davis said. 

Based on the findings of the Woolpert Study, Smith said the district concluded that consolidating into fewer, newer schools would better support students in the long term.

Smith said the OCS board directed staff to focus on the district’s oldest facilities with the most urgent needs. 

“We've worked with architects and designers to map out what those options might look like so that all students are in healthy, secure and educationally adequate facilities at the end of this tenure process,” Smith said. 

The proposals include a new kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school that would replace Central Elementary School, a new K-5 elementary school that would be built next to Gravelly Hill Middle School and a new K-8 school that would replace Orange Middle School.   

The first proposal is an onsite replacement of Central Elementary School which would consolidate two low-capacity elementary schools, improve accessibility and include renovations to Orange Middle School. 

The second option proposes building a new K-5 school adjacent to Gravelly Hill Middle School and would involve redistricting for the 2028-2029 school year. 

Corey Sanders, a parent in the OCS district, said option two makes the most sense because it keeps Hillsborough Elementary in its current central location, avoiding long commutes for families in the southern and rural parts of the county. 

Sanders said the other options move Hillsborough students to a remote northern school and shift northern students south, which doesn't make sense logistically. 

Option two also addresses overcrowding at Efland-Cheeks Global Elementary School by redistributing students to Central Elementary, Sanders said, which has available space. Since Efland-Cheeks serves a lower-income area, he said this plan best supports the students who need it most. 

“I feel like if we, as a county, have agreed that we need to have a slight tax bump to pay for this bond to help students, we need to use that money to help the students who need it most, who happen to be in the poorer section,” Sanders said. “And I don't feel like any of the other plans seem to care about that.”

The third option would construct a new K-8 school as an on-site replacement of Orange Middle School. 

Elizabeth Houston, another parent in the OCS district, said she is excited about the idea of having more consistency between elementary and middle school, and also said retention is an important consideration. 

“There's just so many things that could be done to make learning environments better for our kids,” Houston said. “And education is really important to me and my kids in particular, and so I think it's important to keep improving our school district, in particular, our buildings.”

From April 7 to 9, residents were invited to attend in-person gallery walk sessions and view interactive displays hosted by district staff to showcase each proposal. 

Once a major project option is selected — likely in May — there will be another opportunity for public feedback, and everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts with the board, Smith said. 

“Student voice matters, the voice of our families, our teachers and interested community members who are the taxpayers and the citizens who make up this community, everyone's voice matters, and so these sessions are all open to the public,” Smith said. 

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