A RESOLUTION OF THE SCHOOL BOARD OF ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA, PERTAINING TO ELECTIONS IN ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA; REVISING THE POLITICAL BOUNDARIES OF THE DISTRICTS FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD PURSUANT TO SECTION 1001.36, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO ACCOUNT

WHEREAS, Section 1001.36 (2), Florida Statutes, provides in relevant part that: “Any district school

board may make any change that it deems necessary in the boundaries of any district school board member residence area at any meeting of the district school board, provided that such changes shall be made only in odd-numbered year”; and,

WHEREAS, certain provisions of the Florida Constitution require that the political boundaries of legislative districts and county commission districts be reconfigured after each decennial census; and,

WHEREAS, COVID-19 created a substantial delay in the Census 2020 campaign and the federal government completed the 2020 census and provided to The School Board of Orange County, Florida (“hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) with the population figures for Orange County, Florida on or about September 30, 2021; and,

WHEREAS, based on those 2020 census population numbers, the seven (7) representative districts for the Board are no longer equally created to comply with

the established legal principles regarding the equitable distribution of population within Orange County; and,

WHEREAS, the Board recognizes the paramount importance of reapportionment in the Board’s effort to comply with the “one person - one vote” principle; and,

WHEREAS, the Board desires that the reapportionment process be conducted in an open, public, and fair forum in which all Orange County residents have a right to participate; and,

WHEREAS, the Board, in an effort to solicit public input and comment on the creation of political boundaries, created the 2021 Orange County School Board Reapportionment Advisory Committee (“RAC”) to recommend any necessary or desirable changes to the political boundaries of the Board districts based on the 2020 census; and,

WHEREAS, each member of the Board appointed two (2) members to represent their districts and the Countywide Chair appointed three (3) members, thereby creating an RAC with seventeen (17) members; and,

WHEREAS, the Board, recognizing the importance of diversity in the reapportionment process, created the RAC

with a diverse group of public citizens, including eight (8) males and nine (9) females, representing different Orange County communities and neighborhoods, with varied professions and educational backgrounds and representing various racial and ethnic backgrounds; and,

WHEREAS, the activities and meeting dates of the RAC were publicly noticed using websites, newspaper advertisements, “Connect Orange” phone calls, texts, social media, and other media advisories to garner as much public input as possible and to insure transparency throughout the process; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC consistently met on time and had more than sufficient members present to constitute a quorum, including numerous meetings with perfect attendance; and,

WHEREAS, a public webpage was established which was consistently updated with the RAC activities to include the RAC meeting schedule, video and audio links

for each meeting, frequently asked questions, all meeting materials (including presentations and resources), all public comments received, an online platform for the public to submit electronic public comments, all of the

proposed maps considered by the RAC, the ability of the public to create a proposed map for a RAC member to sponsor for consideration by the RAC, and an email address specific to the 2021 RAC that was monitored daily by staff; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC held ten (10) public meetings, including seven (7) meetings at local area schools and three (3) meetings at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center (including one (1) public hearing) over a condensed ten (10) week period; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC received a legal presentation on the traditional redistricting principles and the RAC adhered to those traditional principles throughout the process; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC received a presentation by the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office on other redistricting considerations such as the use of major highways and thoroughfares to separate or create new districts; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC received training and support from staff of Orange County Public Schools (“OCPS”) to help create new reapportionment maps; and,

WHEREAS, OCPS staff recorded and broadcast through online streaming all RAC meetings for the public to view on their schedules; and,

WHEREAS, members of the public were invited to attend all of the RAC meetings and were given an opportunity to speak in person at every meeting; and,

WHEREAS, the members of the public were also invited to submit public comment electronically through an online platform and via email; and,

WHEREAS, the Board, in seeking input from the public, provided the ability to create maps through an online platform and made mapping and planning personnel available to assist members of the public to help draw proposals, with said staff devoting countless hours to the process; and,

WHEREAS, through this transparent process, the RAC considered nineteen (19) proposals, including fourteen

(14) proposals submitted by RAC members and five (5) proposals submitted by members of the public and sponsored by a RAC member; and,

WHEREAS, the Board intends to adopt a reapportionment plan such that the seven (7) school board member districts will continue to be contiguous and compact territories that are as nearly equal in population as practicable, with a standard deviation not to exceed five percent (5%), while taking into consideration the geography of the neighborhoods, current school attendance zones, and the demographics of Orange County, while preserving communities of interests and the core of prior districts, while avoiding the disqualification of any incumbent Board member for the duration of their term; and,

WHEREAS, Section 1001.34, Florida Statutes, requires in relevant part that: “Each member of the district school board shall be a qualified elector of the district in which she or he serves, shall be a resident of the district school board member residence area from which she or he is elected, and shall maintain said residency throughout her or his term of office”; and,

WHEREAS, Section 1001.36 (2), Florida Statutes, also provides in relevant part that: “no change that would affect the residence qualifications of any incumbent member shall disqualify such incumbent member during the term for which he or she is elected”; and,

WHEREAS, Section 1001.36 (2), Florida Statutes, further requires that any changes in political boundaries occur “only in odd-numbered years”; and,

WHEREAS, the Board intends to adopt the redistricting plan prior to January 1, 2022 to allow the public, prospective candidates, and the Office of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections ample time to observe and familiarize themselves with the newly created districts for the 2022 Board member elections; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC submitted three (3) proposals for consideration by the Board identified as Committee Proposals 16, 18, and 19; and,

WHEREAS, the RAC recommended those three (3) proposals upon careful consideration that all met the traditional redistricting principles and after the RAC took into account public input and other additional acceptable redistricting principles such as the location of high schools and school attendance zones; and,

WHEREAS, the Board heard a presentation from the Chair of the RAC containing the various recommended plans and held a public hearing on December 14, 2021 to solicit further public input and to provide open discussion among the Board members on the various recommended plans by the RAC; and,

WHEREAS, as a result of those comments and discussions the Board, by a unanimous vote, adopted Committee Proposal 16; and,

WHEREAS, Section 1001.36 (3), Florida Statutes, requires in relevant part that: “Such changes in boundaries shall be shown by resolutions spread upon the minutes of the district school board.”

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Board moves for approval of the following with respect to the political boundaries for school board member districts in Orange County:

SECTION 1. RECITALS. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein.

SECTION 2. ADOPTION OF A REAPPORTIONMENT PLAN. The Board hereby adopts a reapportionment plan identified as Committee Proposal 16 and revises the boundaries of the seven (7) districts for the Board as set forth in Exhibits “A”, “B,” and “C” below, that will be prepared by staff upon the adoption of a reapportionment plan and attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference.

Exhibit “A” will consist of a map of Committee

Proposal 16, graphically depicting the new districts.

Exhibit “B” is a composite Exhibit and will consist of four (4) tables as follows: Comparable Table 1 will compare the current and proposed boundaries and depict total population and voting age population of the seven (7) districts as broken down by race, ethnicity, and district. Comparable Table 2 will compare the current and proposed boundaries and depict the population of municipalities and census designated places (“CDPs”) by district. Comparable Table 3 will compare the current and proposed boundaries and depict the displacement totals for the adopted reapportionment plan. Comparable Table 4 will compare the current and proposed high school locations within each district.

Exhibit “C” will contain the “Census Geo-Identifier” for each census designated tract and block thereby allowing, with greater specificity, any member of the public to determine in which political district he or she resides and other governmental entities that rely on such information, to determine, with greater accuracy, the political boundaries of the seven (7) School Board member districts.

SECTION 3. PUBLICATION AND MINUTES. The Board, pursuant to Section 1001.36, Florida Statutes, does hereby direct that any such changes in political boundaries “be recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court, and shall be published at least once in a newspaper published in the district within 30 days after the adoption of the resolution.” The Board shall also provide a certified copy of this resolution to be transmitted to the Department of State in accordance with Section 1001.36, Florida Statutes.

SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATES AND APPLICABILITY. All changes to political boundaries as identified in this Resolution shall take effect in the manner and at the time as provided herein and by general law. The new reapportionment plan as identified in Section 2 above, and further identified by the attached Exhibits “A,” “B,” and “C,” shall take effect as of the date on which the terms of the Board members elected in 2022 commence. The revised political boundaries shall govern the qualification and elections of all Board members in 2022 and thereafter until further revised.

As approved by a vote of the Orange County School Board on this 14th day of December of 2021.

Barbara M. Jenkins, Superintendent Orange County Public Schools