Letters

Could the School Board reverse its decision?

JARLEENE ALMENAS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The city of Ormond Beach is vowing to commit up $1.8 million to save Osceola Elementary.

Though the Volusia County School Board decided in August 2020 to close Osceola Elementary in favor of merging the student body with Ortona Elementary to the south, Ormond Beach is seeking a second chance. As it stands, a new school is planned to be constructed at the Ortona site to house the combined 600 students, and last month, the School Board began discussing the logistics in moving Ortona students into a “portable city” at Osceola’s campus during Ortona’s construction.

But Ormond Beach city commissioners hope that with School Board member Anita Burnette now on the board, other members could reverse their decision. City Manager Joyce Shanahan already told the School Board the city would pay for any needed stormwater work, and now it is ready to bear the full cost of housing all estimated 400 Osceola students at Ortona in portables, which could total somewhere between $1.5 million and $1.8 million, according to discussion had the commission meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

“It is more than unfortunate that this happened during a global pandemic, because Ormond Beach residents would come out screaming against this,” City Commissioner Troy Kent said. “Everything about it just didn’t feel right.”

Kent, who attended Osceola Elementary as a child himself, remarked on Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry’s comments on equity during the Jan. 26. School Board meeting, where he claimed Ortona students would be more adversely impacted should the School Board change their mind and choose the Osceola site for a new school.

Ormond Beach has equity issues, too, Kent said.

Both Osceola and Ortona are Title 1 schools, meaning they both receive additional resources from the state due to its number of economically disadvantaged students.

According to 2018-2019 data by the Florida Department of Education, Ortona’s disadvantaged students accounted for 82.9% of its 203 students. That comes out to roughly 168 students.

Osceola’s percentage of disadvantaged students is technically lower at 71%, but with double the student population at 406, that comes out to about 288 students.

Mayor Bill Partington said that every factor points to saving Osceola. He said when Ormond residents voted to approve the school district’s half-cent sales tax, they were doing so in favor of improving their neighborhood schools, not closing them.

“What benefit is that to Osceola Elementary School?” Partington said. “Extinguishing it from the face of the Earth?... I think it was a lie for the people who voted for that half-cent sales tax, who thought they were going to get some upgrades to their schools.”

School Board member Carl Persis was asked to speak before the commission to give them a rundown of how the board arrived at the decision, and what Ormond Beach could do next. Persis was the lone vote in August against choosing Ortona.

If both schools were located in Ormond Beach, Osceola would still be the right choice, Persis said.

“I am hopeful that when they see some of the new information, that maybe one — just one — will say, ‘I see this differently now than I did then.’” Persis said.

The city will hold a special meeting Monday, Feb. 8, to pass the resolution on committing city funds to saving Osceola Elementary. The School Board was scheduled to hold a workshop on the subject on Feb. 9, but it was canceled Feb. 3.

“It is more than unfortunate that this happened during a global pandemic, because Ormond Beach residents would come out screaming against this. Everything about it just didn’t feel right.”

TROY KENT, City Commissioner

Volusia County Schools: fill out free and reduced meal application

Fewer Volusia County Schools families have completed the Free and Reduced Meal Application this year, and that could negatively impact federal funding for public schools with a high poverty ranking.

To ensure those schools continue to receive federal Title I funding, it is imperative for families to fill out the Free and Reduced Meal Application no later than Friday, Feb. 12. Even if those families are not sure they qualify to access free/reduced-price meals, they should complete an application.

It’s easy to apply online and takes only a few minutes, and the application is available in English or Spanish. The application is at: https://www.vcsedu. org/schoolwaycafe/free-and-reduced-meal-applications. (If you don’t have access to a computer, all schools will have a computer available for you to fill out the application.)

The Florida Department of Education, through which the federal funding flows, will determine the Poverty Ranking of all public schools based on applications completed by the Feb. 12 deadline. The Poverty Ranking will determine which schools qualify for Title I funding for next school year.

Currently there are 44 Title I schools in Volusia County.

Title I is designed to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain an education of the highest quality and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state achievement standards and state assessments.

DSC’s online bachelor’s programs rank among the nation’s best

Daytona State College has once again been recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings for Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs. DSC is the highest ranked school among Florida’s 28 state colleges, and the only one in U.S. News & World Report’s top-50 that is not a university.

The new rankings were announced Tuesday, Jan. 26, and marks the ninth consecutive year the college has earned a spot among the nation’s best. In addition to its overall ranking, Daytona State was also ranked in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans and the online business degree program as well.

“The annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report are one of the highest standards by which colleges and universities are measured,” said Dr. Tom LoBasso, DSC President. “The fact that Daytona State continues to achieve such high marks, year after year, is a reflection of the hard work put in by our faculty and staff, and their commitment to providing education at the highest level.”

Daytona State College began offering bachelor’s degrees in 2006.

calendar

of events

February

WED. 10

Business After Hours at Fugu Sushi

4:30p.m. - 6:30p.m. 26 N Beach Street, Ormond Beach Preregister online - $10 Members $15 at the door Members $25 Future Member Online registration will close at 3:00pm. Following you can register at the door.

WED. 17

Economic Prosperity Hour

7:30a.m. - 9:00a.m. Anderson-Price Memorial Building 42 North Beach Street, Ormond Beach Bill Zirkelbach - VP Small Business Banker, Seacoast Bank

Topic: PPP Updates

$10 Members Event Sponsors $15 Member at door $25 Future Member

Presenting Sponsor

Q+A MARK GEALLIS, HOMELESS 2 HOME FOUNDING DIRECTOR Tiny homes to end homelessness

JARLEENE ALMENAS

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Mark Geallis has a vision.

For the past 12 years, he has been working to find solutions to end homelessness in Volusia County. It’s a mission that led him to serve as the executive director of Halifax Urban Ministries for three years before becoming First Step Shelter’s first executive director prior to the shelter’s opening.

Now, he is working toward an initiative he hopes will help those homeless individuals who simply need an affordable place to live: a tiny home RV village.

Homeless 2 Home residents would pay an incomebased rent of between $250 and $400 monthly, according to the initiative’s website. Geallis states the plan is to acquire “properly zoned land or acreage away from densely populated residential areas” to eventually support a minimum of 30 units at the start, with the opportunity to grow up to 150 units. He aims for the village to be funded 100% by donors, foundations and the revenue generated by the residents themselves.

“Homeless 2 Home wants to create a village where people of extreme low income can live with dignity, stay permanently if they choose and form a sense of community,” Geallis said.

The Ormond Beach Observer recently spoke with Geallis about Homeless 2 Home about his vision.

Q: What motivated you to begin Homeless 2 Home now?

A: That’s kind of a funny story. I thought I retired last year. Between starting my own Social Security and COVID, I stayed home for a year. Years ago, I was a website developer, so I started making some websites, and I had the Homeless 2 Home domain name purchased a couple of years ago and never did anything with it. I threw up a website with my vision, and it got some traction on Facebook and got some media to begin calling, and it’s kind of taken a life of its own in the last month.

Q: Why choose tiny homes and RVs for the village?

A: As I was taking a road trip in between homeless service positions three or four years ago, I visited Community First Village in Austin, Texas. It is a wonderful model of what I’d love to do. They had about 200 residents at that time. They’re now in Phase II and growing to 400 residents, but they have a mix of tiny homes and RVs. They have many shared community things like a big cookout area, a small outdoor theater where they watch movies together. They have a general store where some of their residents can work and others sell their art and things like that… I just loved what I saw there. It was faith-based, and the people that put it together have done it without government funding, which also attracts me.

Before [First Step Shelter], I worked for a purely faith-based organization, and that’s more of the way to follow my heart. I think when government gets involved too deeply, it just mucks things up and slow things down and too many strange regulations come into place which stifle creativity and innovation, and my idea is certainly innovative for the poor and homeless.

Q: Do you have a specific location you would like to build the village?

A: I have been thinking that, even though there’s 16 municipalities in Volusia County, I would look for some unincorporated area of Volusia County that is not in a municipality, so that I don’t have to go through the regulation and registration with both the county and a municipal government. But, some people have suggested, and some people from local municipalities have reached out and said they would like to talk. So maybe Daytona Beach is a possibility.

I hope to find a parcel of land that’s either in a more industrial area, blighted area, or out in the country so to speak that will not rile up the neighbors and can be embraced by the neighbors, hopefully.

Q: What objections from citizens are you expecting to have to address?

A: The objections are going to be [about] where it’s located, and I hope to find a location that will minimize the objections. The other objection that we always have when dealing with the poor and homeless in our community is people who say things like, “Oh they should just get a job. Why should I help them? I work hard myself.” And those objections really aren’t valid in this project.

Q: How has your nonprofit background prepared you to take on this initiative?

A: Very well, I think. It’s let me understand the objections of the negative people. It’s showed me how to deal with government and high-level donors, and most of all, it’s shown me the different gaps in services throughout the community that become causes of homelessness and continue to keep people homeless, whereas I know this is a big piece of the puzzle to end homelessness for a select group of people.

Q: When did you realize that your heart was in helping the homeless community?

A: I came back from a mission trip to Haiti, and I was on the beach watching this huge fireworks display that I had read cost us $70,000-$80,000 as a community, and that same day I had driven along Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard and through some of the rougher neighborhoods in town, and God just laid it on my heart that my mission field was going to be right here in my own backyard. That as a community, our priorities were kind of messed up. Taking care of fireworks but not taking care of the poor among us, and that’s the day I decided to focus on this. I started my own little outreach feeding the poor and homeless at City Island Park. It was illegal. I am of strong faith, and one day, the police came and busted our little homeless initiative that me and another friend, Jeremy, did down there in the park each week.

The next day, Halifax Urban Ministries called me and asked me if I wanted to come onboard to their staff. I took that as affirmation from God and direction that I no longer had to be an outlaw serving the homeless folks, but I could get onboard with a thriving ministry and do things within the law.

Q: What is one thing that you want the public to know about Homeless 2 Home?

A: I want them to know that this is something that is desperately needed in our community, not just for homeless people who have economic issues, but for elderly people and disabled people. People over 50 are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population over the last two years, and I think COVID is only going to increase those numbers. I call it the silver tsunami. I think we have thousands of homeless elderly people about to hit the streets, and I believe that Homeless 2 Home ...is going to be a model for the future to do similar communities right here in Volusia and Flagler County, and hopefully, communities like this will spring up all across the nation. For more about Homeless 2 Home, visit homeless2home.org.

Mark Geallis

Courtesy photo

Save the Loop. The clock is ticking.

Dear Editor:

Once again, the Loop is threatened because of development that looks forward but forgets to look backward. Development that does not consider the Loop’s importance to the area. The Loop is a unique, scenic drive enjoyed by locals (I call it my “Happy Place”) and visitors alike, but it is also environmentally sensitive and historically important.

Currently, a homegrown developer with a local’s appreciation of the area has offered a tract of 36 acres that would provide a much needed buffer between Old Dixie Highway and upcoming development. However, there is a very short window of opportunity for commitment.

I repeat: Very short.

The county must move quickly, applying for numerous available grants. The grassroots group Dream Green Volusia has been encouraging the county to make this purchase happen since last summer. Dream Green has determined the land is available, the purchase price is reasonable and, as is usually the case, that the clock is ticking. We all need to contact our representatives on the County Council and encourage them to recognize value in the purchase of this vital piece of land and pursue outside funds that are set aside for just this kind of thing.

Save Osceola Elementary School

Dear Editor:

The Volusia County School Board hired BRPH Architects to compare the sites of both Ortona and Osceola Elementary Schools. Ortona scored a 28 and Osceola a 27. On what factors was this study based? Studies are only as good as what information is requested. Did the study include any of the following to be taken into consideration? 1. Number of families having to change schools 2. Ability of future growth 3. Centralized location 4. Registered sex offenders near the schools

These factors are critical in making this decision. Osceola has 406 students vs Ortona that has 203. Osceola has 13 acres vs Ortona that has 11. Over five school years, Osceola’s population has declined 6% vs Ortona that has declined 11%. In a one mile radius of each location, Osceola has three registered sex offenders versus 13 around Ortona.

In closing, based on the information above, Osceola is clearly the right location for Elementary students on beachside. Less students and families would be displaced, there is more room for future growth, and it is a safer location to educate our children.

Please choose the Osceola location for the students and families of beachside.

ORMOND BEACH Observer

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Publisher / John Walsh, jwalsh@palmcoastobserver.com Executive Editor / Brian McMillan, bmcmillan@ palmcoastobserver.com Associate Editor / Jarleene Almenas, jarleene@ ormondbeachobserver.com Page Designers / Hailey McMillan, Jennifer Edwards Advertising Manager / Jaclyn Centofanti, jaclyn@palmcoastobserver.com

Senior Account Manager /

Susan Moore, susan@ palmcoastobserver.com

Senior Account Manager

Hallie Hydrick, hallie@ palmcoastobserver.com Front Desk Associate / Bonnie Hamilton, bonnie@ palmcoastobserver.com Operations Manager / Maureen Walsh, maureen@ palmcoastobserver.com Circulation Manager / David Brooks, david@horizonroad.com

SUBSCRIBE

The Ormond Beach Observer is published every Thursday. To subscribe for driveway delivery, call Circulation Manager David Brooks, at 338-5080 or email david@horizonroad.com.

TO ADVERTISE

Call the office at 386-447-9723. For Classifieds or Business Directory, call 386-492-2784 or email pcoclassifieds@palmcoastobserver.com.

NEWS TIPS

Send news tips to jarleene@ ormondbeachobserver.com.

EVENTS

Submit local nonprofit or entertainment events here: ormondbeachobserver.com/ calendar.

LETTERS

Send letters to jarleene@ ormondbeachobserver.com. The editor may make changes for clarity and length. Include first and last name and city of residence.

Locally Owned / Publishers of The Palm Coast Observer

Palm Coast Observer, LLC

P.O. Box 353850 Palm Coast, 32135

ORMONDBEACHOBSERVER.COM

©Copyright The Observer Media Group Inc. 2015 All Rights Reserved