The three newly elected Osceola County School Board members, Bethzaida Garcia, Anthony Cook, and Paula Bronson, were sworn in on Tuesday, joining existing members Terry Castillo and Heather Kahoun.
Garcia, who has worked as a teacher assistant in Osceola High School and teacher of special needs at Poinciana High School, will represent District 2. “I’ll say that this jibarita from Caguas, Puerto Rico, that came here with nothing, this is the real American dream,” she said. “And for my fellow board members that are sitting here, I’ll say that I declare today that we will be the greatest board that Osceola has ever seen; that we will bring back trust, dignity, and respect to this board; that we will serve our community with love and unity. So help us God.”
Cook, who will represent District 3, has worked as a teacher and counselor for almost 20 years, serving most recently as the district’s Coordinator of College and Career Services.
“On all accounts, I really shouldn’t be here today,” he said. “Statistics were not on my side. But I am here. And if I remember correctly, I will be the first African American on this Board.
“My 20 years dedicated to this district has been about students, how to position them to be successful, not only while they are with us in our K-12 space, but once they leave us. That’s what I’m dedicated to. That’s the work that I’m about. That’s all I care about.”
Representing District 5 will be Paula Bronson, who has been an educator in the Osceola School District for 22 years. Unlike Garcia and Cook, she needed a runoff election victory Nov. 5 to earn her seat.
“I am truly humbled by this experience. I’ve been in education over 20 years, and I have loved every minute of it,” she said. “I’ve dedicated my life to loving other people’s children and helping them succeed, and I’m going to continue to do that for District 5.”
Speaking after the swearing-in ceremony, Superintendent Dr. Mark Shanoff presented the entire Board with symbolic pairs of identical Nike sneakers. “One of the things that I tend to do, that I started when I was a high school principal, was I pretty much wore sneakers everywhere. The reason why I wear sneakers is because it gives me an opportunity to talk with the kids about something. It breaks the ice very, very quickly when we start talking about shoes. So, I thought it would be great if, as a Board and Superintendent, we all started kind of walking down this same path together. And so, as part of that, we all have matching sneakers.”
