At the final School Board meeting for two of its members last week, much of the meeting’s discussion was – again – about a proposed plan to make chaplain’s services available in Osceola’s schools.
And, after a number of members of the public spoke about the plan, this time with the majority of those in favor of it, the Board voted to at least make drawing up the plan part of its next cycle for making rule changes.
Jon Arguello, one of the outgoing members and the member who spoke most favorably about the plan, made the motion. It passed, 4-1, with Terry Castillo voting against it.
Asking for more time to understand what the program would look like and how it’d be implemented, the Board denied it like Peter at two meetings in August by 3-2 votes, with Arguello and Scott Ramsey in favor.
The proposed plan, part of House Bill 931 passed by the Legislature this year and which Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Kissimmee in April to formally sign, allows for the presence of volunteer school chaplains, requires them to meet certain background screening requirements and requires schools to describe what services or programs those chaplains will provide to parents. It will require written parental consent before a student participates in or receives those services. Parents must be permitted to select a volunteer school chaplain from the list provided by the school district, which must include the chaplain's religious affiliation, if any.
Those who continued to support it from the public said it creates a level of mental health support, and at least two asked Board members if they’d want this sort of support for their own students. Those against, like David Williamson of the Central Florida Freethought Community maintained the plan would "attempt to bring religion into secular schools"; adult figures in schools are seen as guiders, and that most will be Christians.
Arguello, getting one last chance to make a controversial statement, liked denying such a plan to “Aligning as ‘Team Satan’ that believes chaplains hurt kids.”
“We can make the decision to try to help students in any way we can by reaching for resources, or ignore the problem and pretend that this is not about politics, because that’s the only reason to negate this,” he said.
Eventually, the board did vote to include it as part of the next rulemaking cycle, which commences Nov. 19. Staff would bring that and any other proposed changes back to the first December meeting for a Board vote.
The meeting was the last for Arguello and Melendez, and they gave farewell addresses. Bethzaida Garcia and Anthony Cook will be sworn into those seats, along with the runoff winner between Paula Bronson and Ramsey runoff on Nov. 5, at the Nov. 12 meeting.
Arguello chose not to run for re-election to try for the county’s state Senate seat, but lost in the Republican primary to Jose Martinez. Meeting attendees spoke during public comment, with a couple giving him small gifts of support.
“I wish I could say it’s been an honor, but nothing about politics in the last six years has been honorable. When agendas have to be disguised in order to make them palatable, there is no honor in promoting them,” said Arguello, who was elected in 2020. “I am eternally grateful for the humbling experience this has been -- a reminder of what public service is supposed to be and who it is supposed to serve.
“I pass gratitude on to teachers and parents who sacrifice on a daily basis; their backs on which we lay an almost impossible burden. I can say my presence made it possible for you to make some progress, that I provided all of you someone who had a voice to fight for you and with you. You are worth fighting for.”
Superintendent Mark Shanoff called Arguello, “A strong advocate for our students, our teachers, our community.”
“We’ve had a lot of phone conversations that showed a side (of him) that people don’t see,” Shanoff said.
Melendez, who served a term from 2008-12, was again elected in 2020 – during the pandemic. He did not win re-election in the Aug. 20 primary, and Garcia will fill his seat.
“Staff was on vacation when everything went dark and we had to figure it out. It was a miracle, and as a Board member I appreciate it,” he said. “I did my best to make sure parent concerns were addressed throughout the district. We flew all the way to Puerto Rico to recruit teachers, filling vacancies creatively. Nobody gets into teaching to get rich. It’s a thing of honor.”
Shanoff said the school district is a better place because of (Melendez’s) leadership.”
“We’ve had some lively conversations, but I’ve always been able to get out of (Melendez) is what is best for kids, always looking for the best options.”
Shanoff did pass on some good news at the meeting: after examining the number of instructional hours the district will get in this year despite five days of school closures during hurricanes Helene and Milton, no additional makeup days will be necessary.
“I’m very grateful to those who scraped the schedules to look for those academic minutes,” he said.
