Two candidates are running against incumbent Julius Melendez for the District 2 seat of the Osceola County School Board.
Bethzaida Garcia has worked as an educator throughout her career and is currently the public education coordinator with the Osceola Fire Department. Garcia said her focus as a Board member would be on student achievement and student safety.
“I believe my perspective as a teacher and as a communication professional will be an asset to the Board and help improve our School District outcomes,” she said. “Unfortunately, some on our current School Board have been more concerned with politics and infighting. I want to put the focus where it needs to be: on the students.”
Diana Graniela is a mother of three and a local author. “I’ve been around public service my whole life as a child and as an adult because of my parents,” she said. “My mother was in the medical field and my father, who retired as a federal law enforcement officer, was a public servant. They both raised me in an environment that instilled integrity, family values, and accountability.”
Graniela said she is deeply concerned about the direction of our school system. “I have observed it moving in a direction that excludes parental input,” she said, “and I believe that fostering a collective and unified community partnership is crucial as our population grows.”
Graniela said she is leveraging her experiences as a mother and entrepreneur to contribute to the community as a school board member.
Melendez has served two non-concurrent terms on the School Board and is running for re-election this term. He jumped in the race late, following being found not guilty in a battery trial earlier this year.
“The number one thing that is on my mind is always safety and security, because without a safe school environment, we cannot thrive,” he said. Melendez believes his experience on the Board is an asset. “I was the one that created the SRO Task Force. We also created a Safety and Security Committee that meets three or four times a year to discuss what are the latest trends. Like, for instance, right now we realize a lot of students are contemplating suicide. So, we are now adopting certain things to try to reach out to students and ensure their mental health is complete,” he said.
Melendez said he hopes in the next four years to have an interlocal agreement between the County Commission and the School Board, to work in tandem through Osceola County’s growth. He also believes that the Board would benefit from a new strategic plan with a set of measurable goals in order to measure progress.
