County approves another Osceola Prosper year, school zone speed cameras

Osceola County Commissioners approved two measures at Monday’s meeting to help the lives of the county’s students.

As part of the consent agenda, the board approved $8.3 million in local funding for the Osceola Prosper program, meaning that, for the third year in a row, all graduates from Osceola County high schools, charter schools, alternative high Schools, private Schools or those home schooled can enroll in a degree or certificate program at Valencia College or Osceola Technical College without tuition cost. The funds should cover the costs of 2,100 students, county documents say.

In the prior two years, for the Class of 2022 and 2023, federal recovery funds from the COVID-19 pandemic recovery were used for the program that thousands of students signed up for to obtain a two-year degree or professional certification.

Valencia College officials said it and O-Tech have experienced a 72% increase in high school graduates enrolling at the schools. The thinking behind the program has been to provide the opportunity for students who may not have been able to continue their education past the high school level, while helping the County to have a highly skilled workforce for existing and new industries based locally.

Also Monday, as a regular agenda item, the board unanimously approved an agreement with a company to install radar-based speed detection cameras in school zones. Commissioners originally approved a measure to install the cameras on Dec. 3, and they will initially be installed in 14 school zones—10 of them in the west Kissimmee and Poinciana areas. The Florida Legislature passed a statute in 2023 authorizing local governments to use radar-based camera speed detection systems in school zones.

American Traffic Solutions, which previously installed red-light cameras in Osceola County starting in 2014, will install and administer the devices. Drivers going faster than 11 mph above the limit in those areas during school drop-off and pick-up times could face a $100 fine. The deal runs through March 31, 2029, and the County can add on one-year extensions.

The agreement states that fines generated will pay for the cost of camera maintenance, and if any of the cameras capture less than an average of two speeders per day for three months, the County can ask the company to remove it or move it to a new location.

There is no timetable yet when the cameras will go up.

“We have to study them before we can implement the system,” Commissioner Viviana Janer said. “But it’s a great thing to keep our students safe.

The first 14 school zones to get the cameras will be: Boggy Creek Elementary School and Parkway Middle School on Florida Parkway; Sunrise Elementary School and Horizon Middle School on Ham Brown Road; Koa Elementary and BridgePrep Academy of Osceola on Koa Street; Deerwood Elementary School on Marigold Avenue; Bellalago Academy, Liberty High and Mater Brighton Lakes Academy on Pleasant Hill Road; Reedy Creek Elementary School, Poinciana High and Mater Palms Academy on Poinciana Boulevard; Narcoossee Middle