FASTfacts- May 13, 2025 (Vol. 20, Issue 19)

Big-Ticket Items Earn School Board Approval for New Services Next School Year

School Board members approved several agenda items, each costing nearly a million dollars or more, to address services needed for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Among these approvals:

• $5 million - bid renewal for gasoline, diesel, and biodiesel fuels for school buses and district vehicles
• $2 million - renewal of piggyback agreement with School District Services, Inc. for School Bus Transportation for MTI and some Acceleration Academy students
• $1.575 million - bid renewal for juice and juice products for school cafeterias
• $1,069,884 - Independent Contractor Agreements with Speech Language Pathologists for Exceptional Student Education services
• $981,911 - first amendment to agreement with Tyler Technologies for specialty software and GPS services on MCPS buses

While these amounts are larger compared to other items on tonight's agenda, it is not unusual for high-dollar items to be approved months in advance of any new school year. 

New High School "CCC" Advances with Attendance Zone Approval

Thanks to unanimous support from School Board members, the newest high school in Marion County now has a formal attendance zone. 

New High School "CCC," under construction in the Marion Oaks community, is slated to open in August 2026. Its attendance boundaries will affect the attendance zones of Belleview, Dunnellon, Forest, North Marion, Lake Weir, and West Port High Schools.

These zoning changes take effect for the 2026-2027 school year, and families affected by the changes have already received multiple notices regarding those changes. 

Rising seniors will be grandfathered in and can remain at their current schools, though they must provide their own transportation. This approach is consistent with past decisions made by previous School Boards.

Students enrolled in a designated Academic Choice Magnet Program may also remain at their current school under the same transportation condition. 

Tonight's public hearing for New High School "CCC" drew no opposition from the general public -- likely a result of several informational meetings held earlier this year in the communities affected by the rezoning. 

Osceola Middle's Oldest Building to Be Remediated This Summer

Building 1 on the Osceola Middle School campus has been around for a century. 

Built in 1925 as part of the original Ocala High School, the campus icon was renovated back in the 1990s with joint participation of both MCPS and the Osceola community.

Recently, school leaders discovered water seeping into the building from the outside. Immediate action included independent third-party testing, a forced fresh-air cooling system, round-the-clock air purification, and other measures. 

School Board members approved a $500K price tag to begin remediation and replacement of major components in Building 1 as soon as the school year ends later this month. 

Work will be completed by Ausley Construction, LLC (which is also building Winding Oaks Elementary School opening this August). 

The project will address the sealing of the building envelope and repairing any damage on the interior. New carpet is also part of the project. Air handlers will also be removed, cleaned, serviced, and reinstalled along with any impacted cabinets and woodwork. 

This beginning phase of repair/remediation will be followed by another round of testing to confirm the safety of Building 1 before students and staff enter the building for the start of the new school year.

Courtney Morris (center), Marion County's 2025 Rookie Teacher of the Year, shared inspiration to begin tonight's School Board meeting. She and Board members, along with Superintendent Dr. Gullett, paused afterward to mark the moment.