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Parents and staff urge board to preserve Pathways location, expand substance‑use and mental‑health supports
Summary
Public commenters urged the Orange County Schools board to choose a construction option that keeps Pathways at its current site, warned that relocating some students would increase travel time and disruption, and asked the district to expand a pilot substance‑use prevention program and to improve transparency in capital finance reporting.
During the board’s public comment period, parents, staff and students raised concerns about proposed school construction and rezoning options that would relocate Pathways and other programs. Multiple commenters said Option 2 — which commenters described as keeping the Pathways program at its current site and using available land for new construction — would cause less disruption for students, especially those with significant special‑needs and behavioral supports. Speakers described long travel times and daily routine disruptions for some families if students must be moved across the county.
Parents and staff repeatedly said that moving Pathways would disproportionately affect students who rely on established routines and specialized services. One commenter asked the board to consider temporarily designating Heightsworth Elementary as a traditional school and reassigning students by neighborhood until new facilities are built, to limit disruption. Commenters also raised traffic and safety concerns tied to moving student populations to sites already seeing heavy neighborhood traffic.
Several public speakers urged the board to expand a pilot substance‑use prevention program launched at Orange High School. Students and program leaders said the pilot — run since last November and created with student input — had increased self‑referrals and early interventions, and they asked the district to fund continued operation and expansion to other schools. Speakers similarly urged additional investment in mental‑health supports to prevent students from falling behind academically or entering the juvenile justice system.
Other requests from the public included that capital‑finance committee meetings be recorded and that more timely, detailed financial materials be published for public review; one commenter requested a repeat environmental report addressing mold and air‑quality concerns. The board thanked commenters and said staff will consider the feedback as planning continues; no board decisions on the construction options were made at this meeting.
