Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recognitions Appointments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Orange County School Board recognizes life‑saving staff action and announces administrative promotions
Summary
The board publicly recognized a Bridgewater Middle School assistant principal for performing the Heimlich maneuver that saved a student’s life, celebrated board member Angie Gallo’s election as FSBA president, and announced three administrative promotions and two assistant principal appointments.
The Orange County School Board June 24 recognized Bridgewater Middle School assistant principal Toby Hurst for performing the Heimlich maneuver that dislodged a donut hole from a student’s throat and likely saved his life, and announced several administrative promotions across the district.
Chair Jacobs recounted the incident: a student, Timothy Cassell, burst into the cafeteria “desperately trying to get air into his lungs and pointing to his throat,” then Hurst “sprang into action” and repeatedly asked the student, “Can you breathe? Can you breathe?” while administering the Heimlich maneuver. The student began coughing within a minute and was taken to the clinic by the nurse; Chair Jacobs said Timothy returned to school the next day.
Superintendent Vasquez and the board congratulated Hurst and other staff who assisted. The board gave the staff a round of applause and invited Bridgewater staff to pose for photographs.
The board also recognized Angie Gallo after her swearing‑in as president of the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA). Dr. Vasquez said Gallo “will have a powerful voice” representing roughly 2.8 million public school students in Florida; Gallo thanked her family and colleagues during brief remarks.
OCPS announced three newly appointed administrators and two assistant‑principal promotions during the meeting. The district introduced:
- An appointed principal who will lead Hospital Homebound, Esteem Academy and Transition School (the transcript did not include a clear full name for this appointee). The appointee said she was honored and thanked OCPS leaders and mentors. - Justin Michael McDonald, currently an instructional coach at Blankner K‑8, promoted to assistant principal at Blankner (he thanked board members and his family). - Bianca Ramos Baque, staffing specialist at East River High School, promoted to assistant principal at Sun Blaze Elementary (she thanked board members and district leaders).
Board members congratulated the appointees and advised them to take a brief break before the July 1 start of the new school year.
The recognitions and appointments were presented during the meeting’s recognition and administrative announcements portion; the record does not show a separate roll‑call vote for the personnel actions during the public portion of the meeting.
