Former student pitches Headfield baseball hub, hydroponics farm to Highlands board

DeBarge "Dee" Gordon, who identified himself as the son of Tom Gordon and a former Avon Park student, told the Highlands County School Board he wants to develop Headfield as a regional baseball hub and to partner with schools on hydroponics education. "We only talked we passed out with Miss Florian Anderson flyers the Tuesday before the Saturday that it was happening. So we end up having 770 fans out there," Gordon said, describing a recent professional game he organized.

Gordon said he launched a Baseball Players Alliance in 2025 and claimed Major League Baseball had funded $150,000,000 "into to do things like help donate to my, to my high school field to make it of quality." The claim was presented during his remarks; the board did not provide in-meeting verification. Gordon asked the board to "stand with us when we go to the city and speak to them about purchasing Headfield." Board members encouraged him to place the item on the city council agenda and offered to support the effort.

On agriculture and education, Gordon described operating a 40-acre hydroponics farm in Fort Meade that hosts roughly 120 children from the Boys & Girls Club for field trips; he said the farm could be used for student field trips and curricular connections. District staff told the board that some FFA and secondary courses already include hydroponics and that curriculum development work would proceed with district teachers if the partnership moves forward. "They're gonna provide curriculum and everything that I wanna make sure," a staff member said during the discussion.

Board members uniformly praised the Gordon family for returning to Highlands County and offering opportunities for students. No formal board commitment or vote to acquire Headfield took place at the meeting; staff and board members suggested next steps would be coordination with the city, scheduling site visits and curriculum planning.