District 4 Board Member is Liaison Between Residents and OCPS

The District 1 Commissioner race is not the only local election on the minds of residents of Horizon West.

The Orange County School Board election, also taking place on November 5, brings another important opportunity for voters to choose a candidate who will have the ability to directly impact our community.

District 4, the district responsible for serving Horizon West, gives voters a choice of two candidates for Orange County School Board: Anne Douglas and Kyle Goudy.

The District 4 seat was previously held by Pam Gould, who decided not to run for re-election.

About the OCPS School Board Elections

Importance of District 4 School Board Role

For Horizon West, the District 4 School Board representative plays a crucial role in addressing the specific challenges faced by our community. Serving as a vital link between residents and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), the Board Member is tasked with understanding and advocating for our students' needs.

The School Board develops and adopts policies that govern the operation of the school district. These policies cover a wide range of topics such as curriculum standards, student discipline, and school safety​.

They are also responsible for strategic planning. The School Board set long-term goals and plans for the district. For example, the Strategic Plan 2025 outlines the district's vision to ensure every student has a promising and successful future​.

As the population in Horizon West continues to grow, schools often become overcrowded, requiring rezoning to balance student populations. This process may require students to change schools, affecting their social and academic stability. The Board is responsible for regularly reviewing and implementing rezoning plans to address these issues.

The Board also oversees school construction and maintenance, which directly affects our growing community of Horizon West. They are is responsible for planning and building new schools to accommodate increasing student populations, ensuring that facilities are modern, safe and conducive to learning.

In other words, their decisions will directly shape the future of Horizon West and it's students.

Choosing a Candidate

Anne Douglas is an Orlando resident with three children, who all attended school in OCPS. She has been a public school teacher for 25 years. Having navigated every level of K-12 education and ventured into higher education, she has built expertise and experience with the issues facing the district and its students. From inside the system, she’s seen many teachers leaving the schools. She believes that valuing teachers’ perspectives and embracing innovative ideas can strengthen our school district. In an interview with Orange Observer, she said the top three most pressing issues are: balanced funding, student well-being and equitable access to quality education



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Kyle Goudy

Kyle Goudy is a resident of Dr. Phillips and has a young daughter who will be entering the OCPS system. He works in Business development at NBCUniversal’s GolfNow and has over fifteen years of experience working with kids in different capacities – from classroom experience and coaching sports to working at the Amateur Athletic Union for more than eight years, half of which was spent in business development. He has experience creating programs for large groups of students and working with multi-million-dollar budgets. In an interview with Orange Observer, he said the top three most pressing issues are: transportation, literacy races and fiscal responsibility.