The Orange County Public School Board voted earlier this year to move forward with the proposal of transforming the now-closed Cherokee School into a magnet high school called the School of Arts & Entertainment at Cherokee. OCPS Board Member Stephanie Vanos responded to several questions asked by The Community Paper.
The Community Paper: What do you say to the neighbors who are concerned about traffic and parking?
OCPS Board Member Stephanie Vanos: Concerns about traffic and parking are valid concerns. The district previously completed a traffic study and continues to meet with neighbors to address their specific concerns.
One of the neighbors submitted a promising traffic proposal that the district is now considering. I really appreciate constructive solutions [and] focused feedback from individuals with expertise in the area.
In addition to working through the traffic flow, the district has also offered to stagger student attendance on campus with only half of the students attending school on any given day. Moreover, the district is considering arrival and departure times that are outside of the typical high traffic times.
After hearing neighbor concerns about parking, the district decided to change the goal capacity of the school from 600 to 500. Also in response to additional neighbor concerns, the district agreed to stagger student attendance on campus so that on any given day there will be only 250 students on campus.
It is important to remember that only about half of those students will be old enough to drive, and even fewer will have a car. The district will have at least 50 student parking spots on campus. The district has also committed to working with the neighbors to enforce no parking areas. If a student consistently refuses to comply with parking rules, their admission to the school will be revoked.
The historic Cherokee School will soon transform into another OCPS magnet program for digital media, cinematic arts and sound design. (LOGAN LAMPHERE)
TCP: Is there a way to use a parking lot elsewhere and bus in the students?
Vanos: That was one of the district’s initial ideas; however, there was some concern in the neighborhood that students would not actually ride the bus and would instead choose to drive and park on the streets. However, all options continue to be considered.
TCP: How does this allow OCPS to compete with private, for-profit schools?
Vanos: Great question! The vast majority of Orange County families choose public schools for their children, and public-school families and students love public school choices. For that reason, we have received a lot of positive feedback about this program from our OCPS community.
There is a demand for high quality OCPS magnet programs, and expanding these opportunities meets the needs of students and families who want to be a part of the public school system but are looking for options outside of traditional school offerings. OCPS also believes this school will attract students who have been attending schools outside of OCPS.
TCP: What will be done with the building if this doesn’t go through?
Vanos: Charter schools can claim unused public-school buildings. OCPS believes that this is a highly desirable area for any school given its proximity to downtown.
TCP: Anything else neighbors should know?
Vanos: The Cherokee school is a historic building, and I am excited to see it renovated to become a beautiful addition to the neighborhood. As more neighbors become aware of the plans for the school, they have personally reached out to me to share their excitement and desire to help make this a successful school and asset to the neighborhood.
I understand that there are still some neighbors who have concerns and I appreciate their engagement as well. I also appreciate the district’s thoughtfulness in considering these concerns.
I hope that the conversation between the district and the neighborhood continues to be productive and produces feasible options that address valid concerns and create a successful school that the community is proud of.
The historic Cherokee School will soon transform into another OCPS magnet program for digital media, cinematic arts and sound design. (LOGAN LAMPHERE)
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Editor’s note: Some of Vanos’ written answers were edited for brevity.