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MODERATOR: Beth Kassab

 

Beth Kassab is a Central Florida native and long-time journalist who has devoted her career to local news. She arrived at the Winter Park Voice in 2023 with a strong passion for telling the stories of the people and organizations who help define this region.

Beth spent 20 years at the Orlando Sentinel where she covered politics, education, courts, business and local government and also wrote a popular column. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, WMFE, WUCF and Fox35.

 

Beth graduated from the University of Florida, where she was editor-in-chief of the Independent Florida Alligator and served as chairwoman of UF’s Department of Journalism Advisory Board from 2018-2020.

 

In 2018, she was a finalist for the Scripps Howard First Amendment Award and has been recognized for her body of work by the Florida Society of News Editors.

Beth volunteers as a peer mentor for patients and caregivers at the American Brain Tumor Association.

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Dr. Tashanda Brown-Cannon

 

Chief Academic Officer at OCPS

 

Dr. Tashanda Brown-Cannon has dedicated over 25 years to serving the students of Orange County Public Schools with excellence. A native Floridian, Dr. Brown-Cannon matriculated through Duval County Public Schools before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A.) in Elementary Education from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Driven by a lifelong passion for learning, she received a Master of Education in Educational Leadership (M.Ed) from the University of Central Florida and completed her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) at National Louis University.

 

An innovative instructional leader, Dr. Brown-Cannon’s many years of service have greatly benefited students inside and outside the classroom. Recognized for her efforts, Dr. Brown-Cannon became a turnaround principal for Tangelo Park Elementary School, where she implemented innovative strategies to increase teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Under her leadership, the school earned five consecutive “A” ratings from the Florida Department of Education from 2007 through 2012. In 2009, Dr. Brown-Cannon was honored as the State of Florida’s 2009 Literacy Leader of the Year and drew national attention for her accomplishments with a featured article in Lifestyles magazine. Under her

leadership, Tangelo Park Elementary School was recognized as a “Distinguished School” at the National Title I Conference.

 

Continuing to ascend in her career, Dr. Brown-Cannon assumed the role of executive area director in 2013 and associate superintendent in 2019, where her dedication to fostering a culture of educational excellence and transforming high-needs schools was felt throughout OCPS. Dr. Brown-Cannon’s tireless efforts to increase the leadership capacity of principals and mentor colleagues paved the foundation for student success.

 

In recognition of her exemplary contributions and unwavering commitment to educational excellence, Dr. Brown-Cannon achieved a significant milestone in 2023 when she was promoted to the esteemed position of chief academic officer. In this role, she leads the charge of shaping the educational future of OCPS, ensuring every student receives a high-quality education.

 

With a proven track record of coaching principals, increasing student outcomes, and developing a pipeline of turnaround leaders, Dr. Brown-Cannon continues to be a driving force in education. Her career is a testament to her passion for making a difference in the lives of students and educators alike. She remains a beacon of inspiration within the OCPS community.

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Dr. Norín Dollard

 

Senior Policy Analyst with Florida Policy Institute

 

Dollard has more than 30 years of health services research and evaluation experience in Florida and New York in behavioral health needs of children and families across child-serving systems. She has been responsible for or directed all aspects of the research process including design, implementation, analysis, interpretation and dissemination, typically using a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis. Dollard has directed both federally funded and state funded evaluation and research

projects.

 

As director of the KIDS COUNT data center, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, she leverages her experience with large administrative data sets to inform child and family policy with data.

 

She holds a doctorate in education from the University of South Florida and a master’s of public administration from the University at Albany-State University of New York.

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Annie Martin

 

Investigative journalist for the Orlando Sentinel

 

A Washington state native, Annie graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

 

She previously worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal and the Battle Creek Enquirer in Michigan. Annie is an avid runner and reader. She loves exploring all of Florida’s natural wonders.

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Stephanie Vanos

 

OCPS School Board Member

 

Stephanie Vanos is a mom to three girls in Orange County Public Schools and a volunteer public education advocate. She was elected as the school board member for District 6 in 2024. A graduate of K-12 public schools, Stephanie graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University and earned her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated with honors.

 

Stephanie began her involvement with public education advocacy when her oldest daughter started kindergarten. She actively volunteered at her daughters’ schools and served on multiple school advisory councils. She graduated with the 2017 class of the OCPS Leadership Orange program. Stephanie is a member of the Education Committee of the League of Women Voters of Orange County, serving as the co-chair for two years.

 

In 2021, she joined a statewide public education caucus and ultimately became the vice president. In that role, she advocated for pro-public education bills and issues in the Florida Legislature and helped to build grassroots, pro-public education coalition across the state. Stephanie has also advocated at the national level with the Network for Public Education and was invited to discuss a series of papers under development by the National Academy of Education.

 

Stephanie has been active in the community since she moved to Orlando in 2003, serving on the Board of Directors for the Pace Center for Girls Orange and Girls on the Run Central Florida, where she also served as the board chair. She is currently a Trustee for the Track Shack Youth Foundation and also served on the OCPS Reapportionment Advisory Committee in 2021.

By: Judi Hayes
Hot Topics did a deep dive Aug 13 into public education funding with Beth Kassab, editor of the Winter Park Voice, moderating. Previously, she was a reporter and columnist with the Orlando Sentinel. As co-author of the groundbreaking Orlando Sentinel series, “Schools Without Rules,” Beth was uniquely qualified to guide us through this discussion on diverted dollars.

Panelists included Dr. Tashanda Brown-Cannon, Chief Academic Officer at OCPS since 2023; Dr. Norin Dollard, Senior Policy Analyst with Florida Policy Institute; Annie Martin, an investigative journalist for the Orlando Sentinel and co-author of “Schools Without Rules;” and the League’s own Stephanie Vanos, who was elected as the Orange County school board member for District 6 in 2024.

In the past four years, Florida has doubled spending on taxpayer-funded vouchers — about $4 billion — at considerable cost to its public schools. In addition, declining birth rates mean smaller pools of students in the future. As more students use vouchers to attend private schools, public schools are scrambling. Orange County Public Schools estimate losing more than 3,000 students in the 2025-26 year, which will result in a funding loss of almost $28 million and require cutbacks in all departments. And it’s not just Florida. Arizona closed about 17 public schools in the past year due to the state’s expanded voucher program and changing demographics. Florida taxpayer dollars are being diverted from public schools to private voucher schools and home schools, which face little accountability or oversight.  We talked about how this affects students, teachers, schools and our community.

Dr. Brown-Cannon stressed that it is important for us to write our own narrative and tell our own success stories. We discussed the Step Up for Students organization that administers the vouchers and many League members were surprised to learn they take a 3-5% administrative fee. According to Charity Navigator, Step Up is one of the largest “charities” in the state. 

In discussing where the money comes from, Stephanie Vanos pointed out that 53% of public education funding comes from property taxes and the governor is proposing cuts to those. OCPS alone has lost 25,000 students to vouchers who’ve since returned to public schools, but without the per-pupil funding. 

Annie Martin said she believes the majority of families will continue to choose public schools, in part because private schools don’t have to accept the vouchers. The largest private schools in our area, Lake Highland and Trinity, don’t accept them. But all the panelists agree, the tide is turning as families realize that private isn’t always better, and that OCPS offers many options for advanced learning, musical education, accommodations for students with disabilities and is equipped to educate every child in a manner private schools simply can’t manage. 

With 800+ members, Kassab asked, how can the League of Women Voters of Orange County help your organizations?  The panelists offered these suggestions: contact elected officials, volunteer in schools and with family advocacy organizations, be public about your own success stories, send newsworthy items to the Sentinel, and most importantly, elect pro-public education candidates! 

In Hot Topics Overtime, League Education Committee chairs Scott Hottenstein and Christine Bramuchi hosted a panel of four bright young ladies from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Cypress Creek High School — Andrea Borge, Zoey Salaj, Amanda Mendicoa and Sofia Vigoya — who discussed the pending closure of their program and why that was bad news.  It was refreshing to hear from the young advocates firsthand, and we look forward to them joining the League in our future endeavors. 

 

CONTACT your elected officials and make your voices heard: https://www.flhouse.gov/FindYourRepresentative

VOLUNTEER at OCPS

You can volunteer as a community member through the ADDitions School Volunteer program in Orange County Public Schools. There are many ways to get involved, such as being a Read2Succeed volunteer, a Teach-In presenter, an event volunteer, or a mentor. You can choose activities that match your interests and work at the schools of your choice.

To get started, please visit the volunteer webpage here for more information.

Source: Webpage: ADDitions Volunteers - FOCPS

SUPPORT your local media for the latest, unbiased news about education:
Orlando Sentinel  https://www.orlandosentinel.com/

Central FL Public Media https://www.cfpublic.org/

JOIN our Education Committee and READ their current Commentary recently published in the Orlando Sentinel HERE.