News Te Center for Puerto Rican Studies at
Hunter College in New York estimates up to 470,000 Puerto Rican residents, or 14 per- cent of the population, will leave the island by 2019, and Florida is the state most likely to be affected by the long-term exodus.
“It is encouraging to see our citizens help each other during the days before and after Irma, and we have continued that spirit of cooperation as evacuees from Hurricane Maria have sought safe haven here,” said Osceola County Commission
Chairman Brandon Arrington. Combined, Florida’s Orange and Osceola counties have enrolled more than 4,000 new students into their schools and even hired newly arrived Puerto Rican adults to teach and drive school buses. During a recent job fair, Orange County
Public Schools serving the Orlando area found 25 new bus driver candidates who had been looking for work since arriving from Puerto Rico. Te school district owns and operates a fleet of 900 buses and trains its transportation staff of 1,000 employ- ees. Te district provides rides to students outside of a two-mile radius of their schools. While the district hasn’t had the need yet to buy new buses, it works to optimize the existing routes. Orange County is accustomed to popu- lation and education facility growth within its attractive communities, but it wasn’t pre- pared to support more than 1,500 students who arrived after the annual enrollment count, which determines state funding for the academic year. For the second half of the year, the school district must manage the added pressure on its exisiting resources. “I’ve recommended the OCPS position to
work with the Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency to locate families within walkable distances to schools with enrollment capacity,” said Michael Eugene, chief operations officer of Orange County Public Schools. Orange County collaborates with neigh- boring Osceola County by sharing data of population growth and finding evenly dispersed housing for newcomers. “We hope the transportation industry will keep an eye on our area, especially interested drivers who want to go to a warm climate with benefits. We are in need of drivers,” said Scott Howat, chief communications officer of Orange County Public Schools.
Martiza Valentin, business development manager for student
transportation contractor ALC, is a native of Puerto Rico and created a gofundme page seeking donations. She travels to Puerto Rico this month to deliver care packages, batteries and gifts to children. Visit Valentin’s site at
www.gofundme.com/PRwillstaystrong for more information on how to make a donation.
24 School Transportation News • JANUARY 2018
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