Friends of East Orlando

Jennifer Thompson

Education is the key to success. No great communities exist without great educational institutions. No great companies build businesses and bring employees to an area without great schools and without a constant supply of educated workers. In today’s competitive marketplace, having a formal education is no longer about getting ahead but more about getting your foot in the door.

If education is the economic engine that makes or breaks a community (and I believe it is), then why don’t we invest more in our educational system? It seems as if policy makers continue to approve growth-related development without regard to where our children will go to school or the type of education they will receive. Take for example the recent happenings with the proposed high tech corridor, Innovation Way.

Not only was the Innovation Way corridor study completely void of a transportation impact study, economic feasibility study or formal environmental study, it also mentioned nothing about schools. I was at the board of county commissioners meeting several weeks ago where our current county commissioner mentioned her desire to secure 263 million dollars to help lure the Burnham Institute to the Lake Nona area. Now, I wholeheartedly support bringing companies like Burnham to Central Florida and I clearly see the long-range benefits they bring to our community. However, I cannot understand how it is we are willing to invest tax dollars into attracting businesses to the area but we aren’t willing to make that same level of investment in our roads and schools.

It seems to me that if we invested in building the type of community that these companies might find attractive, then maybe we wouldn’t have to spend so much to bring them here. Plus, those of us that already live and work in Central Florida might actually feel some of the tangible benefits during our lifetime. Take for instance the nationally recognized elementary school at North Lake Park in Lake Nona. People have intentionally moved into the area simply because of this school. A product of its own success, the school is now grossly overcrowded. In this very same community, families with high school age children are moving out of the area because they do not want to send their children to Oak Ridge High School. In fact, I’ve spoken with several Realtors™ who have said that the lack of attention to schools in the Lake Nona / Narcoossee Road area is actually beginning to negatively impact their business.

Again, schools can make or break a community. The East Orlando Visioning Study, written and published in 2003, detailed a vision for our future that included what has become known Innovation Way. As part of that vision, it also stated, “Imagine East Orlando in the year 2020. The community’s educational achievement having garnered national attention.” One part does not work without the other. A vision for education and the high tech corridor go hand in hand.

It’s time to make an investment in our community.