“Ocoee residents don’t want their kids going to school with the evil, black criminals from Evans High School”, an Ocoee resident said recently in a letter to Dick Batchelor, a former Florida House Representative.
Dick Batchelor, a known mover and shaker in Central Florida, was named one of “The 50 Most Powerful People” by Orlando Magazine (July 2004), the 2003 “Central Floridian of the Year” (The Orlando Sentinel) and the 2002 “Businessman of the Year” (Orlando Business Journal, November 2002), Dick Batchelor is a longtime Orlando resident who received degrees from the University of Central Florida and Valencia Community College.
Batchelor served in the Florida House (1974-1982) and is the recipient of more than 50 awards for legislative service. Batchelor’s passion for advocacy and knowledge of international affairs has garnered recognition by The White House as well as the public and private sector and has been appointed and served on numerous international delegations, including Presidential appointments.
The letter writer is not affiliated with Batchelor, but reached out to Batchelor who is known for his dedication to community issues.
“The citizens of Ocoee flat out do not want this cancer in the middle of our honorable community. We are composed of all races and are proud of the diversity. We know that our honest black citizens do not want their kids going to such a school any more than the whites”, the writer continued.
This letter which was included in long-time Pine Hills opponent, Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift’s weekly email newsletter, the Weekly Gazette, has touched off a firestorm. To many in Pine Hills, the letter confirms the deep racial undertones that lie at the heart of the Evans High School controversy; calling for its relocation closer to Ocoee.
Mayor Vandergrift, who distributes the newsletter electronically, was unavailable for comment. It is unknown whether the Mayor intended the comments to go out in the way that it did in his 232nd edition.
Copies of the newsletter can be seen at www.thepinehillsnews.com
In the letter, the writer applauds Batchelor’s efforts regarding the half cent sales tax increase which was designed to fund new school construction, saying, “You championed the additional half cent sales tax to be spent WISELY on new school construction and repair of outdated ones. Bottom line is that the present plan to plant a brand new, criminal-infested Evans High (yes, read the news article last week about the Evans senior who was arrested for serious crimes) in our community at a cost that probably will approach $100 million is an exorbitant waste of the tax money of which you campaigned for its adoption”, said the letters author, but continued, “You should personally be up in arms about this colossal waste of precious construction money”.
Pine Hills parents have repeatedly complained of hypocrisy and racism in the way that School Board President Karen Ardaman and others have handled the controversy. Many see her actions as contributing to the racist hostility that Ocoee residents have long held towards their mostly black neighbors to the east.
Evans High School has long been neglected by the County. Many attribute its disrepair, leaking roof and rat infestation with an institutionalized racism and inherent disregard towards black communities and their students.
The disgruntled Ocoee letter writer also complained that Batchelor should get more involved in the controversy, stating, ”You {Batchelor}have turned a deaf ear to this matter. Apparently you do not consider this egregious misuse of the very taxes you championed to be a personal slap in your face by the Orange County School Board”.
A decision regarding the future of Evans High School is expected this year.
