Eddie and Steph begin by reflecting on Banned Book Week and how the fight for free expression continues in Florida schools. Eddie also explains his experience so far as part of Leadership Orange—a monthly class put on by Orange County Public Schools. And to round out their intro, Steph walks through some of the upcoming planks for the Florida School Board Association legislative platform.

But then we get to the heart of the show: an interview with Holly Bullard of Florida Policy Institute (21:53). Holly begins with a bit of an overview of the work that the Florida Policy Institute does and how they’re involved with the Save Our Services/No On 3 campaign. Holly explains how Amendment 3 came to be and how the desire for financial relief for Florida homeowners is going to specifically come at the expense of renters (25:55). Holly then digs into how, specifically, cities and counties are going to be hobbled if Amendment 3 passes—including the breaks for billionaires and the negative impacts on bond ratings (34:34). Last, they tackle the latest polling and sentiment of voters, the loss of local control, possible repercussions for businesses, and where folks can find out more (46:10).

• Save Our Services — No On 3 Website
• FPI Local Cuts Calculator
• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller

Steph and Eddie return to discuss Steph’s education-related travels. But first Steph delves into news of layoffs at OCPS and the unfortunate reality behind them. (3:42). Then book banning is back, and we walk through the latest letter from the FL Board of Education trying to upend the rules, yet again, to get their desired outcome: more books off school shelves (12:55). However, Eddie and Steph have praise for the state board when it comes to another issue: Artificial Intelligence in schools (23:58). Then Steph talks about her trip to meet with the Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards down in Miami and how they’re setting school board legislative priorities (28:07). Finally, Steph walks through her first lobbying trip to Washington D.C. as a school board member and how the Florida School Board Association made some positive progress at the Department of Education (yes, that one) (35:00).

• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller

Eddie opens old wounds by bringing up Steph’s rejection from The Orlando Economic Partnership's PLI (Public Leadership Institute) back in the day. Once recovered, they discuss the ed tech roundtables that occurred this week at Steph’s schools, and the news about the $8.5 million reduction at OCPS due to a lower than expected enrollment. They then welcome Rep. Leonard Spencer to the episode (13:23) and discuss Florida House District 45 and what it’s like representing a district with very diverse constituencies. Rep Spencer shares how he brings his business background to his public service work and how his perspective helps him be a more effective representative (20:04). He opens up about his decision to run for office (30:51) and work/life “harmony.” Steph asks about his views on education (40:32) and they discuss some common sense steps to cleaning up the taxpayer funded voucher system. They discuss Amendment 3, and how this proposed increase on property owners’ homestead exemption will impact local governments and services (59:08). They end the episode asking how Rep. Spencer unwinds (1:09:54).

• https://leonardspencerfl.com/
• Rep. Leonard Spencer (Instagram)
• Extracurricular Podcast
• Stephanie Vanos
• Eddie Geller