How Valencia College got caught in the middle of an Orange County fight

Valencia College leaders posed for a picture with the $2.1 million paper check, texting each other congratulations on netting such a big donation that would help so many students.

Soon, however, that joy faded as the Central Florida community college found itself ensnared in a public controversy about Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean’s spending.

A Florida Politics public records request revealed that one Valencia official was concerned the school didn’t have enough oversight to alert Orange County before accepting the taxpayer money from the Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed election supervisor.

“As I said in the beginning, this was going to cause us issues. The promise that was made by Valencia to talk to the Orange County Government after our discussion was not followed through,” Valencia College Foundation Chair Alan Byrd wrote in a Nov. 8 email to the foundation’s chief philanthropy officer. 

Byrd also wrote in a Nov. 11 email: “I thought about the next steps a lot over the weekend. At this point, with the media scrutiny and our prior conversations, the executive committee needs to discuss this gift and the processes for future gifts that might be viewed as controversial.”

Gilzean gave $5 million to Valencia and other nonprofits, which Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has called an inappropriate use of taxpayer money since Gilzean’s job is to run the elections. Gilzean argues he has the right to spend his office’s surplus as he sees fit as an independent constitutional officer and is trying to address deeper community problems. 

Valencia College General Counsel William Mullowney and the school’s foundation executive director and chief philanthropy officer Carlee Thomas pose with the $2.1 million check. Image via Valencia College.

The emails show how the money and the problems began for Valencia.

About three months into his appointment, Gilzean contacted Valencia College President Kathleen Plinske in June to talk.

Valencia is a school with multiple campuses and an enrollment the size of a small city. It has a reputation as one of the top community schools in the country since winning the first-ever Aspen Prize in 2011. Since then, the two-year school’s innovative initiatives included offering affordable bachelor’s degrees and teaching inmates at the Orange County Jail.

Plinske assumed Gilzean wanted to discuss cybersecurity and using Valencia as a voting site.

But in a surprising twist, Gilzean wanted to chat about something else. How could Gilzean’s county office and Valencia partner “to provide their employees and community members with cybersecurity education,” Valencia Executive Vice President Brandon McKelvey wrote in a July 8 email.

That summer, Valencia officials were eager to learn more.

Gilzean gave $2.1 million to the school for scholarships, but at one point, Valencia could have received nearly double that amount.

One undated Valencia College document showed talks for a $3 million “Glen Gilzean Orange County Supervisor of Elections Endowed Professorship,” which proposed Gilzean pay a faculty member’s salary and provide unrestricted funds that could be spent however Pinske wanted. 

The same document also proposed a $1 million “Glen Gilzean Orange County Supervisor of Elections Scholarship in Cyber Security Excellence” for scholarships for 300+ students who live in Orange County and were registered to vote.

Ultimately, according to the Sept. 27 contract, they settled on $2.1 million for “The Glen Gilzean, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Promise of the Future Scholarship.” 

Instead of covering students anywhere in Orange County, the scholarships focused on 2025 graduating seniors from Evans and Jones high schools. The two schools have a high number of low-income students and are in an area with low voter turnout. In addition, private, charter, and home-school graduates from select ZIP codes were included — another $400,000 raised the scholarships from $1.7 million to the final $2.1 million.

“This is going to make a huge difference for so many students,” Plinske texted Gilzean on Oct. 1, the day he dropped off the check. “Thank you for believing in them.”

Carlee Thomas, the chief philanthropy officer and executive director of Valencia College Foundation, texted Plinske that she was a “fundraising superstar.”

Valencia College saw the potential for the partnership with Gilzean’s office to expand into something bigger.

“The team thought it would be an excellent opportunity to introduce the first ‘phase’ as a project that is supported/funded by the Office of Elections. From that position, it can be a smooth transition to a much larger inclusive project for Orange County,” Valencia Chief Marketing Officer Traci Ash-Bjella wrote Plinske on Oct. 8.

Valencia’s inspiration was Osceola Prosper, where Osceola County high school graduates can attend Valencia or Osceola Technical College for free, thanks to the Osceola County Commission, which picked up the tab. Mirroring that for all Orange County students would cost $27.6 million.

The Valencia College Foundation’s chief philanthropy officer texted college President Kathleen Plinske congratulations. Image via Valencia College.

Next came sharing the exciting news about Gilzean’s scholarships with the students and the rest of the world.

Gilzean’s office, Valencia and the Orange County Public Schools began planning pep rallies at the two Orlando high schools.

Plinske was unaware the money would anger Orange County. 

Gilzean texted her on Oct. 29. “Spoke with Mayor Demings yesterday … about the event on Nov. 14, and he’s pumped about it!”

“That’s terrific!” Plinske wrote back.

“Supervisor Gilzean really wants Mayor Demings to attend the pep rally at Jones High School since he is an alumni. The problem is, the mayor’s schedule is jammed packed Thursday, Nov. 14,” Gilzean’s associate director of community outreach, Jodie Bell, said in an email to Valencia and Orange County Public Schools on Nov. 4.

So, the pep rallies were scheduled for Nov. 15, with T-shirts and banners, and the planners were on the hunt for pom-poms.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, far right, and Election Supervisor Glen Gilzean are pictured together on Oct. 28 before the men’s professional relationship broke down publicly over Gilzean’s spending. Image via Elections Supervisor Office.

In his version of events, Demings previously said he ran into Gilzean during early voting on Oct. 28, and that’s when Gilzean briefly mentioned the scholarships. Demings said he did not know the full extent of the scholarships and was blindsided when invited to speak at the pep rally.

Pep rally invitations went to Demings and other officials, who believed the taxpayer-funded scholarships immediately raised red flags. The media also began asking questions.

“What was Valencia College told about the Glen Gilzean scholarship when President Plinske signed the contract in September, specifically regarding where the funding for the scholarship came from?” WFTV reporter Nick Papantonis wrote the school. “Did Valencia ever contact Orange County’s administration to find out if money had been appropriated for this purpose?”

Soon, the Orlando Sentinel, all the major Central Florida TV stations, and Florida Politics were covering the story when Demings publicly condemned the scholarships.

The pep rallies were canceled at the last minute. There was no need for those pom-poms. 

Valencia and Gilzean’s office scrambled to rename the scholarships and remove Gilzean’s name from them. 

Demings didn’t back down and threatened to sue Gilzean. Orange County Commission debated the best way to get the taxpayer money back at a Nov. 20 meeting. Last week, the Commission voted to freeze the regular budget payments to Gilzean’s office as officials said he had more than enough in the bank to make his payroll, and they were worried he was spending more money outside the scope of his election duties. Gilzean sued and said Orange County was illegally withholding the money so that he couldn’t pay vendors and employees. The latest is Gilzean wrote 224 checks over the weekend, essentially depleting his bank account, Comptroller Phil Diamond said Monday. Gilzean said the money was spent on bills from the November General Election.

As the public saga unfolded, Plinske issued a statement on Nov. 15 that said, “Although it would be disappointing if students do not have access to these scholarships, if Orange County asks for the return of the funds, Valencia will return the $2.1 million contribution.”

So far, the college has yet to return the money.

Byrd, the Valencia Foundation Chair who tried to warn the school Gilzean’s gift could cause problems, spoke to Florida Politics Monday in an interview after his emails had been unearthed.

The school he loves is caught in the middle.

Byrd is a 1993 Valencia alum. He believes in the school and knows how education can change lives — after all, it changed his own. Byrd was once a bartender-DJ-college dropout until he enrolled in Valencia. He then became the editor of Valencia’s newspaper and went on to have a journalism career and go into public relations. Now, Byrd chairs the school’s foundation, Valencia’s philanthropic arm that oversees a $100 million endowment.

“I can’t imagine what my life would be without Valencia in it,” he said.

Byrd said the $2.1 million in scholarships, which would be funded in perpetuity, could uplift the 4,000 students at Evans and Jones high schools, changing their lives and the community.

However, as someone who has worked on political campaigns and handled communications for elected officials, Byrd knew Gilzean’s money might lead to a fight for control. His worst fear was realized, he said.

“I had a feeling this was going to create some issues,” Byrd said. “County commissions across Florida look at surplus funds as kind of an end-of-the-year opportunity to help plug budget holes, to help do some new things. … We’re also talking about the sheriff’s office, we’re talking about Phil Diamond’s office, we’re talking about Clerk of the Courts, all of which have surplus funds to return to the county, and we’re setting precedents here.”

Throw in Gilzean, who DeSantis appointed in one of the bluest counties in Florida, added to the potential signs of trouble ahead, Byrd acknowledged.

Byrd said seeing Valencia in the headlines has been difficult, although he said Monday he did not fault Plinske for not reaching out to the county before accepting the money.

“This is a disagreement between the Supervisor of Elections and the Orange County Commission. We’re holding on and hoping that we will be able to use this to provide a future for our children,” Byrd said. “At the end of the day, it’s not our job to police our givers.”

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