Orange County Public Schools

The Operations Division continuously improves core competencies of quality and efficiency without sacrificing customer service. The division has remained focused on the importance of identifying customers and quality service. Easier, faster, more successful customer service results in higher productivity. Some of the results include:

• Meal Participation Rates – 186,125 meals served per day. 14 percent increase (3.6 million meals) in 2016 compared to 2012. Food Services continues to be recognized for its innovation to create exciting and tasty meals, as recognized by the National Restaurant Association and the USDA for best practices in marketing and program appeal.
• Transportation Route Management – Operates the largest public transportation system in Central Florida utilizing 900 buses to transport 69,285 students to and from school daily. Transportation has continued to be a leader in financial efficiency by reducing the cost of services as a percentage of total expenditures each year since fiscal year 2011. Nationally, OCPS Transportation is among the top urban districts in the country for efficiency in routing and safety.
• Preparedness and Prevention – 10,000 hours of emergency and preparedness training provided to OCPS staff. 249 fire inspections, and 526 health inspections prevent incidents or assist in early identification of issues.
• Competitive Services – Procurement Services continues to drive competition to obtain the most competitive pricing. In Fiscal year 2016, it generated a 3.7 percent savings rate valued at $24 million which is saving increase of nearly $4 million since 2014. Procurement has now reached an overall rate of competitiveness at 90 percent of total spending driven through competition, placing the team in the top quartile of large urban districts nationally. The team has won multiple awards state-wide and nationally for best practices.
• Building Code Compliance – Four percent increase (to 97%) in construction inspections passing upon initial inspection due to continued training for construction vendors. The BCCO team maintains an innovative approach as an enforcement agency to make sure contractors success by offering training program and remote video inspections.
• District Police – After the creation of the OCPS District Police in fiscal year 2015, there has been a 38 percent reduction in student arrests.  Civil citations are issued, where prudent, instead of arrests which result in the removal from school.
• Environmental Sustainability – 106 million pounds of solid waste managed in 2016. OCPS won the 2016 Green Ribbon Schools District Sustainability Award as a collaborative effort between the Environmental Compliance department (Operations Division) and the Facilities Maintenance department (Facilities Division). The U.S. Dept. of Education nominated OCPS for recycling efforts which kept 55 million pounds of materials out of landfills, saving more than $600,000 over the last three years.

With less than 3,000 employees this organization continues to support a larger school district as student enrollment increases by 2% - 2.5% annually.  Last year the division:

• Prepared 33,502,500 meals.
• Transported 70,553 students on 905 bus routes.
• Conducted 12,058 construction inspections, 249 fire inspections, and 526 health inspections.
• Delivered 1.6 million pieces of mail and parcels with an additional 7,593 deliveries of material ordered from the Supply Center warehouse.
• Facilitated or participated in 10,000 hours of emergency training.
• Recycled 57,184,920 pounds of waste (54%) of the 106 million pounds removed.

The Orange County public school system is the tenth largest in the nation and is the fourth largest in Florida.  The Operations Division provides essential goods and services to more than 203,000 students and 22,000 employees and manages the functions of Procurement, Transportation, Food and Nutrition Services, Environmental Compliance, Safety and Emergency Management, Building Code Compliance, and the District Police department.  

The Orange County Public Schools Operations Division received the prestigious Governor’s Sterling Award in 2014 and is a first-time recipient of the Governor’s Sustained Excellence Award.