SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – The school year may be winding down, but Seminole County parents are already sounding the alarm about what next year could look like.
This week, they took their concerns directly to the school board after learning that several longtime teachers at Millennium Middle School, including a Teacher of the Year, will not be returning next school year after the district chose not to renew their contracts.
Shakeena Brantley says both of her daughters — including one who is currently a student at Millennium Middle, a performing arts magnet school —danced under performing arts teacher Jenny Galarza.
“This team has taken a lot of students on national stages,” Brantley said. “They’ve taken this team to places some of these kids would never go to without this team.”
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Brantley learned of Galarza’s non-reappointment the way many parents did — through a heartbroken child.
“Ms. Jenny made the announcement to the kids when she found out, and then my daughter immediately texted me on her lunch break and was just not doing well at all,” Brantley said.
The news hit Brantley hard, too — especially given that Galarza had just been named Teacher of the Year.
“My first thought was this a joke? Like, this can’t be serious. We just celebrated her a few months ago as Teacher of the Year. It just did not make sense,” Brantley said.
When parents reached out to the school’s principal for answers, Brantley said the response fell short.
“We received this very, very cold and very generic response,” she said. “We still didn’t know why until this day.”
The district cited budget cuts as a factor, but Brantley pushed back — pointing out that Galarza’s position has since been posted online for new applicants.
“It’s not like they’re eliminating that position. It’s still open for new applicants. So again, it just doesn’t make sense. If it’s budget cuts, why is the position still there?” Brantley said.
Tuesday night, school board member Kristine Kraus addressed the crowd, acknowledging the weight of the decisions being made.
“This is hard. These are hard times, but we’ve got to work smarter, not harder, and as efficient as we can,” Kraus said.
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Board member Robin Dehlinger offered additional context, noting that the Florida Legislature had not yet passed a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 — but that school districts cannot wait.
“School districts have to plan ahead with hiring teachers and other personnel in addition to decisions made regarding instruction and related services that support student learning in our schools,” Dehlinger said.
Dehlinger confirmed the district is projecting approximately a $30 million funding loss based on enrollment figures and preliminary budget information.
“Every single department is being scrutinized for budget savings,” Dehlinger said.
She explained that the financial pressure is significant, given how much of the budget is tied directly to people.
“For this current school year, 82.8% of the general operating fund is allocated to employee benefits and compensation for instruction, instructional support, and school-level administration,” Dehlinger said. “And this means teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, bookkeepers, principals, and the people that work at and support the schools.”
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Dehlinger also stressed that the district is not closing schools — a step some neighboring districts like Orange County have taken.
“Our vision is to continue to provide our students with incredible choices throughout the county and to continue to provide programs of emphasis to support our magnet schools as well as the arts, athletics, and academics at all of our schools,” Dehlinger said.
She acknowledged how painful staffing decisions are, drawing on her own experience as a former school principal and assistant superintendent.
“Making decisions related to people — and I’m talking about teachers, and other support personnel, including assistants, secretaries, bus drivers, custodians — is very difficult,” Dehlinger said. “None of these decisions are made lightly.”
Dehlinger said the district remains hopeful that further cuts won’t be necessary, but cautioned that nothing is certain yet.
“We are hopeful that there will not be a need for further reductions in staffing and other cutbacks, but we will not know for certain until the legislature passes a budget that is signed by the governor,” she said.
A Seminole County Public Schools spokesperson responded to a list of questions sent by News 6 in an email, clarifying how the non-reappointment process works.
Under Florida Statute 1012.335, annual contracts expire at the end of each contract year. The district says staffing decisions for the following school year are made through a review process conducted by each school or worksite administrator in collaboration with their assigned assistant superintendent.
“Non-reappointments are part of the annual contract process and are not tied to ‘cause,’” the spokesperson said. “Employees who are not reappointed are welcome to apply for vacant positions within the district, and if hired before the start of the new contract year, they would be considered to not have a break in service.”
The spokesperson also clarified that not all non-reappointed positions are being eliminated. Some will not be filled for the 2026-27 school year due to a loss of allocations or declining student enrollment, while others will be advertised and filled.
At Millennium Middle specifically, 17 positions were not reappointed. Of those, four are not being filled due to a loss of staffing allocations. Across Seminole County Public Schools, 243 positions were not reappointed at the school level, and 61 at the district level.
Christine Seymour, whose youngest son joined Millennium’s theater program, found out about the non-reappointments the same way many parents did — from a devastated child.
“My youngest son, who just started there this year and got into the theater program, came home completely devastated,” Seymour said. “I didn’t get an email. I didn’t get a voicemail.”
Seymour says the impact of the performing arts program on her son has been profound. Before joining theater, he was being bullied. That changed quickly.
“He has a newfound sense of confidence,” she said. “Why wouldn’t you want that for people?”
For Seymour, the concern isn’t just about one teacher. It’s about losing the core of what makes Millennium’s arts program exceptional. Among those not being reappointed is theater and puppetry director Edna Bland — who Seymour says has been at the school for more than a decade.
“She’s the theater director and the puppetry director and the president of the National Puppet Society,” Seymour said. “She’s on the board of the Junior Thespians of America. These are the best people to be teaching our children at an art magnet school.”
“Now, the jobs are just sitting there on the internet for anybody to come by,” she said. “I mean, I pay my taxes. I want the best for my children.”
For Seymour, these educators are the very reason the school exists.
“They are literally the heart of the program. Millennium Middle has the biggest auditorium in the state of Florida for a reason. They wanted this to be the hub for you to come and learn,” Seymour said. “And that really does bring out something in the children.”
“I hope that they would listen to these children who stood up there and poured their hearts out, and these parents who are committed to getting the best education for their children and rethink this decision,” Seymour said. “We paid these taxpayer dollars and we need the best, not just what we can afford. I think that they can do better.”
For Brantley, Galarza’s impact on her daughters goes far beyond the dance floor.
“Ms. Jenny has meant everything. She’s taught them how to be strong, independent women outside of dance,” Brantley said. “She teaches them how to work hard, how to be self-sufficient, how to get up when they fall — things that they can take outside of the studio and outside of the classroom.”
Brantley also noted that Galarza’s role at the school extends well beyond a single class or program.
“She also does Young Men and Women of Excellence. She does the step team. She does the theater, she does the choir, and she does dance. So she is the arts program,” Brantley said.
The loss, Brantley said, is about more than one teacher. It’s about access to experiences that many students couldn’t otherwise afford.
“Not everyone can do private dance lessons or studio dance lessons. So they take this away and take her away — these students will not see and be exposed to such great performing arts,” Brantley said. “Performing arts unlocks another part of their brain that they need to make them whole human, fully functional, successful citizens.”
Brantley said even Millennium alumni have come forward to share how Galarza shaped their lives long after graduation.
Dehlinger closed her school board remarks with a commitment to the district’s students and its standing as a top-performing school system.
“All of us are committed to making sure the public schools in Seminole County continue to be the incredible places that they are and that our district remains an A-rated academically high-performing choice district,” Dehlinger said. “We are here to serve our children.”
Brantley, for her part, says she and other parents aren’t giving up.
“I’m hoping there is action that takes place in bringing the good teachers back,” she said. “These are the teachers that make the impact — that love. They truly love what they do.”
The PTSA president at Millennium Middle, Michael Foster, has started an online petition urging the school board reconsider this decision and reappoint Ms. Jenny, so she can continue the important work she has devoted herself to for more than a decade. The petition has already been signed more than 1,300 times.
You can read the full statement Foster sent to News 6 below:
As the PTSA, our responsibility is to advocate for children and support the conditions that help students thrive. Currently, I fear those conditions are being jeopardized at Millennium Middle School. I am deeply concerned about the non-reappointments of a large number of educators, a handful of which have served Millennium for over a decade. Continuity matters for children academically, socially, and emotionally. Especially during times of uncertainty and staffing shortages, retaining strong veteran teachers is essential to preserving student success, school culture, and stability. We are urging the Seminole County School board to look into the decisions being made. We ask for transparency and accountability. To allow educators who have devoted so much of their lives to their students, their schools, and this county to be reduced to a non-reappointment decision explained only as “at principal’s discretion” is not only a disservice to students—it falls short of the humanity and respect these educators deserve.