Gabrielle Russon
Orange County Elections Supervisor Glen Gilzean is defending spending $2.1 million on student scholarships after county officials said they were blindsided and called it inappropriate taxpayer spending.
“This is money that’s going to be reinvested back to the taxpayers. I stand with my decision,” Gilzean said during an interview with Florida Politics.
Gilzean said he has the authority to spend the money as an independent constitutional officer. He added that the uproar over the fund, named “The Glen Gilzean, Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Promise of the Future Scholarship,” is unfair, as Gilzean argued the name can be changed.
“I think people are so caught up on this whole name thing,” Gilzean said. “I don’t care about the name, and we’ll have the kids come up with a new name.”
“The county appropriates the funding, but it’s up to the individual constitutional officer to utilize the resources in the most efficient way on behalf of taxpayers, and that’s what I did,” he added.
The scholarships are paying for all 2025 graduating seniors from Orange County Schools’ Evans and Jones high schools, as well as any private, charter or homeschool graduates from select ZIP codes to attend either Valencia College or Orange Technical College.
In one ZIP code, where Jones High School is located, less than 10% of voters voted, Gilzean said. He hopes his scholarship helps get young people more involved in civics and increases their engagement.
“How do we solve the voting desert that exists in these low-income minority communities? How do I get these young people to be lifelong voters? And then simultaneously, if we can do something to help these kids get a hand up, get an opportunity and not be in debt and go to college, that’s a win,” Gilzean said.
The $2.1 million scholarship program was paid from leftover money from Gilzean’s 2023-24 budget. Gilzean said that since taking over the Elections Supervisor job in March, he created a new procurement policy for open bidding that helped bring in the unanticipated surplus.
Kurt Petersen, Director of Orange County’s Management and Budget Office, said the money should be returned. “All Constitutional Officers are required by Florida Statute to return any unspent funding they did not use for their operations during the fiscal year.”
After funding the scholarships, Gilzean’s Office did return some money back to the Orange County government, where officials said they save extra funds for emergencies, like hurricanes, and unanticipated expenses.
The county budget expected to get $800,000 in excess fees from Gilzean’s Office, “but the SOE only returned $688,542. We will now look to other savings in the budget to make up the difference that was not received,” Petersen said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has condemned the scholarship, saying Gilzean had not alerted anyone in county government about it in advance.
“In my opinion, it is inappropriate for Mr. Gilzean to use taxpayer funds to name a scholarship fund after himself. He certainly should not have pledged unused funds from his FY 23-24 budget for the purpose of establishing a scholarship fund in his name at Valencia College. Instead, the funds should have been returned to Orange County Government,” Demings said in a previous statement.
Christina Pushaw, a spokesperson for Gov. Ron DeSantis, jumped into the fray Tuesday posting on X, “How can this be controversial? His office saved millions and what better way to use that money than giving back to the community by helping young people further their education.”
Gilzean, who was appointed by the Republican Governor in one of the state’s bluest counties, said he is proud of his job running the county’s elections.
“A typical Supervisor of Elections has a total of two big elections every 24 months. I’ve had six in 6.5 months,” Gilzean said.
Supervisor of Elections-elect Karen Castor Dentel will replace Gilzean in January. When asked what he hopes his legacy will be, Gilzean brought up his new initiatives to get high school students volunteering at the polls and veterans helping other veterans vote. He also highlighted livestreaming, where people could “watch Democracy unfold in real time.”
Gilzean, 42, said he doesn’t have any firm plans for his next job after his appointment ends. He got married last Summer and said his wife is ready to finally take their honeymoon.
