Christine Moore running for county seat

Christine Moore has spent nine years representing District 7 on the Orange County School Board and says she is ready to switch gears and run for a seat on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. She filed her candidacy Oct. 2 for the District 2 seat, which is open after Commissioner Bryan Nelson resigned to run for mayor of Apopka.

Moore, of 2145 Palm Crest Drive, Apopka, said she feels now is a good time to leave the School Board because of its recent accolades.

“While more improvement is still needed, I believe after the success of this current school board — winning the Broad Prize for Urban Education, Governor’s Sterling Awards for efficiency and customer service, over a 40-point increase in graduation rates, increased pass rates on AP exams, deployment of 100,000 digital devices to middle and high school students — it is time to leave on a high note,” she said.

The candidate said she believes the county does an extraordinary job with the county’s infrastructure.

“However, collaboration and mutual visioning with other local governments is necessary in this highly competitive, global job market,” Moore said. “More attention could be paid to recruiting employers and new industries to Pine Hills and Ocoee. Emergency management could have been more collaborative with municipalities, faith-based and civic organizations.

“Safe-walk initiatives could be coordinated in school zones where high numbers of students approach school walking or biking,” she said. “Public works functions, while highly responsive to constituent concerns, could be more equitably scheduled.”

Moore is hoping to forge a better relationship between the School Board and County Commission.

“In the past, there has been a school-siting ordinance that was outdated; in fact it hadn’t been updated in 25 years,” Moore said. “This caused difficulty in high-growth areas for opening new schools. The district voluntarily gave up building high schools in rural settlements in exchange for clarifying rules governing school sites opening ‘by right.’

“Safe walk and bike routes could be better planned and constructed if the two bodies were more collaborative,” she said. “Emergency management during hurricanes could be expanded with the county and school district working more purposefully together.”

Moore was elected to the Orange County School Board in the fall of 2008 and served as vice chair from 2012-13. She has been the chair of the board’s communication committee during her entire tenure on the board.

During Moore’s nine years on the School Board, she rebuilt 15 schools, initiated a student- and parent-led school-grounds beautification program, created the annual Apopka Arts and Jazz Festival, authored a local history book and began Ocoee Blue Jay and Cardinal Days.

Moore is a real-estate agent with Weichert Realtors – Hallmark Properties. She is a member of the Apopka and West Orange Chambers of Commerce, Museum of the Apopkans, Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, Orange County History Center and Friends of the Wekiva. She belongs to and plays in the orchestra at Trinity Baptist Church.

She has a cum laude music education degree from the University of Michigan. She lives with her two adult children and granddaughter in Apopka.