Laughter seems plausible, particularly since we had no children yet when he casually worked its mention into our conversation. But my sense of home-schooling at that time was mostly that it was for families on the cultural fringe — that is, not us.

Yet, here I am years later, not only a home-schooler but finding that our decision to educate our children outselves isn’t fringy at all.

It’s actually increasingly mainstream, if not slightly cool.

According to a new analysis from the Washington Post, home-schooling is the fastest growing form of education in the U.S. — not just in conservative states like Texas.

And it’s not exclusive to conservative enclaves, either. In New York City and Washington — famously bastions of progressivism — home-school communities are growing and flourishing.

Indeed, home-schooling is now a less ideological practice with more diverse practitioners, attracting families across the political spectrum and across various racial and ethnic communities.

That’s probably because today’s home-school families are motivated by an assortment of factors, not just moral and religious education but also physical and emotional safety, social environment, curriculum, family flexibility and accommodating kids’ special needs and education goals.

For most families, like mine, it’s really a combination of reasons.

And alongside traditional home-schooling models, micro-schools, hybrids and co-ops have also exploded, providing families with a parent-lead learning environment that also provides social outlets as well as needed structure and support.

Indeed, home-schooling’s newfound social status should be seen as a challenge to the long-held notion that a quality education can only occur inside a traditional school environment.

It’s not exactly news that home-schooling ballooned during the pandemic.

Those were the days when COVID protocols (too strict for some and too lenient for others) and virtual learning provided a proverbial window into what was being taught in public schools and what wasn’t, much to the chagrin of parents who began seeking alternative options for their kids.

The Washington Post data shows, however, that while the number of children being home-schooled has declined slightly since its pandemic-peak, the growth of home-schooling remains stable and significant.

Before the pandemic, estimates suggested that about 1.5 million children in the U.S. were home-schooled.

The latest data suggests that number is now somewhere between 1.9 million and 2.7 million, although, because of the dearth of reporting requirements in many states, it’s likely that number is even higher.

This is not a blip but a fundamental shift in how our culture views education.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone is pleased.

Home-school critics argue that the loose or nonexistent regulation will inevitably result in substandard or parochial education.

But one only need look at standardized testing results in a district like Fort Worth ISD, where minority students in particular consistently cannot read or perform math at grade level, to recognize that attending school in no way guarantees that a student receives a quality education.

Then there are the detractors who deride home-schoolers for the same reasons they criticize private school participation — that it takes resources away from public schools.

Public schools do indeed serve an important role in our communities, but they have never been a panacea.

And with more and more families finding that public schools do not meet the needs of their individual students and circumstances, it behooves state governments to support alternative forms of education, like home-schooling.

Parents deserve choices in their children’s education.

Cynthia Allen is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The dominating narrative regarding higher energy bills is that they’re directly related to the higher outside temperatures, but this ignores the greed of investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and minimizes the intersection of climate change, energy and race.

Every Floridian deserves access to electricity, regardless of one’s racial or socioeconomic background. However, IOUs often prioritize profits over people, leading to higher utility bills, low-grade infrastructure and inadequate service in many communities of color.

Communities of color often experience higher utility rates, burdening them with a greater financial strain. Studies have shown that these disparities are not coincidental; they are a result of historical redlining and discriminatory practices that have left these communities with fewer resources to invest in infrastructure improvements.

IOUs have a history of prioritizing investments in more affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods while neglecting the upgrade and maintenance of systems in communities of color. This neglect leads to more frequent power outages, longer emergency response times and a lower overall quality of service. In some instances, it can even put lives at risk, as we’ve seen in the aftermath of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

In Florida, IOUs operate as monopolies, meaning customers don’t get to pick their power provider. In exchange for their service territory, utilities are regulated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), a board of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees who are responsible for ensuring that the utilities provide reliable and affordable electricity. IOUs’ continual dependence on nonrenewable resources not only raises bills for consumers but also contributes to rising temperatures, and further exacerbates climate inequalities across communities.

According to leading climate scientists, we must cut greenhouse gas by 50% by 2030 and significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions to stabilize global temperatures and reduce extreme weather events. Unfortunately, in this past legislative session, Florida lawmakers voted to pass numerous bills (HB 1645, SB 250, HB 1281, SB 170 and HB 125) that set us back even further.

However, there is still hope. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change asserts that we have options across all of our sectors in order to achieve these emissions goals, thus we must call on our colleagues in the Legislature and municipal governments to champion the following demands:

• We demand municipal authority of utilities. Municipal utilities are publicly owned with a community-elected board. They do not operate on a for-profit basis, which often means lower rates for residential customers. With Duke’s lease in St. Petersburg set to expire in 2026, we are presented with a timely opportunity to enact this change on a local level.
• We demand a publicly elected Public Service Commission. If the PSC’s mission is to provide reliable and affordable electricity for its customers, then we should have a say in who is defining “affordable” and “reliable” on our behalf.
• We demand renewable, clean energy that is backed by research. Carbon capture and storage, hydrogen power and biomass are not sustainable and efficient solutions, nor are they equitable. In the Sunshine State, we choose solar.
• We will not further marginalize the communities that have borne the brunt of environmental injustice. Latino and Black communities are exposed to 63% and 56% more environmental pollution than they produce, while non-Hispanic white Americans are exposed to 17% less pollution than they produce. As we build out the infrastructure for clean energy, we must do so in a way that is clean for all of our residents, not just the privileged few.

For more information about the Florida lawmakers that spent the 2023 legislative session fueling corporate greed and the ones who championed their communities’ best interests, visit “The Corporate Greed Report” at StopCorporateGreedFL.com.

Dr. Chelsea Rivera is a policy organizer at Central Florida Jobs with Justice, which is a coalition of labor unions, community-based organizations, faith-based and student groups coming together to build power for worker rights. State Rep. Michele Rayner is a Democrat from St. Petersburg representing House District 62, which includes parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea website (www.theinvadingsea.com), which posts news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida.

Florida allocated more money than ever for mental health care this year, which is prudent. More than 20% of U.S. adults live with a mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and an estimated 633,000 Florida adults with mental illness and 116,000 youth with depression have unmet treatment needs, according to the Florida Policy Institute.

Lack of affordability creates much of the unmet need. Non-recurring funds have been allocated to providers, but the state should make it recurring, so it’s not in jeopardy of non-renewal.

Corie Talano Boca Raton

Palestine demonstrations are not antisemitic

There is a growing hysteria in the media labeling pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “antisemitism.” The assumption is that the demonstrations are motivated by racial or religious prejudice.

The attack by Hamas was obviously reprehensible, particularly the use of low technology rockets that randomly hit civilian targets. In retaliation for the 1,400 Israelis killed by Hamas, the Israeli government has killed over 11,000 Palestinians. In the past few days Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated the end game is occupation of Gaza “for an indefinite period of time,”

In my view, the media has failed to recognize that the demonstrations are not antisemitic but, a condemnation of the current Israeli government. Palestine was divided to create a Jewish homeland and continue the existing Palestinian homeland. The two-state solution was rejected by the Middle East as a whole. The one-state solution was never an option. Demographics and birth rates would eliminate a democratic secular state in one generation.

The New York Times and other media have recently claimed that 76% of the Israeli citizens do not support the current government. The demonstrations against the judicial reforms, demonstrations against expansion of the war and Israeli citizens trying to protect Palestinian homes in the West Bank show a massive disconnect between the Israeli government and its people. As I see it, the protests are anti-Israeli government and not “antisemitism”.

Richard Prochaska Winter Springs

Manchin’s machinations

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has performed a balancing act with Republicans and Democrats, but his latest act of not seeking reelection might just help the Republicans flip the Senate. What he’s most likely doing is setting up a fight with President Joe Biden. I think many think that if Biden, for whatever reason, doesn’t run for re-election, they want to be in a position to  run. Not that there’s anything wrong with that decision, but just be honest, Senator. It’s a good way to be when running for president.

Jeffrey Dombeck Boynton Beach

Mary Jo Cain Reis tearfully recalled the story of her father’s medical care and eventual death. After experiencing a stroke, Thomas Cain spent nine months in several hospitals and a nursing home, developing painful bed sores and contracting MRSA and pneumonia, which eventually claimed his life on August 19, 2020. Reis wanted to file a claim for medical malpractice, but attorneys told her Florida law only allows that for spouses and minor children. She got a quick lesson in the Florida “Free Kill” law. Reis wants the public to contact lawmakers and call attention to this law, so she is putting up billboards around the state. The first one is in Orlando. She knows that repealing the “Free Kill” law will not help her, but in her father’s memory, it might help others in the same situation.

Nevertheless, there have been attempts to abolish the “Free Kill” law in Florida. On October 19, 2021, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez introduced the bill known as SB 560: Recovery for Wrongful Death. Sadly, on March 14, 2022, it died in Judiciary. If it had become law, the bill would have deleted the prohibition on adult children of certain decedents recovering specified damages by filing a lawsuit. In 1990, lawmakers prevented anyone over the age of 25 from suing doctors for pain and loss judgments in malpractice suits over the death of a parent if they were unmarried or divorced. The law allowed claims by surviving spouses or minor children. This controversial law is described as Florida’s “Free Kill” law because it eliminated a major consequence — huge cash payouts to surviving family members — after botched surgeries or medical treatments.

A Lake County family believes a mistake that was made during what should have been a routine medical procedure for their adult, special-needs son led to his death, but because he had no spouse or children, they have no recourse under Florida law. Medical records show the man was admitted to the hospital on March 20, 2023, for breakthrough seizures, a fever, and a malfunctioning of his feeding tube. The notes show the plan was to replace the tube the following day, but complications kept him there longer. Six days in, the records show his stepmother raised concerns about staff feeding her stepson through the wrong port of his tube. This might have led to vomiting and, eventually, aspiration pneumonia. Clinton had to be intubated and ultimately moved to the intensive care unit, and he never returned home.

Similarly, a bill was proposed to end this problem as well. On September 20, 2021, Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez introduced the bill known as SB 262: Damages Recoverable by Parents of an Adult Child in Medical Negligence Actions. If it had been signed into law, it would have deleted the provision prohibiting parents of an adult child from recovering damages for mental pain and suffering in a medical negligence lawsuit. Nevertheless, this bill also died in the Judiciary on March 14, 2022. This Florida law prevented parents of unmarried or childless adult children from suing for those judgments. During those times, lawmakers claimed they were trying to hold down the rates of medical malpractice insurance and discourage physicians from moving their practices to other states with friendlier business climates.

Because these two attempts to change Florida’s “Free Kill” law failed, the situation might not change in the near future. This is very alarming, as many people are entitled to recover the damages they deserve for the death of their adult children or parent.

Sean M. Cleary is a lawyer who provides assistance to victims of medical malpractice. His practice is headquartered in Miami.

My friend lives in The Preserve.  We are ticked off that her recycle bin has been missing its lid since June.  That is very poor service.

I’m ticked off that Orange County Commissioners keep pouring money into the Convention Center that keeps losing money.  Get the Legislature to change the law to allow better use of the money or cancel the tax.  If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got.  More multi million dollar losses!

After spending some time out of state, it ticks me off to come to the realization that living in Florida has been damaging my mental health.

I’m ticked off at Brighthouse for blasting the volume when their commercials come on.  How obnoxious.  I just use my remote and switch to another channel.

I get so ticked off at narcissistic tenants that think that the rules and lease do not apply to them! One of my neighbors purchased an American Bully Puppy and believes that since it is smaller than the Staffordshire Terrier or other breeds in the Pitbull family that she can have one in spite of the lease and community rules clearly stating no large or aggressive breed dogs, that the rules do not apply to her! An American Bully belongs to the Pit Bull (aggressive breed family) and exceeds the weight limit when it is full-grown! If this is not enough to make my blood boil, she thinks it is okay to allow it to run off-leash and harass tenants walking up and down the sidewalk! Not to mention, allowing it to poop on neighbors lawns without cleaning it up!

The flip side

Thanks to the man in front of me in line at the pharmacy who was waiting to pick up a prescription. I pulled up in handicap cart behind him and he insisted I go in front of him! People like this are are few and far between!

Florida legislators said they were doing good for the public when they made it harder for policyholders to sue their insurance company over denied claims. They asserted that it would relieve market turmoil, attract new companies and reduce the nation’s highest homeowner rates. That’s highly debatable, because the law (last session’s HB 837) doesn’t require companies to pass along their savings. But that’s their story and they’re sticking to it.

Now, at least one legislator who voted for that bill aims to do well by cashing in. Republican Sen. Joe Gruters approached colleagues about investing in a start-up company, Village Protection Insurance. A solicitation he forwarded described a “unique and lucrative opportunity for investors.”

Gruters, 46, of Sarasota, is a CPA and former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida who was state co-chairman of Donald Trump’s first Florida campaign in 2016. The senator reported a net worth of $2.8 million last year.

Deepening the distrust

Other companies are also luring legislators to invest, according to the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.

You might be asking, “Is this legal?” The answer is yes. But it’s wrong on two important levels: Public opinion and public policy.

Public opinion of politicians and distrust of institutions is dangerously low throughout the nation. Among the reasons, Pew Research reported, is that 63% of those polled believe that all or most elected officials run for office to make a lot of money.

What Gruters proposes deepens the distrust.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, alluded to it when he said why he wouldn’t invest in Gruters’ company or in any other.

“I just don’t want to be directly involved with profiting off of what is less restrictive, or more favorable, conditions for insurers,” Pizzo told the Times and Herald. The appearances “probably aren’t great,” but he said policyholders wouldn’t care if their rates come down.

Insurance is highly regulated by a division of the Florida Department of Financial Services, which executes the laws that legislators pass and depends upon them for its appropriations. For legislators to also be investors creates the possibility of improper influence on regulators and self-dealing through lawmaking.

There’s nothing new about state legislators angling to enrich themselves from their positions.

In the 1960s, a Miami company, State Fire & Casualty was known to be in financial difficulty, but state Insurance Commissioner Broward Williams held off on declaring it insolvent and putting it into receivership. The reason, as it appeared, was that the chairman of the House Insurance Committee, Rep. Carey Matthews, a Miami Democrat, was the insurer’s general counsel.

Acceptable ‘by current standards’

The scandal led to a U.S. Senate investigation, Williams’ electoral defeat in 1970 and Matthews’ indictment in 1971 on 19 counts of securities, mail and wire fraud. He resigned from the Legislature, pleaded guilty to one count and got five years’ probation.

Over the years, many legislators have been licensed insurance brokers. Rep. J. Hyatt Brown, a Daytona Beach Democrat and House speaker in 1977-78, headed a brokerage that became the sixth-largest in the country.

Although the state insurance division can revoke licenses, that aspect of regulation is not nearly as extensive as its authority and responsibility to assure the financial soundness of the companies they represent.

Even there, experts say, investments by Gruters and other legislators would not cross a legal or ethics barrier.

But public opinion is much different.

“At its worst interpretation, Gruters’ behavior is probably deemed acceptable by current standards,” said Bonnie Williams, a former executive director of the Florida Commission of Ethics, in an email to the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board.

She added that if the legislation was controversial — as the insurance bills were — “a legislator would be hard-pressed to argue that his subsequent interest was a coincidence.”

The optics look bad

The bar to reach a conflict of interest in the Florida Legislature is intentionally very high because they can hold outside jobs, according to Ben Wilcox, research director of Integrity Florida, a watchdog group. He noted that legislators often sponsor bills and serve on committees that could benefit their own personal income. Senate rules require senators to vote unless a bill would provide them a “special private gain or loss.”

What Gruters is doing would not be a conflict of interest under Senate rules. But the optics look bad to Floridians struggling with sky-high insurance premiums.

“I’m sure he will spin it by saying he’s trying to make insurance more affordable, but to the public, it will look like he is seeking to profit from homeowners desperate to find affordable insurance coverage,” Wilcox said.

The Legislature is scheduled to convene for 60 days a year, but legislative service is increasingly time-consuming, with frequent special sessions, committee meetings in the months preceding the session and frequent public appearances and gatherings with constituents. Legislators are paid $29,697 a year.

As a result, Florida’s low-salaried “citizen legislature” is highly unrepresentative of how most Floridians live. A 2018 study by the Tampa Bay Times found that nearly half the legislators serving were lawyers or chief executives. Only nine reported lawmaking as their primary income source, but few could survive on that paltry salary.

This imbalance will continue as long as Florida perpetuates the myth that governing the third-largest state is not important enough to be full-time work — and so will the temptation for legislators to do well for themselves.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board includes Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson, Opinion Editor Krys Fluker and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writer Martin Dyckman and Anderson. Send letters to insight@orlandosentinel.com.

The fact that this no-bid contract went to one of the state’s top ethics officials was vintage Florida.

But it turns out that was the tip of the insider-dealing iceberg at the former Reedy Creek district.

As the Sentinel revealed Sunday, another political pal scored a no-bid deal under even more suspect conditions when the district’s board chairman helped award a $495-an-hour legal contract to a lawyer who helped the chairman get his powerful post overseeing Disney in the first place.

Yes, back when Martin Garcia wanted to impress the state Senate, which confirms all of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointments to the Disney board, Garcia listed plugged-in GOP attorney Jason Gonzalez as a reference. Then, after Garcia got the job, he voted to give Gonzalez’s law firm a $495-an-hour contract without letting other firms even apply.

Seems the most magical thing about this new Disney board is how it made any premise of ethical government disappear.

And there’s more. As the Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher reported, a former board member who helped district director Glen Gilzean score his $400,000-a-year job was also the best man at Gilzean’s wedding.

This looks less like a public agency and more like a fraternity of political profiteers — the Florida chapter of Tappa Tappa Trough, where the only thing being chugged is tax dollars.

Political insiders get fat paychecks, big contracts from DeSantis’ Disney district

When I first heard about the legal contract last week, I wanted to see if it was as bad it as it sounded. So I asked if the board really hired the board chair’s buddy without any kind of open-bidding process.

The response I got was … interesting. First, district spokesman Matthew Thomas Oberly wanted me to know that the previous Disney district “ran the district with little transparency” and demonstrated “underhanded actions.”

If you’ve ever parented a naughty child, that response may feel familiar. You ask your son if he stole a cookie, and he responds by accusing his sister of stealing three cookies weeks ago.

Anyway, after trashing the former board, Oberly stressed that Florida law doesn’t require the district to solicit competitive bids for such legal contracts. “There is no requirement for the District to get the cheapest lawyer,” Oberly wrote in an email, “nor is such a good practice.”

That, my friends, is what’s known as a straw-man argument. Nobody said the district should hire the cheapest lawyer. I sure didn’t. But it might want the most qualified. And that’s what public solicitations for services can help you find.

Or you can just go with the guy who helped you get your political post — a guy who formed his new law firm less than a year ago.

Gonzalez, a Federalist Society leader who has advised DeSantis and other GOP governors, founded the firm in January with a couple of other politically connected attorneys, including Alan Lawson, who left the state Supreme Court after a relatively short stint to go into private practice.

There may be no law requiring public agencies to solicit bids for legal services. But many do. Why? Because it’s a solid business practice.

Just last month, the leaders at Orlando International Airport decided to solicit bids for that agency’s legal contracts. Board member Craig Mateer said relying on a single firm without aggressively encouraging other firms to apply wasn’t good enough. “We can do better,” said Mateer, who’s also a DeSantis appointee. “There’s a lot of money flowing through here.”

(Side note: If you’re a Florida law firm with expertise in construction, finance or purchasing law, now is a good time to reach out to the airport about its open-bidding process.)

That’s how it should be vs. hiring your own resume reference. Or a fellow wedding-party member.

These are small-town antics, except with big money. And it looks like political patronage may have been one of the main goals all along with this district takeover.

See, the aspect that always stunk most was the way DeSantis set it up — replacing one special district with another special district run by his political pals.

DeSantis had vowed to make Disney “follow the same law that every other company has to follow in the state of Florida.” I liked that idea. But that’s not what he did.

Instead of making Disney answer to Orange County government, the way other companies do, DeSantis set up a special district to control Disney’s fate and then stocked it with political cronies. Now those cronies are helping other cronies cash in.

No wonder experienced staffers are fleeing as the district invests less on roads and infrastructure — the kind of work it’s supposed to be doing.

Disney district mess: Employees flee. No-bid contract stinks | Commentary

I give credit to the beneficiary of the last no-bid deal we wrote about — communications firm owner and state ethics commissioner Freddie Figgers — who gave up his $242,500 contract after it’s no-bid nature was revealed.

Figgers said he preferred to “err on the side of caution” and seems to realize how swampy all this looks. The rest don’t seem to care. They seem content to thumb their noses at best practices and help their buddies cash in for one reason — because they can.

Of course DeSantis hasn’t shown any interest in cleaning up this swamp, because he’s the one who stocked it with swamp creatures.

And as long as he has a Legislature and political base full of sycophants who don’t care about ethical government, that swampiness will continue.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com

As scrutiny mounts, DeSantis’ Disney district cancels no-bid 911 contract

At least seven times in recent months, Donald Trump said his 2024 opponent for president is not Joe Biden, it’s Barack Obama, according to Forbes magazine. Earlier this week, he said at a campaign rally that his opponents and non-supporters in the current administration are “vermin.” This is serious, game-changing sad behavior. By calling non-supporters “vermin,” Trump’s also forgotten, or perhaps doesn’t know, he now parrots Hitler and Mussolini, who used “vermin” and other derogatory terms to de-humanize their opponents and encourage violence against them.

With Trump facing the loss of his license to do business in New York, his financial fortune, and the real possibility he could be incarcerated for 93 felonies, there’s no sane justification to nominate him for president or even worse, vote for him. Republicans need to face reality and let Trump go quietly, before he makes a fool of himself and the Republican Party.

William Higgins New Smyrna Beach

Jimbo Fisher’s big reward for getting fired

Ever wondered why your tuition is so high for college? Take a look at Texas A&M University. They fired their football coach, Jimbo Fisher, on Sunday.  But he will still receive $75 million as part of his contract buyout. Don’t you wish after the high cost of college and getting a job, if you got fired, you could get a fraction of that amount? Who do you think pays for that astronomical amount?

It’s a travesty, isn’t it?

Nick Smith Orlando

Vote to change narrative on guns

How do you change a politician’s mind on guns?

When a gunman slaughtered 18 innocent civilians and wounded more residents in his home district in Maine, Rep. Jared Golden said he regretted past opposition to an assault-weapons ban. He should be ashamed of himself, as a Democrat. But at least he finally did the right thing.

We live in a democratic republic where about half of our electorate doesn’t even vote. And around half of the “other half” doesn’t appear to have enough sense to come in out of a rainstorm.

How else does one explain that the leading candidate in the Republican party appears to gain more support with each additional indictment brought against him?  I will take Joe Biden any day over his rival.  Yes, he has lost a step with age, and yes, he may be a little unsteady on his feet, but at least he will not sell the country out to the highest bidder, and lie, cheat, and steal everything that is not nailed down.

Michael Perham Clermont

Manchin’s machinations

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has performed a balancing act with Republicans and Democrats, but his latest act of not seeking reelection might just help the Republicans flip the Senate. What he’s most likely doing is setting up a fight with President Joe Biden. I think many think that if Biden, for whatever reason, doesn’t run for re-election, they want to be in a position to  run. Not that there’s anything wrong with that decision, but just be honest, Senator. It’s a good way to be when running for president.

Jeffrey Dombeck Boynton Beach

That well-timed news release was a forward-looking way for Bob Iger to enjoy several days at the Gulfstream fly-in with corporate leaders, investors and a few celebrities.

“Time and again, Bob has shown an unparalleled ability to transform Disney to drive future growth and financial returns successfully,” said Mark Parker, Disney Board chair.

While Bob Iger is adding two years to his previously agreed-upon 24-month term, which began in November 2022, many CEOs are leaving. Challenger, Gray, and Christmas Inc., a global outplacement and executive coaching firm, reported that 1,425 CEOs left in the first nine months of 2023, up 47% from the 969 CEO changes during the same period in 2022.

Problems vary for different businesses, but turnover at the top puts everyone in the same crowded boat — how to prepare for and implement leadership succession. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, only 54% of boards were actively engaged in developing a successor to the CEO, and 39% had no viable manager to step in to replace the CEO in an emergency.

Why is CEO succession so hard to accomplish?

The Disney Sun Valley announcement didn’t mention that the company’s worth of $160 billion is less than half what it had been when Bob Iger left in 2021. What must have caught the Board’s attention is that one year into Iger’s return, they were running into Murphy’s Third Law — everything takes longer than you think it will. And another law says that whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first.

By Bob Iger’s admission, the company’s problems were “greater than anticipated.” A Hollywood script with the complexities facing Disney (streaming; cable; film studios; a clash with Nelson Peltz and Isaac Perlmutter, former head of Marvel Entertainment) was never likely to materialize.

When Disney shared its full-year and fourth-quarter 2023 financial results last Wednesday, the role of balancing assets so that any decline in one area can be countered by success in another was on full display. This performance caused the entertainment giant to exceed analysts’ expectations, achieving a 5% increase in quarterly revenue and 7% annual growth.

“Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we’ve made over the past year,” Bob Iger said. “While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to move beyond this period of fixing and begin building our businesses again,” he added.

Iger’s priorities are making streaming a profitable business, building ESPN for a digital future, expanding its live experiences business (investing $60 billion in parks and cruises over the next ten years), and improving the output and economics of Disney film studios.

There’s one crucial item missing from that list — CEO succession.

This omission brings us back to Disney’s new board chair—Mark Parker, a former president and chief executive officer at Nike, Inc., and its current executive chairman. Perhaps Parker’s most important responsibility is chairing the newly formed Disney Succession Planning Committee. That group is tasked with advising the Disney Board on possible successors.

The critical questions for Disney governance — what lessons, if any, has the Board learned from the biggest failure of Bob Iger’s previous tenure, recommending Bob Chapek as his successor? And where was the breakdown in Board due diligence?

There are reports that Iger will name a Disney president at some point, but how well did that turn out before?

Of all the challenges facing The Walt Disney Company longer-term, none is greater than finding a qualified internal or external successor or successors (think Michael Eisner and Frank Wells) to Bob Iger.

A CEO gets most of the attention. But when it comes to a change at the top or a different look for this creative but complex enterprise, keep an eye on the Disney Board chair, Mark Parker.

Russ Bredholt Jr. is president of Bredholt and Co., Winter Springs.

As usual, we’re starting the nomination process with an appeal to our readers. We’re looking for people who work tirelessly, sometimes anonymously, to make this a better community. Some count their impact by the thousands of lives their work touches, others by their rapid response to an emergency. We’ve celebrated the success of innovative and well-executed ideas, and acknowledged dogged refusals to give up on problems written off as unsolvable.

Among past honorees are well-known names such as Gary Cain, who capped a splendid 28-year run as CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida in early 2023. We’ve recognized IDignity founder Michael Dippy, who saw the barriers that kept homeless people from obtaining legal identification needed to get them back their feet; Deirdre Macnab, whose tireless advocacy as president of the League of Women Voters of Florida protected critical rights; and the team that fought, on one terrible night, to save the lives of those shot in the Pulse nightclub massacre.

Please help us find the people who deserve this honor for 2023. You can send nominations via email at insight@orlandosentinel.com; please include CFOTY in the subject line and get your recommendations to us by Nov. 27.

We’ll consider groups of people, and you can also send multiple nominations or self-nominations; for each nominee, please include a description of why you think they should be honored, along with your own contact information for any questions.