CHANGE Announced for Disney’s Reedy Creek District

Things are changing (again) at Disney’s old Reedy Creek Improvement District (now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District).

We’ve seen updates on the lawsuits involving the District and Disney, changes surrounding the District’s contracts with members of its fire department, and more. But now, another adjustment has been made.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the former District Administrator — John Classe — would be transitioning to an alternative role where he’d be a “Special Advisor to the Board.”

In that role, Classe reported to the board or District Administrator to provide assistance on various matters.

At the same time, a NEW District Administrator — Glenton Gilzean, Jr. — was hired. Gilzean served as a school board member in Pinellas County, was a CEO in Central Florida, and is “a supporter of Gov. DeSantis, who has appointed him to several other positions, including the Florida Commission on Ethics,” according to WESH.

So…what has changed recently? Well, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Classe is no longer working with the District’s board. Classe had worked as the District Administrator for 7 years and then as a special advisor for a few months. But it appears he will no longer be working with the District.

A district spokesperson — Alexei Woltornist — indicated that Classe’s last day was Monday, July 31st.

Woltornist said in an email “Mr. Classe was offered a consulting contract…to assist with the transition to the new leadership…That transition is now complete. The district thanks him for his service.”

Technically, the advisor contract under which Classe was employed was set to run through May 10th, 2024, subject to earlier termination according to the terms of the agreement.

The agreement then goes on to note that there may be a termination of the contract by the District if the District ceases to exist, termination by the District “with reason” (for example, if Classe refuses to reply with directives from the board), termination by the District “without reason” (which allows the District to terminate the agreement “without reason” by giving Classe 30 days’ written notice), and resignation upon notice by Classe.

According to the Sentinel, the District didn’t answer any questions about which party ended the contract and why. But it seems to be just one more change for the District as the new DeSantis-appointed board establishes its rules for handling matters.

This might seem like a small change, but considering that Classe had served as a top official in the District for several years under the prior board AND kept an advisory role under the new, DeSantis-appointed board, it is an interesting change.

It marks the departure of a top individual from the old team that used to be under the Disney-friendly Board, and serves as another showing of how the District is changing under its new leadership.

UPDATE: Another major change has also been announced for the Reedy Creek District. The District has sent out a press release indicating that it has abolished all DEI programs within the District. DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

According to the release, the change came after an internal investigation into the District’s policies. The DEI committee within the District will be dissolved as a result of the change, and “any DEI job duties will be eliminated.” Staff within the District also will not be allowed to use any staff time for DEI initiatives.

Administrator Gilzean said, “The so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board and they were illegal and simply unamerican…Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal.”

In the press release, the District alleged that “Under its Minority/ Women Business Enterprise and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs, the Reedy Creek Improvement District routinely awarded contracts based on racially and gender driven goals to businesses on the basis of their owners’ race and gender. Through the program, the Reedy Creek Improvement District instituted gender and racial quotas to ensure that contractors met a certain threshold of diversity. In order to meet these quotas, it is estimated that the district had to pay millions of dollars more in order to find businesses who could comply.”

The press release goes on to claim, “After entering into a contract, Reedy Creek employees aggressively monitored contractor’s racial and gender practices, wasting taxpayer dollars.” Thus, the District alleges that by eliminating these programs, it will “save millions of dollars each year.”

This change was made soon after the District announced that its property tax rates would actually be decreased thanks to savings that Gilzean had found in the budget, including some “wasteful” spending by the previous Board.

Those are the major updates for now, but more news could be on the way as things continue to develop in the District. The next Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for August 23rd. Stay tuned for more Reedy Creek news.

Click here to see how a judge has DENIED Disney’s request to toss out a Reedy Creek lawsuit

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