Orange County’s school board voted unanimously Tuesday to advance a land deal involving the historic Hungerford property in Eatonville despite outcry from locals .

The vote comes after Eatonville’s town council signaled its disapproval at an emergency meeting Thursday, where some members of the council said they felt “blindsided” by a deal for the former high school land announced just three days earlier. But board members stood firm that the long-sought deal made sense. After the meeting, Board Chairwoman Teresa Jacobs called the deal a “gift from God.”

“The people of Eatonville deserve progress. The people of Eatonville want their children to come back and have something to come back to,” said Stephanie Vanos, whose district includes Eatonville.

OCPS will take a $1 million down paym

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