Lake Mary Withholds Curriculum, Budget for New Citizens Academy | The Locally Times
Lake Mary's 11-week Public Safety Citizens Academy is underway, but city records offer no curriculum, syllabus, or budget for the program.
Although the City of Lake Mary has announced a new citizens academy, public records lack essential details about its content and cost. ## Curriculum Details Undisclosed A February 11, 2026, announcement from the City of Lake Mary states its Police and Fire Departments are hosting an 11-week Public Safety Citizens Academy. The program, open to residents and business owners, runs Wednesday evenings from March 4 to May 13, 2026. The city described the academy as an interactive program providing practical exercises, classroom teaching, and an inside look at police and fire operations. Publicly available documents, however, contain no specific curriculum, syllabus, or list of learning objectives for the 11-week course. While the announcement notes sessions will alternate between the police and fire departments, it provides no schedule of topics or breakdown of instructional hours. The registration period closed on February 23, 2026, and with the academy now in session, no official documentation details the specific training being provided to participants. ## Budget and Funding Not Public City records contain no budget, funding source, or list of expenditures for the Public Safety Citizens Academy. The total cost to taxpayers for the 11-week program has not been made public. Records do not specify whether the program is funded through the general fund, departmental budgets, or external grants. Furthermore, there is no public information on how funds are being allocated. The documents do not detail costs associated with staff time for the police officers and firefighters involved, materials for practical exercises, or any other operational expenses. This absence of financial data prevents any public assessment of the program’s cost-effectiveness or its use of municipal resources. The records do not clarify whether this name refers solely to the public safety program or to a wider, undocumented city initiative. The specific content and full cost of the city’s academy have not been disclosed to the public.