School board member Miss Felton raised the Schools of Hope letters during the Oct. 10 Manatee County School Board workshop, saying the district had received two notices that operators intend to open so‑called “Schools of Hope.”

“I know I know because it's been all over everywhere that the public has been seeing the stories…This is on our dime, families out there,” Miss Felton said, urging parents and community groups to organize and pushing the board to fight proposed operators’ access to district facilities.

Felton said the letters name Lincoln Middle School and the Harley Center and quoted operators’ five‑year enrollment projections that she said would amount to a takeover of whole facilities — citing a five‑year projection of 963 students for Lincoln and 782 for Harley in operator documents. She added that both campuses also host multiple district programs (early learning classrooms, alternative programs and special‑education services) that rely on space and are not reflected in simple capacity spreadsheets.

The statute cited during the discussion was Florida Statute 1002.333 and the state rule cited was 6A‑1.0998271; Felton said the district was given a 20‑day window to object in the initial mailings and that the rulemaking the state adopted has expanded the program’s reach. She asked the board to encourage public opposition and coordinate with other districts.

Dr. Breslin, a district leader, told the board staff would prepare a district response that documents programs on the named campuses and the district’s capacity and programming. “We will do our due diligence to be ready to respond to any letter,” Dr. Breslin said. He added he did not want principals to be distracted and asked school leaders and teachers to keep focusing on instruction while the district prepares its materials.

Board members debated strategy. Some urged a public campaign to notify parents and ask legislators for changes. Others counseled a measured approach and asked staff and the district communications team to draft a factual message that describes current programming and capacity for the public and media. The communications office and legal counsel were asked to help assemble the factual materials needed should the district formally object to an operator’s facility request.

No formal vote or resolution was taken at the workshop. The board asked staff to gather facility and program data and to draft an informational response for the board’s review; staff said the district will follow statutory timelines and file objections when supported by district evidence.

The discussion also recorded counts reported by attendees: Manatee County received two letters; Felton said Sarasota reports three, Brevard 27 and Hillsborough 28, and that other districts had larger numbers of notices. Board members urged parents and community groups to contact state legislators and statewide associations; staff emphasized the district would prepare a fully documented response.

The board’s direction was to coordinate with the communications office and legal counsel, assess programming and capacity at the affected campuses, and prepare materials should a formal objection be required under state law.