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Sarasota County Schools outline new campuses and how growth is straining capacity
Summary
District construction staff reviewed Sky Ranch K‑8 (opening 2025), a new high school opening in 2026 and broad growth across Lakewood Ranch, High Hat Ranch and North Port that will drive demand for thousands of seats over the next decade.
Sarasota County Schools presented a schedule of new campuses and countywide growth projections at the convocation, outlining how rapid residential development is driving near‑term and long‑range capacity needs.
Jane Dryden, director of construction services for Sarasota County Schools, said the new Sky Ranch K‑8 — a 195,000‑square‑foot facility — is on track to open in August 2025 and was described as designed for about 1,530 students. Dryden said the school “will be a shelter space for our community” and that the district used a prototype design to speed delivery.
A second new campus described by the district is a large high school the board approved naming Highland Park High School, with a planned capacity of about 2,070 students and a project budget discussed in the presentation as $175,000,000. The master plan described…
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