Manatee County readies two new K–8 campuses, completes summer upgrades and expands safety programs before 2025–26 school year

The School Board of Manatee County on Aug. 5 received a package of opening-day preparations including the debut of two K–8 campuses, completion of turf and safety projects, and expanded transportation and weather-safety systems ahead of the 2025–26 school year.

District officials told the board the Barbara A. Harvey North River Ranch K–8 campus and the Lake Manatee K–8 campus will welcome students when classes begin, and that maintenance and construction teams completed multiple summer projects intended to improve student safety and operations.

Derek Jensen, who led the instructional presentation, said Barbara A. Harvey is a two-story dual-campus K–8 with separate K–3 and 4–8 buildings and programming intended to carry a school culture from elementary through eighth grade. Jensen said the district also opened the K–5 side of Lake Manatee and will add the 6–8 side next year. "It's a beautiful campus and I think it's going to create some magical learning experiences," Jensen said.

Construction and maintenance teams reported several summer projects completed or in progress. A construction-services presenter, Mr. Arnaldi, said the district completed a three-year turf program for high school stadiums (all seven campuses now have turf fields), replaced roofs at five campuses, repaired underground chilled-water piping at several schools, upgraded fire alarm systems on four campuses, replaced flooring and gym floors at middle schools, resurfaced tracks and began playground replacements. "It's been busy the last eight to nine weeks," Arnaldi said.

Safety and student-wellness efforts were highlighted. The district will expand the Evolve weapons-detection program to middle schools and has hired 20 additional guardians to staff leased units at secondary campuses. The district is also installing PERI weather stations (lightning and heat/"wet bulb" monitoring) at high schools and select elementary schools to provide localized warnings and to support athletics safety consistent with FHSAA guidance; installation is expected to finish the week after the Aug. 5 meeting. "It's kind of an app-based weather system. Principals or PE teachers will be tied into the closest weather station and receive warnings relative to lightning and wet-bulb issues," a safety presenter said.

Transportation updates: the district said it has 103 bus drivers (six more in training), 98 routes and a little over 1,700 bus stops countywide. Officials expect delivery of about 20 new buses this year; new buses will include lighted school-bus signage and stop arms. The transportation staff also described two pilots: a stop-arm camera retrofit pilot (district will provide video to law enforcement; citing requires law-enforcement action) and a state-approved "super-single" rear-tire pilot that replaces a dual rear tire with a single wider tire to cut tire costs and fuel use; officials said the tire pilot may reduce tire spending by roughly 12 percent per tire.

Superintendent Chapman reminded the board that the state law change on cellphones requires no student cellphone use in kindergarten through eighth grade from the start to the end of the student day. "We are sending principals something to push out to communities," Jensen said when asked about implementation; board members asked that the district return with details about staff expectations and roll‑out.

Food-and-nutrition staff reported summer meals served at 66 sites with slightly more than 186,000 meals this summer and continued partnerships for mobile and community distribution. Officials said some summer meal sites host additional activities (community tables, reading resources) while others provide grab-and-go service.

Superintendent Chapman closed the operational update by urging patience and caution during the first week of school, noting the added traffic of buses, parents and students on county roads.

Ending: Board members and staff said they were ready for a smooth start to the school year, and the district scheduled a grand opening for the SOAR lab at the Harley Center in September. The board’s next workshop will take up several capital- and routing-related items in more detail.