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Manatee County School Board elects new chair and vice chair, approves 2025-26 calendar and workshop schedule
Summary
At its Nov. 18 reorganization meeting the Manatee County School Board elected Cindy Sprague chair and Richard Tatum vice chair, approved a revised 2025-26 meeting calendar, set workshops for Tuesdays at 10 a.m., confirmed committee assignments and approved the School Board Leasing Corporation structure.
Cindy Sprague was elected chair of the Manatee County School Board at the board's annual reorganization meeting Tuesday, and Richard Tatum was chosen as vice chair in voice votes the board recorded as 5-0.
The board opened the meeting by inviting Jamie Carson, identified in the transcript as the district communications director and a U.S. Army veteran, to present the Pledge of Allegiance. Chair Chad Choate participated virtually.
During the reorganization work, the board approved the regular-meeting calendar for the 2025-26 school year with a change to move a May date that conflicted with graduation. A motion to approve the calendar "as amended" passed 5-0. The board also set a standing schedule for workshops to be held on Tuesdays at 10 a.m.; that motion likewise passed unanimously.
Board members reviewed and confirmed committee and liaison assignments for the coming year. The Citizens Financial Audit Committee (CFAC) liaison will remain Mr. Kennedy; assignments to regional groups, the Manatee Education Foundation, the chamber and other standing committees were affirmed or reassigned by consensus.
As part of the reorganization routine, the board recessed to convene the Manatee County School Board Leasing Corporation. Under the corporation's articles of incorporation, the members of the nonprofit are the school board members, with the school board chair serving as the leasing corporation president, the vice chair as vice president and the superintendent as secretary-treasurer. The board moved to approve that structure and carried the motion 5-0.
Superintendent Dr. Breslin offered brief remarks, thanked the board for a smooth meeting and wished staff and families a happy Thanksgiving. Board members offered brief closing comments; board member Richard Tatum used his time to cite workforce data from an article he referenced and to tell a personal bicycle-safety anecdote as a leadership example.
The board adjourned after confirming last items and encouraging the public to review rezone information on the district website before calendars are set next month.
What happens next: The board will publish the revised meeting calendar and the updated workshop schedule, and the committee rosters will be posted for public view. Any procedural or policy actions beyond the routine approvals were not taken at this meeting.
