Nominees announced for Lakewood Ranch middle school name

The Manatee County School Board will consider 27 names during its March 13 workshop that were submitted for the new middle school adjacent to Gullett Elementary.

It will narrow the selection to three choices and decide on the name later that day at its regular meeting.

The most popular name by nomination is Lakewood Ranch Middle with six votes, then Dr. Mona Jain Middle with five votes. Other nominations include Barbara Harvey Middle, White Eagle Middle and Janet Kerley Middle.

The public sent in recommended names from Dec. 18 through Jan. 31. The board heard the nominees at its school board workshop Feb. 27.

The county’s high schools have typically been named after geographic regions, while middle and elementary schools have been more commonly named for people. Whatever it’s named, the new school will serve an estimated 1,164 students and cost around $45 million.

Construction on the 62,000 square-foot facility began Feb. 1.