- September 6, 2024
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As students return to Carlos E. Haile Middle School for the first day Aug. 12, they’ll be walking into what will feel like almost a new school.
The School District of Manatee County has spent the summer working on a campus-wide renovation and completing an addition at the middle school.
The 10-classroom addition, which increased the school’s capacity to 1,089 students from 889, will include a technology lab, eight classrooms and an agriculture lab.
Irene Nikitopoulos, the principal at Haile Middle, said the addition will allow the school to offer new opportunities for students, especially for the school’s thriving robotics and agriscience programs.
The addition was constructed next to the school’s land lab, meaning Jessica Jones, the school’s agriculture teacher, and her students will be able to walk directly into the land lab, where the school’s barn and new greenhouse are located.
Nikitopoulos said students previously lost about 10 minutes of instructional time simply having to talk to and from the former agriculture classroom.
The robotics lab will include upgraded computers and space that allows for better networking, power connections and usable robot operating space.
Students, teachers and staff only will have to endure renovations of the school for a few more months as the district estimated the project will be completed in December.
But Haile Middle School isn’t the only East County school undergoing a construction project.
As of June, here are the schools that will have a construction project completed by the first day of school or will begin or continue projects in the 2024-2025 school year:
Campus-wide renovation and 10-classroom addition
Work completed: Construction of addition, renovation of Building 4, 90% completion of Building 5, selective interior demolition and the installation of 70% of new underground chilled and hot water lines
Work to be done: Renovation of remaining existing buildings, sitework, landscaping and irrigation
Project budget: $46,204,358
Estimated completion: December 2024
Enrollment: 698 students
Capacity before addition: 889 students
Capacity with addition: 1,089 students
Four-classroom addition and campus-wide renovation
Work completed: Work on the north parking lot and bus loop and the renovation of Building 1 and the four-classroom addition
Work to be done: Renovations to Buildings 2, 3 and 4 and the renovation of the cafeteria in Building 1
Project budget: $35,259,423
Estimated completion: August 2025
Enrollment: 547 students
Capacity before addition: 701 students
Capacity with addition: 781 students
16-classroom addition
Work completed: Architectural and engineering design, guaranteed maximum price has been approved and construction has begun
Work to be done: Complete construction, order and install furniture, fixtures and equipment and occupy the facility
Timeline: Construction in progress, anticipated substantial completion in March 2025 with occupation occurring in April or May 2025
Project budget: $15 million
Estimated completion: Summer 2025
Enrollment: 2,104 students
Capacity before addition: 2,043 students
Capacity with addition: 2,423 students
Construction of a new school a quarter-mile south of State Road 64 off Uihlein Road and Academic Avenue
Work completed: Site has been cleared and the retention pond has been excavated
Work to be done: Building 1, Building 2 and Building 5 (May 2024 to June 2025); Buildings 3 and 4 (November 2024 to February 2026)
Project budget: $104,609,281
Estimated completion: Elementary school in August 2025 and total completion in February 2026. Elementary students will occupy the school in August 2025, and middle school students will occupy the school in August 2026
Enrollment: Designed for 1,620 students
Projected capacity: 1,723 students
Construction of a firing range and driving pad on 70 acres off Taylor Road in Myakka City
Work completed: Permits have been obtained and clearing and grubbing has begun.
Work to be done: Continue clearing and grubbing as well as the construction of all facilities and amenities.
Project budget: $7,010,000
Estimated completion: February 2025
Project features: 25-yard pistol range, 100-yard rifle range, a 300-by-600-foot driving pad and a building containing a classroom, offices, a gun room and more.
