Redistricting among issues Manatee schools will face in 2025

With the School District of Manatee County opening five new schools before 2027, the School Board of Manatee County will have to make big decisions. 

Board members said the biggest decision of all will be redistricting to accommodate the new schools, which includes Lake Manatee K-8 in Lakewood Ranch, a K-8 school in the northern part of the county, two elementary schools and a high school. 

Opening the new schools will assist with relieving overcrowded schools and keeping up with rapid development in the eastern and northern parts of the county.

In East County, Lake Manatee K-8 will welcome elementary students in August 2025 followed by middle school students in August 2026. 

With two new elementary schools opening in 2026 and a new high school in East County in 2027, the district will undergo one round of redistricting in 2025 to address all the schools at once. 

Board member Chad Choate said building new schools and redistricting has been needed in the area for awhile to address rapid growth while there are fewer students in schools in the western part of the county. 

“We have to be able to find a way to balance things out,” Choate said. “At the end of the day, you’re not going to make everybody happy. You’re not going to make it a perfect world, unfortunately, and so from the district and school board standpoint, we just have to do what’s best for the majority of our students and families.”

Board member Charlie Kennedy said district leadership and staff will create a few options for redistricting and then present the options to the public for feedback using focus groups. 

Board members said community input will be vital when it comes to redistricting as residents will know better why a certain boundary line in their community might work better than others. 

Board member Cindy Spray said she would like to see the district host town halls to explain the redistricting process, why the district must undergo the process and gather feedback on new zones. 

“I would hope that the community would understand that as difficult as it would be for them to accept what we decide, it will be just as equally difficult for the board to make some of those tough decisions because we’re essentially changing the life of that student,” Spray said. 

Board member Heather Felton said with changes to members of the Manatee County Commission, she hopes the school board can work with the commission on slowing growth so the district doesn’t have to play catch-up but rather have infrastructure in place to accommodate growth. 

Other issues the school board will have to address in 2025 is the change in start times for schools. 

A new state law requires all middle schools begin no earlier than 8 a.m. and all high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The change in start times will take effect in the 2026-2027 school year, starting August 2026. 

In Manatee County, high school starts first at 7:30 a.m. followed by elementary school at 8:25 a.m. and 9:20 a.m.

The change in start times will impact various aspects of the district from instruction to transportation to food services. 

Felton said in 2025, the board also will have to see what comes out of the state legislature as well as what the new federal administration chooses to do with the Department of Education and its funding. 

“Whenever there’s a new administration that comes in at the federal level, you don’t know what’s going to happen and how that can trickle down to state and county levels,” Felton said. “Obviously we’re going to have a new legislative session here in Florida. Who knows what new things we are going to get shunted to us that we have to put into effect as soon as possible without direction or without funding.”