The League of Women Voters of Manatee County Education Issues Committee observes the Manatee County School Board meetings for items of interest to citizens and the League and notes adherence, or lack of adherence, to good governance procedures and the sunshine laws. The following are the major points from the school board meeting on 2/10/26.
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Chair Spray. Mr. Kennedy read the District Vision Statement followed by an invocation. Dr. Breslin introduced Army Veteran Retired Master Sergeant Johnny Browning, JROTC instructor at Braden River High School, who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Breslin then presented Mr. Browning with a service medal as well as a certificate and US flag that flew over the US capitol provided by Congressman Buchanan.
Student Celebration/
Florida Recognizes February as Career and Technical Education Month
Dr. Gansemer, Executive Director of Adult, Career and Technical Education, spoke to the real-world learning at the middle and high school levels that bridges academic knowledge and career options as students prepare for the post-secondary level. He described the seventeen Career Technical Education Clusters that form the framework providing pathways from middle school through high school and on to Manatee Technical College and beyond. Dr. Gansemer referenced the articulation agreements that allow coursework to count at the next level. This coursework provides a hands-on purpose for learning and exploration of the many opportunities that a student may choose to pursue. He referenced the multiple opportunities to gain industry certifications in multiple fields that lead to rapid hiring and the likelihood to be hired above entry level salaries.
Tito Bavaro, College and Career Advisor at Lakewood Ranch, described their work at the high school level and what the high school college and career advisors do to help students understand what options are available to them in all areas after graduating from high school, as well as scholarship funds available.
There are numerous Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTO) and Manatee is very proud to have many students holding leadership positions in state and national CTOs. There are teachers leading all these organizations at each of the secondary schools.
Teacher Christa Cummings leads the Health Sciences magnet program at Lincoln Memorial Middle School and described experiences the students have interacting with health professionals and specialized current medical technology.
Dr. Gansemer described the pathways from middle school to high school programs, highlighting the example that Lincoln MS students can then attend various health sciences programs at both Palmetto HS and Parrish Community HS. The same is true of other middle school/high school pathways. He emphasized the credentials of the professionals who work with and advise the various programs. MTC then follows with a variety of programs that can provide the advanced certification as the conclusion of their work. He responded to a comment by Ms. Felton that there are waiting lists for several of their programs as they are gaining popularity.
Pam Rahn, Health Science Teacher at Nolan Middle and the Regional Advisor of HOSA (Health Occupations Students Association) described the evolution of the health science programs that has resulted in large number of student leaders from Manatee County competing and leading at the state and national levels. Dr. Gansemer
Public Comments
JG has three children in Manatee schools and voiced concern about the early start time at the high schools and that they should start no earlier than 8:30. She described the natural sleep cycles of adolescents and the need for adequate sleep to make physical and mental health a priority. She pointed out that today we have more information regarding the healthy life style of students who need their sleep. She added that there are no police or crossing guards when students walk to school in the dark.
SZ said he was speaking as a charter school advocate and instructional leader. He stressed that feedback is necessary for good instruction and that is why progress monitoring is so important. He stressed that charter schools should receive the same progress monitoring reports that are given to district school principals. He asked that, as state statute requires,charter schools receive the same data and reports as other school principals. He stressed that we are one district teaching all our students.
RJ introduced himself as a graduate of the school district and in the past ran for school board. His comments related to activity of the school district in the closing of Lincoln Memorial Charter Academy in 2019 and other issues from two superintendents ago. He presented a legal request to the attorney and he requested that someone in the district speak to him about this.
Reports and Presentations
2025-2026 FAST Progress Monitoring 2 (PM2) Reading Assessment Results
Mr. Derek Jensen, Deputy Superintendent for Instruction, and Mr. Evan McCarthy, Director of Testing and Research presented the results along with one sample of questions at each level, showing screen shots of what students see when taking the tests. Mr. McCarthy provided an orientation to the Department of Education Family Portal and the feature that provides parents with questions to ask students to enhance comprehension. In almost every instance at every level, the percent of students demonstrating proficiency has increased year to year with Manatee District outperforming the state average in many instances. Mr. Jensen concluded with five “next steps” for the district to improve scores. He indicated he was happy with mid-year progress but has high goals for the end of the year. Mr. Jensen thanked Ms. Felton for reminding everyone that each of the progress monitoring tests are assessing students on where they are on demonstrating what they know based on the full year of instruction.
Link to slide presentation:
Consent Items: - Seventeen items were approved 5-0.
New Business (Non-Consent Items)
Approval to Accept Nominations for the School Name for the New AAA High School – Approved 5-0
Dr. Breslin explained the process to include seeking input from the community using the website and bringing that information to the board at the April 14 Board Workshop to begin narrowing the options, with the final naming planned in May. Mr. Choate asked if there ought to be guardrails or guidelines to the public which led to a discussion among the board members. It was noted that many on the Board would not agree to name a high school after an individual, but lean toward selecting a name that describes a region or area of the district as has been the practice in the past for naming high schools. Chair Spray said she was supporting the name Lake Manatee High School in line with Lake Manatee K-8 nearby. Attorney Dye opined that there should not be any restrictions placed and people should be allowed to recommend what they want.
New Business (No Superintendent Recommendation)
Approval of School Board Member Felton to Travel to Key West, Florida for State Board of Education Meeting Not to Exceed $600.00 (General Fund)- Approved 5-0.
Ms. Felton indicated she was only asking for mileage for this trip. Mr. Choate questioned why she needed to attend this meeting since this group is appointed, not elected, and the Manatee District Board has not professed any feelings about Schools of Hope. She was asked to explain her rationale for attending the meeting. At this meeting, the Board of Education will act on rules related to Schools of Hope. She reminded fellow board members that she sits on the Advocacy Committee for the Florida School Board Association and is the district’s representative on the Consortium of School Boards and that the Manatee School Board has signed on to the legislative priorities of these groups, including Schools of Hope. She has been speaking in Tallahassee about Schools of Hope and their impacts to school districts. Ms. Spray asked her not to voice an opinion other than what the board has already agreed to. Mr. Tatem said he had no opposition if she upheld what the board agreed to previously.
Updates:
Instruction: Mr. Jensen provided an update on the district and state robotics competition with fifteen elementary and five middle schools
Operations: Mr. Clark describe
Legal: Mr. Dye gave an update on the social media litigation going on in California that the district is part of, saying that the legal argument is whether social media companies have intentionally done harm to students. He indicated the PAL draft agreement is circulating. The affordable housing team will meet to determine how to legally structure this. The Jones Farm real estate deal is not ready to come to the board yet.
Superintendent Remarks: Dr. Breslin reviewed a few of the approved consent items, highlighting moving Ms. Lundy to Veterans Elementary as Principal, and Ms. Campbell as Principal of Rye Ranch. Additionally, the district received $75,000 for threat management and indicated there have been 893 threat assessments needing support for trauma. She saidCelebrate Literacy Week was a great success with 502 elementary guest readers and named some of the groups/people who read from the community. TSA had a huge event, the largest in the state for a regional local event and thanked the community for its support. She listed the number of applications for school choice that have been processed and thanked Jamara Clark and Mr. Chapman for their efforts. Dr. Breslin and leadership team members are going to the Anchin Center at USF with others from Pinellas and Hillsborough to work on ESE support, 3rdgrade reading, and graduation rates. She is participating in the Florida Association of School Superintendents’ Chief Executive Leadership Development Program, mandated by the state.
Board Comments
Ms. Felton reported that the Tallahassee trip was productive and she met with local legislatorsand representatives. She sat in on a committee meeting to put cameras in the class for students who are non-verbal. She spoke to the fact that this would not be funded, requiring
Mr. Kennedy thanked the public commenters, highlighting the person who commented on start times for school. He indicated he brought this up before and there is a website where you can see what is going on around the country – https://www.
Mr. Choate thanked staff for putting the meeting together. He said the Choice and STEMShowcase was unbelievably good and the atmosphere and energy were amazing. He said there was a good meeting with Bayshore HS about things happening over there. Excellence awards were great for those being recognized. He said there were great discussions with education representatives in Tallahassee. He said he put on their radar that there is a bill about coaches’ pay, allowing districts to make options and choices around pay for coaches. He said this is “near and dear to my heart.”
Mr. Tatem’s remarks about leadership and safety featured a video on trust by General Colin Powell, saying good leaders are trusted by their followers. Leadership includes selfless service, clear vision, follower preparation, taking risks with them, and he said they will follow out of curiosity because they trust you. Mr. Tatem said “trust is given-not earned.” Mr. Tatem said trust and safety go together and that people with problems only go to people they trust.
Ms. Spray thanked Mr. Tatem for chairing the last workshop and followed up on Mr. Choate’s comments about coaching, saying a student may respect his coach more than his math teacher. She reminded everyone of a Chamber event on the 12th, and the next Board Meeting on the 24th.
Adjournment: 12:58 p.m.
During the Career and Technical Education presentation Board Members asked clarifying questions that resulted in additional information being shared that is important for the community to know. Mr. Kennedy asked if Industry Certification achieved in high school is counted towards extra points on the districts rating and Mr. Tatem asked if the community is asked what the needs are prior to offering certifications. The answer to both questions was yes. All Board Members voiced their appreciation to Dr Gansemer and his department for their work on behalf of Manatee students and for getting information about of all these opportunities out to the public.
Observers were gratified to hear the discussion around advocating for all day VPK funding and the impact this could have on the success of students.
We appreciate Ms. Felton’s making an important concluding statement to the Progress Monitoring presentation by reassuring parents that if their student's scores are not as high as they think they should be on PM 1 and PM2, the test is monitoring what the student should know at the end of the year.
Board members are challenging Ms. Felton to justify her request for mileage to the Key West meeting of the Florida Board of Education, where they will make rules regarding Schools of Hope, which appear disingenuous considering the arguments they made to have the district pay for their travel to a political event in Tallahassee.
While Mr. Kennedy was correct in pointing out to Chair Spray that it was not appropriate to ask the Superintendent to say anything about the items on the Consent Agenda, the observers raised questions about the lack of financial impact statements for Consent Items 9, 14 and 17. For Item 9 the anticipated costs should be reflected and it should note that the Costs of Issuance are ultimately paid by the District as debt repayment. For item 14, regarding Approval of Charter School Sales Surtax Amendments (Capital Funds), it states that the “Eligible Charter Schools proportionate share of sales surtax distribution (Sales Surtax Funded - Capital Fund)” and does not make it clear what the anticipated cost to the District will be. Further, only 3 charter schools are part of these amendments (and Oasis Middle School’s amendment differs from the two for Imagination schools). The Executive Summary could be more descriptive in explaining these issues. And for item 17, Proposal for Settlement in the Matter of Doe v School Board of Manatee County, Middle District of Florida Tampa Division Case No.: 8:24-cv-02540-CEH-SPF (Internal Services Fund) does not include the settlement amount. We recommend the Executive Summary attachments in the Agenda Packet be reviewed prior to the meetings to make sure that the impact to the District is transparent.
We recommend that when changes are made to the agenda on the day of the meeting, the Board Chair announce the changes.
Chair Spray indicated that she preferred a specific name for the new high school. Her making this statement, especially as Chair, may have undue influence over what should be an open and transparent process. Her preference should have been shared after the community information was gathered and during the discussion with the full Board.
Observers recommend that Board members refrain from alluding to situations without providing background or full information. An example is when Mr. Choate said, “There was a good meeting with Bayshore HS with things happening over there.
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