MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa Bay 28 is helping families get ready for the first day of school. So, our team is sitting down with Superintendents across the Tampa Bay area.
Tampa Bay 28 anchor Lauren St. Germain spoke with Manatee County Superintendent Dr. Laurie Breslin, who is entering her second school year as superintendent.
They met at Veterans Elementary School, one of two new schools opening this year in the county. Veterans Elementary is still under construction, but Dr. Breslin told St. Germain it will be ready for students on the first day of school.
Challenges in the District
Lauren: What are some of the challenges you faced last year that you hope to improve upon this year?
Dr. Laurie Breslin: First of all, last fall when I stepped into the role, we were in the middle of a district-wide rezone, and we were rezoning because of new schools being built, some schools facing overcrowding. And so, the first step was to finish that rezone, which we did in December and approved. And now we're ready to open up our two elementary schools with our with our new newly zoned school district.
Rezoning Changes
Lauren: What were some of the rezoning changes? How did that impact families?
Dr. Laurie Breslin: So, we see, as many counties in Florida, population shift; a lot of our younger families do reside out east. And so, we were seeing overcrowded schools in our east, schools and maybe lesser crowded schools in our West schools. We were able to shift students around to make more balanced schools, use all our space as well, and then to make sure we had identified zones for the two new elementary schools. And then in 2027, we'll have a brand-new high school, Rangeland High School.
New Schools
Lauren: And so, we were talking about kind of the layout of the two new elementary schools. They're basically inside of a neighborhood. Tell me why you guys decided to do it this way.
Dr. Laurie Breslin: This is what families want. They want to be able to walk or ride their bike to their school campus with their children. They want to be able to hop on the golf cart. One of the great things you’ll see at Veterans Elementary and Rye Ranch is dedicated golf lanes, golf cart lanes.
School Safety
Lauren: And now I want to talk a little bit about safety. A couple of years ago, I interviewed the superintendent, and at that point, you guys were just testing the weapons detection system, and now I understand it's in a lot more schools. Has that been going?
Dr. Laurie Breslin: Yes. Middle schools and high schools have the Evolve system. It's going very well. I have a middle school child myself. It's just part of the system of entering campus. And really, if, you know, I talked to him as he was in sixth grade last year going into seventh grade, it just makes him feel safe and secure, knowing that he's walking onto a campus, that he just goes through a machine. The same machines that you would see at Walt Disney World. And he knows that his campus is safe. We do additional work with what we call Centigix badges, and every staff member wears a Centigix badge, and that could be for any type of need. You could have a medical need on campus. You could have some sort of safety concern, and you simply press the button. It notifies law enforcement, it notifies school leaders and it notifies district leaders.
Advice for Families
Lauren: What’s your advice for families, students, who are coming to Manatee County – maybe coming to Manatee County for the first time?
Dr. Laurie Breslin: To get involved in your child's education, and it can be as simple as when your child comes home from school and you pick your child up from school, ask them what they learned at school today. Be curious about what they're learning so that they want to tell you about it and you can be involved.
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