Manatee County introduces two-tiered desks

Manatee County School District embraces double-decker desk concept to address overcrowded schools.

By Amanda Sebastiano
| 6:00 a.m. March 30, 2016

East County
News

APRIL FOOLS’ — Who says the word “bunk” is reserved for beds?

The Manatee County School District is transforming the environment in which students learn by stacking desks in classrooms countywide, similar to how bunk beds are positioned on top of each other.

The double-decker desk concept allows students to learn with a peer stacked on top, a system implemented to combat overcrowding in the school district. By using a small ladder, a student can climb to his or her desk without disrupting the student seated in a desk below.

“It’s a great idea,” said Susie Gullible, a parent of a Lakewood Ranch High student. “It will save the district money, and, by having a friend close by, it will help my Johnny improve his social skills.”

These desks will help address the overcrowding issue, although the district has received complaints that having more students in classrooms would add to the problem, and increase the student-to-teacher ratio.

Recycled high school

Manatee County School District officials are using their resources to construct a new high school in East County.

The district will break down and use pieces of 50 portables from county schools to help in the construction a new high school, which will house 1,800 students.

Made from recycled and gently used portables, the new high school, which is expected to cost $30 million, will be a cheaper project than district officials thought. Architect Ogee Willikers said the school will be the first of its kind in America, although such schools have been built in China for 30 years.

Educators and school administrators can’t wait to see the innovative design.

“Portables aren’t these horrible, dilapidated rooms everyone thinks they are,” Freedom Elementary Principal Jim Mennes said. “They have white boards, Internet access and they’re decent. Educators love them and you can always hear what is going on next door.”

“The double-decker will prevent the school district from having to purchase more portables and hire more teachers to fill those rooms,” said Hoover Overmann, founder of HoverOverU, the company that created the innovative desk design. “Rather than being able to fit 20 students in a math class, we can now fit 40.”

Last week, the district rolled out the concept at a few schools throughout the county, such as Lakewood Ranch and Braden River high schools, which are operating at or above capacity. Lakewood Ranch High is operating with 631 students over capacity, and Braden River High houses 229 more students than its capacity.

HoverOverU officials estimated that seating students above each other would save the district $10 million over the next decade, between the cost of salaries and purchasing additional portables, among other costs.

Teachers are also excited about the opportunity to fill their classrooms with even more students.

“What teacher wouldn’t want double the number of kindergarteners?” B.D. Gullett Elementary teacher Kim Whiner asked. “I will have double the amount of homework to grade, so I’ll probably have to work through lunch. But I’m on a diet anyway.”

School district Spokesman Mike Barber said overcrowding has been an ongoing issue in schools throughout the county, and is a growing problem out east.

More students are flooding East County schools as new developments take shape and families fill those homes.

Educators agreed that having more students than the school’s capacity level isn’t an issue if desks in classrooms are organized in the right way.

“We're teaching them, and we love our students,” Freedom Elementary Principal Jim Mennes said. “We’re stacking them on top of each other and we’re dealing with capacity issues."