Proposed East County high school may slip away

School board members also consider Parrish for site of new high school slated for Manatee County.

By Amanda Sebastiano
| 6:00 a.m. January 27, 2016

While Braden River and Lakewood Ranch high schools run over capacity, the Manatee County School Board considers building a new high school in Parrish.

East County
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Although her daughter, Tiffany, is only a fifth-grader at Robert E. Willis Elementary, Shannon McCoy is planning for her future.

McCoy has been paying close attention to Lakewood Ranch and Braden River high schools' increasing student population, as she decides which school her daughter should attend.

She doesn't want Tiffany to be turned away from classes she wants because too many students attend the school. Because the McCoys live in Lakewood Ranch, they can make their choice between the two schools in four years. Or can they?

"With both schools being so full, there's no way we can choose one or the other," McCoy said. "Lakewood Ranch High is more full, I hear, so we'll see where there's room."

McCoy is hopeful another high school will be constructed in the area before they have to make that choice, but the Manatee County School Board might have other plans.

After receiving the results of a comprehensive study by DeJong-Richter on the district's demographics, populations, surrounding neighborhoods, state of facilities and other issues, the board is unsure whether it will give the East County area another high school.

Now, officials are eyeing Parrish for the $80 to $100 million high school, which Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene hopes will be built within five years.

Some Lakewood Ranch residents and other East County parents have concerns about East County being passed over for a new high school, which is slated to house 1,800 students, according to the Long Range Master Plan presented by DeJong-Richter last week.

"Growth east of interstate has been a huge issue," said Christine Walker, assistant swim coach at Braden River High and the mother of a senior at the high school. "I definitely think there’s a shortage out here and another high school is needed."

As a faculty member of a school that has 229 more students than its capacity, Walker doesn't believe her school is in dire need of relief as much as Lakewood Ranch High, which has 631 more students than its capacity.

"All my friends who have children at Lakewood Ranch have complained about the overcrowding," Walker said. "I think they have more of an issue with classes and scheduling over there. It has been a nightmare the last two years and they can’t shut the doors, because of all the development. People live across the street in Central Park and need their children to go to school there."

Carlos Garcia, a Lakewood Ranch resident who is the father of a sophomore at Lakewood Ranch High, has noticed a definite boost in the area's population, especially at his daughter Sophia's high school.

"Based on my experience, the school gets hundreds of new students each year," Garcia said. "I would say, yes, we need another high school here. There are more people, more houses and communities coming out here than in Parrish. Publix is becoming impossible at lunchtime to get a parking spot."

McCoy isn't opposed to a school near Fort Hamer Bridge, which will connect Parrish and East County.

She believes that school's position would help ease stress on Braden River and Lakewood Ranch high schools, while also providing a facility for new growth in Parrish, such as the developing Silverleaf community.

Walker suggested that once the county decides to build the high school, it be more of a vocational nature, a facility that offers high school students trade programs and specific programs comparable to a technical school.

"I think we're lacking that here, no matter where in the county the school goes," Walker said.

Long Range Master Plan highlights

The plan, which took more than six months for consultant De-Jong Richter to conduct, pinpointed school facilities countywide that need renovations, and which areas need additional facilities.

For high schools, Scott Leopold, of De-Jong Richter, recommended building a new high school in the northern portion of the county, Parrish, or in East County.

"The biggest issues for high schools is the over-utilization that's occurring," Leopold said during a presentation Jan. 19. "Utilization is high at Lakewood Ranch, Braden River and Palmetto high schools. The first scenario is to build a relief school for the crowded high schools."

The other recommendation is to implement more virtual classes and dual enrollment opportunities, which would take some stress off the facilities, as students learn remotely. That option wasn't as popular with the community during feedback sessions. Of 700 paper and online responses, only 39 responders chose the option as an ideal scenario.

East County also needs an additional middle school, which would cost $40 million, to ease stress on Carlos E. Haile and R. Dan Nolan schools, which are collectively running at 402 students over capacity.

School Board members will discuss priority projects and the results of the plan further at their Feb. 9 workshop.

Before the school board makes a decision on where to build the school, Chairwoman Karen Carpenter wants the board to do more research on what types of families are moving to new communities slated for Parrish. If the bulk of new county residents, or those relocating to Parrish, are retirees, then they won't be bussing children over to Lakewood Ranch High.

Younger demographics would merit a school north of the Manatee River, she said.

"That part is a wild card," Carpenter said. "Are we having an influx of people at child-bearing age or baby boomers? We're going to have to do a little bit of waiting and seeing. I'm not sure Parrish is the answer, yet, and I don't want to make any promises right now. We still have some research to do."