- March 19, 2026
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Tomas Martinez-Bartolomei was anxious to get into his kindergarten classroom at Braden River Elementary School, standing in the hall, waiting for the door to open.
He wanted to get the 2024-25 school year started.
His mother, Carolina Bartolomei, was anxious for a different reason. She had to say goodbye to him for the day and she admitted to have mixed feelings.
She said the first day had been stressful for her because pre-K was only three hours per day while kindergarten is a full school day. However, she said knowing how much her son will learn makes the separation easier to take.
Tomas had plenty of support on Aug. 12's first day of school as his parents, Carolina Bartolomei and Emilio Martinez, and his brother Liam Martinez-Bartolomei, all came to the campus with him.
Carolina Bartolomei said her son went to Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary School for pre-K last year, but they wanted him to enroll at Braden River Elementary for its dual language program.
"We are from Puerto Rico and have been here since 2015," she said. "It was a no brainer to have him in the dual language program to learn a second language.
Carolina Bartolomei wasn't the only emotional mom dropping off a kindergartner.
Ali Carbon was holding back tears as she saw her son, Asa Overton, playing with Play-Doh at his desk.
"I'm more nervous than him," Carbon said. "He's thrilled to be here. He couldn't wait. He went to pre-K, but it's different (in kindergarten)."
The start of the new school year will be an adjustment for parents and students alike as they return to their school routines and adjust to the new rules and initiatives the School District of Manatee County and Manatee County have put in place.
Here are five things to know about the new school year:
Every high school in the School District of Manatee County will have a new weapons detection system.
Each student and visitor will walk through an Evolv Express Unit, which is similar to the screeners used at Disney World or the Tampa Bay Rays stadium.
The scanners will be used at all seven high schools in the district and randomly at after-school events and activities. There also will be scanners rotating around the middle schools to help students prepare for what to expect when they get to high school.
Students will be able to walk through the scanners without removing anything they are carrying, except laptops.
According to the Evolv website, the machines can screen up to 4,000 people per hour.
The goal for the district is to detect and prevent potential weapons from being brought into the school, and to reduce the potential for violent incidents.
The School Board of Manatee County approved the purchase of 18 screeners and the district already had four screeners.
For students who arrive late to school, a guardian will be available to supervise as students go through the screeners.
For the screening program, the district hired 11 guardians (armed security guards) to join the district's existing force, to have a minimum of two guardians on each campus to be able to assist during screenings.
The district is initiating a new security campaign that encourages students and families to use FortifyFL, an app and website where people can anonymously report suspicious activity to school officials and law enforcement.
At each school, there are banners and posters with “Safety Over Secrets” on them.
“We just live in a world today where you have to take every precaution you can,” said Michael Barber, the director of communications, family and community engagement for the district, to the school board during an Aug. 6 meeting.
Barber said over the past 10 years of working closely with principals regarding threats to school campuses, “half if not more” of reported threats come from students.
“Our students do a good job of letting us know when they see something dangerous on campus,” he said. “It’s a major way we find out if there’s something that needs to be taken care of on campus.”
The School District of Manatee County has started using the Let’s Talk App with the hopes of streamlining communication between the public and the district.
The first departments in the district to use the app are transportation and Exceptional Student Education. It also will be used on the superintendent’s webpage on the district’s website. The app is currently active on the transportation’s page on the district’s website.
Kevin Chapman, the chief of staff for the district, said the app will provide information faster and more efficiently.
The app also will collect data so the district can identify the most frequently asked questions and analyze other data.
To use the Let’s Talk app, people can select the yellow “Contact Us” tab on the department’s page on the district website (ManateeSchools.net).
Chapman said those wanting to contact the district will be asked preliminary questions that will help the district find the best person to address the question, comment, suggestion, concern or compliment.
Watch your speed as you’re driving in a school zone as the county has implemented school zone speed cameras.
Joe Ranaldi, the deputy superintendent of operations for the district, said the installation of the cameras comes at no cost to the district.
The cameras only can be used in school zones during school hours, including the 30 minutes before and after.
A $100 fine will be given to those cited for speeding in the school zone. Drivers only will be issued a ticket if they’re traveling more than 10 miles above the posted speed limit.
Of the $100, $20 will go to the Florida Department of Revenue, $60 will go to Manatee County, $3 will go to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, $12 to the School District of Manatee County and $5 to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
The schools in East County that will have school zone speed cameras are:
The 1-mill property tax referendum is on the ballot in November.
If approved, the referendum will support teacher and staff salaries, STEM programs, visual and performing arts programs, school security, early literacy programs, athletics, career and technical education programs, an additional 30 minutes in the school day, and charter schools.
The referendum is on the ballot after being renewed in 2021 with 69.72% of the 68,267 people who voted in the special election. It was required that the referendum be on the ballot of a general election, causing the referendum to be up for renewal after three years instead of four.
If approved, the referendum will be renewed for July 2025 through June 2029.
The adopted budget for the referendum in 2023-2024 was nearly $69.3 million.
The School Board of Manatee County decided to add athletics, early literacy programs and school safety and security to the referendum.
