New school provides relief for previously overcrowded BD Gullett Elementary

Fifth grader Brooke Green has been attending B.D. Gullett Elementary since kindergarten, and it was a time she remembered being scared that very first day.

But as soon as she walked into the classroom, she was greeted by friendly faces, and it changed everything. 

Flash forward to this year, Green is more comfortable than ever because the staff and students have become a second family to her.

But there is a difference this year. In fulfilling her duties as a member of the Safety Patrol — helping younger students get into the school as they are dropped off — she has noticed there are fewer people around.

“I feel like our school has gotten a little bit smaller, and I feel that's better because we don't have as many kids,” Green said. “Teachers don't have as many kids to take care of and it just makes their lives way easier.” 

Photo by Madison Bierl

During the 2024-2025 school year, the school was overcrowded with 1,400 students at the beginning of the year. The school was built to host 927 students.

The School District of Manatee County has worked to solve the overcrowding, and Lake Manatee K-8 opened this school year with an expectation of starting with 644 students and eventually having a capacity of 1,400. 

Almost half of the students at Lake Manatee K-8 came from B.D. Gullett.

Along with the students leaving, 23 staff members left B.D. Gullett for Lake Manatee K-8.

Gullett now has just over 1,000 students enrolled.

Gullett Principal Julie Gierhart said that's a comfortable number.

“You need to have a lot of systems in place to make sure a school of this size is running smoothly,” Gierhart said. “We often call it ‘running a little city’ because there are so many bodies within the school.” 

Todd Richardson, the previous principal at Gullett, is now the principal of Lake Manatee K-8. Gierhart said he knew early on that he was going to be the principal of that school, and he would keep her in the loop about what was happening.

She said they worked together through the registration process to make the transition for the students and staff who transferred to Lake Manatee as smooth as possible. 

“I hope they have a great time and they make friends,” fourth grader Tatum Cenizario said of his friends who transferred to Lake Manatee. “They have great teachers.” 

Although Cenizario misses his friends who have transferred, it has also given him an opportunity to make new friends. He said he has met two new boys in his class and plays Monopoly with when it is raining during recess. 

“Now we have less crowded recesses, and less crowded classrooms,” Cenizario said. “It's a little bit less overwhelming.” 

Cristina Holland has been a parent at Gullett for the last 12 years and currently works as a front desk clerk at the school. 

“I would say you can definitely see there's a difference in the enrollment numbers, and you feel it in the everyday little things, like the car line isn't as long anymore,” Holland said.

Holland’s kids have since moved on to middle and high school, but she said she has seen the school handle the heavy numbers throughout their time in the school. 

"In all honesty, the administration handled it very well," Holland said of the overcrowding "They made it seem as though, for the kids, that it wasn't overcrowded. The kids weren't negatively affected. They weren't missing out on certain aspects of their everyday education."

Jenna Lewis is a fourth grade teacher at Gullett who described overcrowding as a “different beast” that she only really noticed at dismissal and in places like the parking lot. She said she is glad that the students who might be missing their friends who left the school can still see each other outside of school hours.

Photo by Madison Bierl

“I feel like our school is such a good community and tight-knit family,” Lewis said. “I obviously miss our coworkers who went (to Lake Manatee) but our school’s run like a tight ship. I've noticed a difference with specials (extracurriculars) and things like that, but as a school, it still has the same feeling.” 

Gierhart said an important factor to run a school effectively, overcrowded or not, is to make sure to hire highly effective teachers who are knowledgeable and able to build strong and healthy relationships with students and their families. 

“Overcrowding can cause additional stress on teachers and staff, but I do know that there's a supportive administration team here,” Gierhart said. “We work closely with teachers to help in any way that we can alleviate some of that stress, whether it's due to overcrowding or other factors.”

Sabrina Richards is the Parent-Teacher Organization president at Gullett and she has a daughter, Demi Richards, who is in second grade. Richards said that with a high student population, there was less opportunity for families to visit and volunteer within the school. She is looking forward to more family involvement. 

Gullett has 12 portable classrooms in use last school year. This school year, three of them are still used for instructional purposes, as Gierhart doesn’t want them to sit empty. 

The School District of Manatee County now is going through a rezoning process. Gierhart hopes that the new boundaries provide even more relief to Gullett.