New Residents - Interesting Facts

	The mission of the Manatee County School District is to inspire our students with a passion for learning, empowered to pursue their dreams confidently and creatively while contributing to our community, nation and world.
	The Manatee County School District is home to more than 42,000 students.
	During the 2006-2007 school year, the Manatee District was the 18th largest of Florida's 67 school districts, according to the Florida Department of Education.
	The district has more than 7,000 employees, making it the largest employer in Manatee County.
	The Manatee County school system has 34 traditional elementary schools, 10 traditional middle schools, 6 traditional high schools, an award winning technical institute, 8 charter schools and a variety of other alternative education sites.
	The district opened three new schools in August 2007: two elementary schools and a middle school. In addition, the district opened a new facility for an alternative high school, completed construction on two totally rebuilt schools and finished substantial renovations on four schools.
	In December 2005, the Manatee County School District became the first school district in Florida to convert its school buses and other diesel-powered vehicles to BioDiesel fuel. BioDiesel, or B20, is an alternative fuel that is 80 percent diesel and 20 percent soy bean. It burns cleaner and saves the district between $.05-$.08 cents per gallon.
	In March 2007, the Manatee County School District became the first school district in the country to incorporate hybrid buses into its fleet under the Plug-In Hybrid School Bus Project. Manufactured by the IC Corporation and Enova Systems, Inc., the hybrid buses provide 70 to 100 percent better fuel economy and a 90 percent reduction in diesel engine emissions.
	The Manatee County School District was the first school district in Florida to receive the Seal of Best Financial Practices from the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), when it was awarded that distinction in May 2002.
	In 2007, the district's Finance Department received the Distinguished Budget Award from the Government Finance Officers Association for the third year in a row.
	The district's average teacher's salary of $45,070 ranks 6th among Florida's 67 school districts, according to a statistical brief produced by the Florida Department of Education.
	Manatee Technical Institute has earned a reputation as the premier technical institute in the nation as its students have won more medals than any other school or college in the country for four consecutive years - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - at the annual SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City, Mo.
	The International Baccalaureate program at Southeast High School is in its seventh year and has 300 students enrolled. During the 2006-2007 school year, the IB program at Southeast produced six of the school district's 8 National Merit Semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program.
	The district is implementing IB programs at Wakeland Elementary and Johnson Middle so that Manatee County students will have access to an IB continuum of education from kindergarten through 12th grade.
	The Manatee District has 166 teachers that are National Board Certified.
	There are 67 different languages spoken in Manatee County schools.
	The district's fleet of 254 buses transports more than 16,000 students per day and logs over 3.5 million miles during the course of a school year.
	For more information on the Manatee County School District, visit www.manateeschools.net