Myakka City Elementary

💛 Celebrating World Kindness Day with a Heartfelt Farewell! 💛

In honor of his retirement, Myakka City Elementary's principal, school secretary, and registrar, surprised longtime school district courier Alton Lilly with shirts featuring his likeness! 🎉

For 19 years, Mr. Lilly has traveled nearly 60 miles round-trip from Myakka City to the Matzke complex — and all across Manatee County — keeping our schools connected and receiving the packages, envelopes, and letters they need.

“We couldn’t let Mr. Lilly retire without showing him how much he means to us,” said Principal Carol Ricks. It was an emotional moment filled with gratitude, kindness, and maybe a few tears.

Thank you, Mr. Lilly, for your years of dedication. As you make your last deliveries throughout November, we cheer you on 🎉 and hope you enjoy your well-earned retirement! 💛

#WorldKindnessDay #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews

He may not have a Super Bowl ring, but he’s a campus legend. When Myakka City Elementary’s Mr. S (Joseph Szewczyk) met Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl champ Martín Gramática at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature on Thursday, he asked for two autographed footballs 🏈 Not for himself, but for students. His idea? Use them as rewards for those who make the biggest learning gains in reading this year. 🏆 Mr. S isn’t just the bus driver. He’s also the PE teacher, fifth-grade math teacher, and a 21-year Mustang who commutes from North Port because he loves his school that much. He’s not chasing touchdowns, but he’s definitely scoring big for his students. Thank you, Mr. S, for going the extra yard for Myakka City Elementary! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews

Right this very minute, students from Myakka City Elementary are buzzing with excitement after an unforgettable day at Tackling Reading at The Bishop Museum! This inspiring annual event, hosted in partnership with The Mosaic Company and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, aims to show students that a love for reading and learning can lead to big wins in life. Special guest and Super Bowl Champion Martín “Automatica” Gramática, legendary former Buccaneers kicker, brought his championship energy to the event. Joining the fun were Bucs Cheerleaders Brooke, Dante, Paige, and Sarah, who added spirit and enthusiasm to every moment. Kids got to wear replica jerseys of QB Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving, numbers 6-7 (hmmmmmm....🙃) Enjoy these photos from the special event! A #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews video is coming soon! @topfans

Security Screening at Secondary Schools – Beginning Monday, August 11, 2025, all students and visitors at district middle and high schools will be screened each school day using a high-tech security scanner system. For more information on this enhanced security screening procedure, visit https://www.manateeschools.net/securityscreening.

School Board Seeks Civic-Minded Citizens to Join Audit Committee – The School Board of Manatee County is seeking civic-minded citizens to serve as members of the Audit Committee. The Committee, which meets six times a year, recommends the appointment of the internal and external auditors; reviews the scope, plan and reports of the internal and external auditors; and assists in maintaining open communications between the selected auditors, the School Board and the District’s financial management. The Committee also reviews the collection and proper use of the funds raised through the one-half cent sales surtax for school capital outlay expenditures. Membership on the Committee requires an average of five-to-eight hours per month, with meetings scheduled every other month for three hours. The term is approximately three years. Those interested in serving must: • Live in Manatee County. • Be a CPA (active or retired) or had employment experience in school district financial operations. • Submit a letter expressing interest, provide contact information and provide a brief summary of their work experience. Responses must be sent to the Manatee County School District, Attention: School Board Agency Clerk, P.O. Box 9069, Bradenton, Florida 34206-9069. Interested individuals may obtain additional information about the Committee by emailing the School Board Agency Administrative Associate at cox3l@manateeschools.net.

The Florida Department of Education released the Florida Value Added Model (VAM) Fiscal Transparency Tool, a web-based fiscal transparency tool that identifies public schools and districts with high academic achievement based on the ratio of classroom expenditures to total expenditures. VAM is intended to help taxpayers evaluate the financial efficiency of a school district with other similarly situated school districts. View the VAM for the School District of Manatee County at https://floridavam.org/e/vamPublic.html?w4=54#/entityId=262385.

Family Empowerment Scholarship – Parents interested in applying for either FES-EO or FES-UA may review the eligibility requirements and application instructions at https://www.manateeschools.net/FES.