Drumroll, please! 🥁 The results are in for the 2025 Manatee County School Bus Rodeo, and the winning team is The Roadrunnerz (Beep Beep)!
Led by longtime route supervisor Gina Miller, who has dedicated 26 years of service to transportation, this team proved that even our newest drivers can rise to the challenge.
The four drivers who skillfully navigated the challenging obstacle course on Wednesday are all fairly new to our district:
🚌 Edinson and Nicholas – both joined in August
🚌 Don – celebrating one year of
service
🚌 Zeke – proudly driving for five years on and off
All the participating teams were celebrated by Director Jamie Warrington and Asst. Director Melanie Johnson.
We’ve tagged the schools whose routes they drive — please join us in congratulating them and sharing this #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews! 🎉👏
A glowing review for the Marching Seminoles of Southeast High School on Friday night, and their guest musicians from Braden River Middle School, Louise R. Johnson K-8 School of International Studies, Sugg Middle School, and Electa Lee Middle School. Bravo 👏 You wowed the crowd, making families, students, and fans proud! Glow, Noles! (Neon Night, 10.17.25)
The results and moments captured during Saturday’s Middle School XC meet are in…
Girls - Teams and Individuals
🥇 Dr. Mona Jain Middle School
🥈 R. Dan Nolan Middle School
🥉 Martha B. King Middle School
🥇 Tatum B., Dr. Mona Jain MS
🥈 Katelyn M., Nolan MS
🥉 Emma V., Nolan MS
Boys - Teams and Individuals
🥇 Buffalo Creek Middle School
🥈 Dr. Mona Jain Middle School
🥉 Haile Middle School
🥇 Maddox R., Buffalo Creek MS
🥈 Rafe T., King MS
🥉 Mitchell F., Dr. Mona Jain MS
Congratulations to ALL the runners from Manatee County middle schools and their families for finishing the race and supporting your teams! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
We are deeply grateful to Skanska, who is currently building Artisan Lakes and Rye Ranch Elementary Schools, for taking time out of their busy schedule to support our students in such a meaningful way.
On Friday, members of their team hand-delivered hundreds of new backpacks filled with school supplies to five of our Title I schools: Samoset Elementary, Bayshore High, Moody Elementary, Sugg Middle, and Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary.
Through the generosity of Skanska and their community partners, our students will continue the year with the tools they need to learn, grow, and succeed. Thank you for showing a strong commitment to our community. #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
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.