Following are the major points from the School Board Meeting on February 24, 2026.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chair Spray. She asked for a moment of silence for a community member who passed away today; she did not name the person. The vision was read by Board Member Choate followed by the Invocation by Commander Officer of the Salvation Army, Major Tom Richmond.
The Manatee High School JROTC Color Guard presented the colors with the Pledge of Allegiance led by US Army Staff Sergeant Amy Maureen Kauzlarich. She is currently an 8th grade ELA teacher at Lincoln Middle school. The Superintendent presented her with a plaque and flag flown over the US Capitol.
Approval of the Agenda (as amended) – Approved 5-0
Mr. Kennedy moved to amend the agenda by moving item 14.2 Black History Month 2026 Proclamation to immediately before the Celebration of Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School. He indicated that many in the audience who came to celebrate the namesake of the elementary school would want to hear the proclamation. Ms. Felton said she believed there was a reason the item was moved to New Business and Mr. Dye responded that a Proclamation by the Board requires a Board vote. Mr. Kennedy pointed out that it was still a vote to approve the agenda. Mr. Kennedy’s amendment died for lack of a second. The Superintendent asked to have the issue of Proclamations discussed at a workshop for clarification. Mr. Kennedy made a second motion to move the Proclamation to after the Rogers Garden-Bullock. The motion died for lack of a second.
Student Celebration/Recognitions
Celebration of Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School
Jamie Carson, Communication Director, introduced Principal Michael Escorcia who shared a video the school created so they could learn about Mr. Garfield DeVoe Rogers (1885-1951), the school’s namesake. The school is in the heart of the City of Bradenton. Mr. Omar Edwards, Associate Director, Strategic Planning, said it was an honor to do this during Black History Month. Mr. G.D. Rogers’s oldest daughter, Louise R. Johnson, served on the School Board and has a middle school named for her. G.D. Rogers’ great-granddaughter, Michele Crockett, spoke of his numerous accomplishments. She thanked the Board for the opportunity to honor her great-grandfather. Ms. Crockett’s grandmother, who is G.D. Rogers’ daughter, is 108. Manatee County is home to seven generations of descendants of G. D. Rogers.
Embracing Our Differences
Ms. Carson acknowledged that artwork by students at Gene Witt Elementary School was selected to be part of the Sarasota Bayfront’s “Embracing Our Differences” exhibition. The art piece, “ALL,” displays self portraits of the students connected by hearts. This piece was selected from over 50,000 contributors from around the world. Kimberly Roberson-Hoy, Art Teacher at Witt Elementary, had each student in attendance introduce themselves to the Board.
Public Comments
JT from Nolan Middle School acknowledged the loss of a teacher and school support specialist, Scott Jeffers. He related that Jeffers impacted students and staff with kindness. Jeffers was a 20-year retired military veteran. JT requested the board approve the placement of a plaque in the cafeteria along with a flag, naming it the Jeffers’ Dining Hall. He requested approval and waiver of the waiting period.
M? came with questions and materials to distribute to Board Members about Education First, a foreign student exchange program. Chair Spray asked her to give the materials to the clerk and provide her questions in writing. She went on to explain the differences between J1 and F1 visas and that her program used J1 visas for the students coming to the US as part of the Education First exchange program. She explained she was having a problem placing their students in Manatee County schools. She made a request to change the wording so 6 active host families and 3 pending applications, who would like to attend, would be able to do so. She explained that Education First, using J1 visas, works directly with the Department of State. F1 visas are connected to the Department of Homeland Security. Education First works with accredited schools only.
PS said she never thought she would be an activist. She is advocating for people with disabilities. She has a sticker that she would like to have put on public buildings and businesses to promote access. If posted it will make sure people with disabilities feel welcome and heard. She wants to make sure students, parents and all have a place for their concerns to be heard and more visible.
MJ spoke on behalf of The League of Women Voters and their Education Issues Action Team. She read the League’s Statement in Support Proclamations: The Board should be proud of District achievements in various areas, including professional development, academics, arts, and sports. Public attention needs to be drawn to these achievements that are fully in alignment with the district’s goals. Proclamations should not need unanimity as that is required for nothing else in our democracy, even an act of war. The public needs to know why board members agree or disagree with a proclamation.
Reports and Presentations
World Languages Adoption Committee Process and Recommendations (include slides)
Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Derek Jensen and Coordinator of Instructional Projects, Erin Chapman described the process for adopting new instructional materials for the more than 3,000 students enrolled in either Spanish or French classes in district schools. Following state requirements, two separate committees made the recommendation for French I and II and Spanish I-IV. In both cases the materials selected include hard copy texts and digital resources. In addition to vocabulary and grammar, the materials highlight the various cultures in the world that speak the language being learned.
Follow the link to the presentation slides:
Consent Items: – Twelve items were approved 5-0.
New Business (Non-Consent Items)
Approval of the Budget Amendments for December 2025 (No Financial Impact) – approved 5-0.
Ms. Rachel Sellers, Deputy Superintendent Financial Services. explained the amendments that were mainly in the capital fund for Harvey and AAA High School.
Approval of Advertising a Notice of Intent to Amend School Board Policies and Setting a Public Hearing at the April 7, 2006 (General Fund) – approved 5-0.
The Superintendent explained the process and Mr. Chapman, Associate Superintendent for Administration & Strategic Engagement, went through the steps. In addition, discussion for additional changes would take place at a later workshop.
See policy amendments to be heard on April 7 here:
https://d2kbkoa27fdvtw.cloudfront.net/manateeschools/c6669abd6e5a2f2cab53aefe2efb63ae0.pdf
New Business (No Superintendent Recommendation)
Approval of School Board Member Spray to Travel to Washington, D.C. with the Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards March 16-18 Not to Exceed $2,300 (General Fund) – added after publication. Approved 5-0.
Ms. Spray explained the group is taking their legislative agenda to D.C.
Black History Month Proclamation. Approved 4-1 (Mr. Tatem abstained)
Ms. Felton requested the proclamation and apologized for it not being at the first meeting of the month because of the need to get the request for a proclamation in 28 days ahead of the meeting to be acted upon. She described that this proclamation is worded very similarly to the one the Board issued last year. The wording aligns with both Federal and State laws/statutes. The Federal Law to acknowledge Black History Month is from 1986. She explained why it is important to her and to the community as they heard earlier in the celebration of G.D. Rogers.
Mr. Tatem made a motion to amend the motion and offered an alternative proposition making February “American History Month.” His rationale is that Blacks have been advocating not to be seen as separate. He made his case through a slide presentation with portraits and quotes from Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Glen Lury, PhD, Professor of Economics at Brown University, Carol M. Swain PhD professor at Princeton, and Morgan Freeman. He proffered that all of them explained why they do not want to be seen as separate. Mr. Tatem concluded that Black History is American History. Mr. Tatem’s motion to amend the motion to be ‘American History Month’ died for lack of a second.
Chair Spray requested Mr. Tatem bring a Proclamation he wanted to a workshop rather than the meeting. Mr. Dye agreed with Ms. Spray. Mr. Choate said the original proclamation was a good one and that it was ludicrous to have a debate about an alternative at this time. He argued that the Board needs to work on their policy on proclamations. Ms. Felton pointed out that the proclamation is not about trouble or politics. Both Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month honor populations and cultures that are very prevalent here and to recognize them is important.
Mr. Tatem questioned the Chair’s action about amending a motion. Board Attorney Dye said the Black History Month proclamation before them was distributed to the Board before the meeting and the other board members did not have the benefit of Mr. Tatem’s thoughts on his proclamation prior to the meeting. Mr. Tatem said he could not do that because of the Sunshine Law. Mr. Dye again said it was best done at a workshop in advance of being placed on the agenda. Mr. Dye also suggested that after Board reorganizations each year the topics for proclamations should be workshopped.
Mr. Kennedy said this topic has been “beaten to death” and that they need to look at the proclamation policy. Black History Month came out of the recognition that the contributions of Blacks had historically been ignored in teaching history. He did not think it was controversial any more as we had direction from the President of the US to recognize Black History Month.
Chair Spray then read the Black History Month proclamation. Read the proclamation here:
Updates:
Instruction: Deputy Superintendent for Instruction, Derek Jensen, expressed appreciation to the staff and students in adjusting to the new English Language assessment format with 7,600 students tested. High school registration has started along with orientations at high schools and middle schools. There are National Merit Finalists at Braden River, Manatee, and Palmetto high schools. For athletics, Parrish Community High School’s boys’ basketball team is playing in regional competition. The athletic calendar on the district website has all the spring sports’ schedules. Games of the week are on our website through MSTV. Academic contests are going on this weekend with regional competitions for 22 elementary and 7 middle school teams. Skills USA competition will be March 30-April 2. Thursday, 6:30 p.m., at Braden River HS will be the elementary school music festival.
Operations: Mr. Clark reported that of the 91 attendees at the February 19 Operations Job Fair, 23 were hired as custodians, nurses, and aides. A recruiting team is going to Pennsylvania next week and will also attend a variety of opportunities around the community including high school occupation fairs, and the Parrish Heritage Festival with teams in the Chili Cookoff. The Human Resources team has revamped the district webpage. A wellness mobile app is coming out soon. Food Service at Sea Breeze Elementary had a parent Valentine luncheon with 170 parents joining their students. Operations have several major summer projects planned, including four comprehensive roof replacements at Bayshore, Gullett, Stewart, and McNeal elementary schools, as well as major painting projects at Miller Elementary, Palm View K-8 and Braden River High School.
Legal: Mr. Dye gave an update on Affordable Housing project negotiations with the developer for a 50-year lease and priority housing for school district personnel.
Superintendent Remarks: Dr. Breslin indicated it has been a busy past two weeks. She has had conversations with school leadership teams and detailed budget conversations for long term financial stability, staffing, etc. She expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Deputy Superintendents, Mr. Jensen, Mr. Clark, and Ms. Sellers, for providing her with detailed information. She acknowledged Mr. Chapman for moving the Strategic Plan forward with the first community meeting this past week. She reminded everyone that there are surveys out about school start times and renaming AAA high school. She thanked all of the Board Members for coming out to the open house at Manatee Elementary. One hundred thirty-two 10th grade students went on a business/industry tour last week. She thanked the Board for approving the consent agenda with emphasis on textbook adoption, two items related to MTC, and grants totaling $370,254.92.
Board Comments
Mr. Choate indicated the Manatee Elementary Open House was awesome and celebrated the community partnerships. He said he would love to track some of those students as they move through life to determine the impact. He acknowledged the public commenter who talked about people with unique abilities advocating for themselves and said he knows the district has Project Edge and other programs in our schools. His parents pushed the district to do more things as he has a brother with Downs Syndrome.
Mr. Kennedy focused on the community partners at Manatee Elementary who have been there since the beginning, with special thanks to USF as they are going through some serious issues, noting, “We have a key relationship with them in developing and hiring our teachers.” Daughtrey and Prine Elementaries as community schools are just a few years behind and noted they will be recognizing them soon.
Ms. Felton agreed with Mr. Kennedy and highlighted the outstanding interns from USF when she had two of them in her classroom, saying, “They were well prepared.” She said she will be a judge at the Chili Cookoff at Parrish Community High School again this year and said it is always fun and encouraged everyone to come and support all of the schools who are there. She added that it brings in money to Parrish. She said she was in Tallahassee for the Consortium of Schools and met with several legislators in small groups and two individual meetings. She went to the Keys for the Florida Board of Education meeting and spoke as an advocate for Schools of Hope guidelines. Two board members talked with her afterwards and agreed with what she had to say. She held up a sticker provided from the Sheriff’s Dept. that she said can be put on a house to indicate a person with exceptional needs lives there. It will help if there are any issues, such as a fire, at your house. She has now visited 27 schools toward her personal goal to visit all schools in the district.
Mr. Tatem also congratulated Manatee Elementary. He said he has also been going to a lot of sporting events and congratulated the student athletes. Referring to the proclamations, he indicated he would not bring the subject up again and acknowledged they had a good public debate/civil discourse. He said, “I want to live out Martin Luther King’s dream of valuing everyone by the content of their character.” He then said, “I won’t put any more obstacles up to your wishes on race, but I will vote no.”
Ms. Spray said the issue of race is larger than our school district, as it is national. She went on to say all the data collection is by race, languages and we are just following what even the President has done. She acknowledged there were retirees listed in the HR report with 20 plus years and congratulated them, saying, “Just think of the students they have seen.” She said she will be coming out to the courts for tennis season. She indicated she would also like to follow students who have been in any special program and their potential for a career. She gave each Board Member a “bravery coin,” in line with the phrase ‘safety over secrets’ she coined, advocating for students to come forward. On the front of the coin is the school district logo and on the back is “Safety Over Secrets” and “Thank you for your bravery.” She said she gave some to the Superintendent to give to students and employees who take the step to report something that could cause harm to others.
Adjournment: 7:48 p.m.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Observers continue to recommend that the issues with hearing and understanding Ms. Spray be corrected. She is often difficult to understand whether in the room or on TV. Whatever adjustments Mr. Clark made in the middle of the meeting should be made prior to the beginning of future meetings.
Observers appreciated the efforts of Board Members to personalize the recognitions made. For example, Ms. Spray’s invitation to the G.D. Rogers’ family to come forward for a picture was a kind gesture. Ms. Felton telling the students from Gene Witt how proud she was to see their work on opening day that was selected out of thousands submitted was an added plus for the students.
Observers commend Mr. Kennedy’s clarification to the public that the Board had all the financial information prior to the meeting and were able to ask questions during their briefings. He said that he didn’t want the public to think this was a rushed process.
We appreciate that Chair Spray specifically mentioned the agenda changes at the beginning as suggested previously.
Under normal circumstances, it would not be appropriate for Mr. Kennedy to make a second motion after his first motion on a change to the agenda failed to move the Black History Month proclamation to come after the celebration of GD Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary. However, in this instance, Mr. Kennedy’s second motion resulted in a better explanation of why the new policy now requires Board Members to vote on a proclamation, and also led to a commitment to have the policy reviewed at a workshop.
We appreciate the members who upheld the Board’s established process during the recent proclamation discussion. A procedural point that seemed to be missing in the discussion about Mr. Tatem’s amendment regarding Black History Month was that he was bringing forth a new proclamation without following the Board’s own policy on Proclamations.
As the Board deliberates on the proclamation policy, we respectfully urge the board to maintain both its procedural standards and the clarity of its commitments.
[LWV Note: Mr. Tatem makes an important point – Black History is American History. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone in our country accepted this? We live at a time when historical displays are being removed not because they are inaccurate portrayals of an important historical event, but rather because they highlight the accomplishments and sacrifices of Americans who happen to be black. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream still has not been realized and that is a sad commentary on our country.This is not a moment to blur or weaken the purpose of the nationally recognized Black History Month proclamation. It exists to acknowledge a history that is too often overlooked — not to divide, but to educate and unify.]
After all this time on the Board, Mr. Tatem should have a better understanding of the Sunshine Laws. His assertion that this meeting was the only time he could bring up his alternative proclamation is incorrect. Chair Spray upheld the Board’s policy with regards to the proclamation discussion. She fairly stated that she would have liked to have seen Mr. Tatem’s proclamation and discussed it before having to vote.
Observers appreciate Mr. Choate’s acknowledgement of the need to re-examine the Board’s own new “glitch policy” on proclamations and that it needs to be fixed, but were unclear why he also said, “We can obviously not follow our policies if we choose to but that’s why I believe this policy needs to be fixed in general.” This position undermines the purpose of having policies: to ensure consistent, predictable, and fair governance. Selective adherence to adopted policies erodes public trust and creates arbitrary decision-making processes.
