All entries tagged with “Manatee County School Board”

Manatee Approves Plan to Phase School Impact Fees Back Into Effect

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Thursday Jan 7, 2016 11:21 am

Manatee County Commission voted to phase school impact fees back into effect for the first time since 2009, but members criticized a plan by the School Board to connect the rate to an upcoming referendum on a sales tax next year.

Manatee commissioners on Tuesday morning voted 5-2 in favor of restoring the fee, but charging it at a 50-percent rate and phasing it in over two years. At full strength, the fee for a new single-family home would be $6,475.

County Commissioner Betsy Benac, who supported the action, stressed it was the School Board that supported that level of fee, and that the county commission needed to support that board’s stance. “We have no super-authority on this,” she said. “We are not the ones charged with setting the school fee,” she said. “We are charged with collecting it and sending the money to the School Board.” 

But County Commissioner Charles Smith, a dissenting vote, disagreed mostly with a School Board plan to tie a reduction of fees to a renewal vote regarding a schools sales tax expected in 2017. The plan is to attach to that referendum a commitment to cut the school impact in half should the sales tax pass. “I really want to School Board to get as much money as possible,” he said. “But this is troubling to me.”

Mary Cantrell, Manatee School Board Member, Dies

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Monday Jul 13, 2015 10:34 am

Mary Cantrell, a sitting Manatee County School Board member and the 18-year director of Manatee Technical College, died this weekend at a Hospice facility in PInellas County. Cantrell was elected to the School Board in November.

Superintendent Diane Greene and School Board Chairman Robert Gause released the following statement on Cantrell's passing:

“Dr. Mary Cantrell spent close to five decades as a professional educator, including 18 years as the Director of Manatee Technical College, although it was known for most of her tenure as Manatee Technical Institute. Her passion for technical, career and adult education and her devotion to excellence among students and staff transformed MTC into one of the premier technical educational centers in the nation. Her enthusiasm and pursuit of achievement began the tradition that has resulted in MTC students winning more medals at the national SkillsUSA competition than any other technical school in the country – a streak that has recently been extended to 11-straight years.

“Since November 2014, Dr. Cantrell served as an elected member of the School Board of Manatee County. Although her time on the School Board was short, she was a contributing member and as always she was devoted to the education of the students she loved.

“The main hall at the beautiful new MTC campus on State Road 70 is named in Dr. Cantrell’s honor, and it is a fitting tribute to help us remember and follow the legacy she has left behind. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends.” 

Manatee School Board pays out contract for Superintendent Mills.

Posted by Jacob Ogles on Tuesday May 12, 2015 8:40 pm

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