District staff on Oct. 31 presented final draft rezoning maps and a timeline for public review, asking the School Board of Manatee County to consider a package of temporary measures designed to reduce disruption for families.

The presentation, led by district rezoning staff Derek Jensen and Willie Clark, said the maps will be posted on the district website on Monday with an online school‑locator tool and a "Let's Talk" feedback channel running through Nov. 30. Staff also scheduled public meetings for Nov. 17 (Braden River High School), Nov. 19 (Lakewood Ranch High School) and Nov. 20 (Parish Community High School) and told trustees it will return with a recommended final map at a December board meeting so the district can publish boundaries before January's school choice period.

Why it matters: the district has experienced concentrated growth in pockets such as the Harvey area and new developments north of State Road 62 and is opening several new or reconfigured schools. Staff said the goals are to address overcapacity, avoid splitting neighborhoods, and give families stability as new schools phase grade levels in the 2026–2028 period.

Staff review and proposed exemptions
Derek Jensen summarized Board Policy 5120 (rezoning of designated residential attendance zones) and reminded trustees the policy already contains three protections: students in their final year of attendance would not be required to move, a sibling allowance grants a one‑year extension so siblings can finish together, and students previously rezoned cannot be rezoned again while they remain at that school. Jensen confirmed those existing exemptions do not include district transportation.

Building on that, staff proposed two temporary provisions for this rezoning cycle. The "legacy provision" would allow any student currently enrolled at a school, plus currently enrolled siblings, to remain at that school through the highest grade offered even if the student's zone changes; students not yet enrolled would be assigned to the new zoned school. "This is designed to support stability and minimize disruption to families," Jensen said. He emphasized the legacy option would be adopted only for this rezoning round and would not change the standing board policy.

The second proposal, called the "founders provision," addresses the staged opening of a new high school in 2027–28. Staff said that when a new high school phases in ninth and tenth grades one year before full grade rollout, a student who will be rezoned for the new school could opt to start a year early so they can complete all four high‑school years at the newly zoned campus.

Trustees pressed staff for details on transportation and communication. Board members repeatedly asked whether students who remain under legacy or founders provisions would receive district transportation; staff reiterated that generally "no district provided transportation" is included with these options but that the district will evaluate crossing‑road safety and may provide routes where needed (for instance where a proposed zone crosses busy State Road 64). Staff said they will publish exact eligibility and application steps on the website and through school communications before choice opens.

Maps, neighborhood lines and capacity questions
Staff walked the board through proposed elementary, middle and high school boundary maps and explained several neighborhood carve‑outs. Clark said many small, irregular lines reflect developer boundaries or natural features and are intended to avoid splitting nascent neighborhoods. Trustees asked multiple times for numerical impact data (how many students would be rezoned by school and overall), and staff agreed to provide enrollment and capacity figures and a detailed zone‑to‑zone impact analysis as follow‑up.

On Williams Elementary and other fast‑growing areas, trustees expressed concern about building new campuses only to move enrollment away; staff said underfilled space can be used for pre‑K or other programs while nearby development continues to fill. Jensen and Clark told the board about the district's plan to monitor incoming Let's Talk feedback and add neighborhood meetings if particular pockets generate high comment volumes.

Next steps
Staff will post interactive maps and an address lookup tool on Monday and accept public feedback through Nov. 30, hold the three scheduled public meetings in mid‑November, and prepare a recommendation for the board in December. The board will confirm the exact December meeting date after setting its calendar on Nov. 18. Any family electing the legacy or founders option should watch the district site and school communications for the application process and eligibility details.

Quotes
"We started the process on Valentine's Day," Derek Jensen said, summarizing the year's timeline and how the public meetings and initial map options led to the current drafts.

"This is designed to support stability, minimize disruption to families," Jensen said when describing the legacy provision.

"There were about 450 comments" in the first round of public feedback, Willie Clark said, noting staff used that input when adjusting maps.

Ending
The board did not vote at the Oct. 31 workshop. Staff asked trustees to provide direction and prepare to receive public feedback during November; staff will return with a December recommendation to adopt final boundaries in time for the district's January school choice season.