Matzke Complex gets new name

BRADENTON — The $21 million refurbishment of the Manatee County School District’s Matzke Complex is on track for completion, school officials announced Monday night during the school board meeting.

The update on construction came as school board members approved renaming the soon-to-be revamped complex the Robert G. Matzke Support Center.

Construction at the center on 27th Street East in Bradenton began in April 2009 and school employees are expected to be in their renovated buildings by October, said Sherry Dowling, district director of construction services.

The entire refurbishment will be complete in February 2011, Dowling said.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said board member Walter Miller, who’s been a long-time supporter of the center’s renovation.

Made up of portables and older buildings, the center is where the district’s transportation, maintenance and construction workers are based, and where most of its bus and maintenance vehicle fleet is usually parked.

District officials are tearing down old portables and some of the buildings and rebuilding a couple of new facilities at the center. During construction, the district’s school buses are being parked near DeSoto Square mall.

Some of the buildings are outdated and in very poor condition, said school spokeswoman Margi Nanney.

“It’s been very dismal for our employees to work in those for a number of years,” she said.

School board chairwoman Jane Pfeilsticker said she’s excited for the project’s completion.

“I am very proud and pleased that we are able to offer such a beautiful center to our employees,” Pfeilsticker said.

A retired colonel in the United States Military, Matzke was a former district Director of Operations and Maintenance. Miller called Matzke a feisty man who was a good leader. He worked for the district from July 1968 until he was killed on Aug. 1 1980, after a triple family shooting on Holmes Beach.

On the day of his death, Matzke was in his front yard when he witnessed the shooting deaths of a Tampa pediatrician and his two sons, then got in his car and followed the shooting suspect to a nearby supermarket parking lot. The men exchanged words and Matzke was fatally shot.

His killer remains at large.

In other matters Monday, board members:

n Announced there is no early out on Wednesday due to FCAT testing.

n Accepted the resignation of McNeal Assistant Principal Todd Haughey, 41. He resigned last month after school officials said he continually contacted an ex-girlfriend against their instructions following a reported domestic incident.

n Proclaimed March 2010 as Youth Art Month. Throughout the month, student artwork will be displayed inside the district’s administrative building on Manatee Avenue West.

n Recognized students Jordan Sanders and Alisha Erozer as first-place winners in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech and essay contest.

n Hired Jeannie Dillman as an assistant principal at Haile Middle School. Prior to being hired in the Manatee School District, Dillman was a high school assistant principal of curriculum for Watauga County Schools, North Carolina. She holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy analysis and replaces Angela Lindsey, who was recently named principal at Daughtrey Elementary.

n Honored 33 All-State Music students for performing in the Florida Music Educators’ Conference.