Orange Ridge-Bullock in Bradenton could close first, followed by Wakeland, Blackburn

BRADENTON -- Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School would be the first to close if the Manatee County School Board follows the recommendations of Superintendent Diana Greene to rebalance enrollment in district schools.

Orange Ridge would be the first, but not the only school to close under Greene's recommendations. Wakeland and Blackburn elementary schools would also eventually close to traditional students.

A new high school and a new elementary school, both north of the river, are also included in Greene's plans.

Greene laid out the administration's recommendations to the school board in a three-hour workshop Monday. The recommendations come after the board paid a company to come in, do an analysis and provide its own recommendations to the board. Not all of Greene's recommendations are the same, but many pull in parts and pieces.

"We understand there is a rich history in any of the schools we talk about," Greene said Monday. "We do honor and respect those histories, and hopefully through our presentation you'll see where we're trying to preserve as much as possible those traditions."

Greene's recommendations are:

Close Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary and move the students to Rogers Garden Elementary School for the 2016-17 academic year. The Bullock students, who have special needs, would be housed in the front portion of Rogers Garden. The two-sto

ry portion would be for regular classrooms. Some Orange Ridge students would be rezoned to Ballard, Daughtrey, Oneco and Samoset elementary schools. Greene recommends renaming the school G.D. Rogers Garden-Bullock Elementary School.

Combine the international baccalaureate programs at Wakeland and Johnson Middle School for the 2017-18 year, and discontinue use of Wakeland as a school. The ACCESS program housed at Johnson would move to Harllee Middle, helping pick up enrollment there.

Open a new elementary school in the north area in time for the 2018-19 year, to provide relief for Mills Elementary. The district does not own any suitable elementary school property in that area yet, but Greene said a new school will be necessary, even if other measures are taken.

Discontinue use of Blackburn as an elementary school and re-purpose it as an Early Learning Center for all students north of the river for the 2018-19 year. Special programs for high-needs students could also be moved there. Blackburn students would be rezoned to Tillman or Palm View to help bring enrollment at those schools up to capacity. That differs slightly from the company's recommendation for Blackburn.

Rebuild or do major renovations at Tillman Elementary School to be complete for the 2018-19 year.

Open a high school in the north part of the county to provide relief for the overcrowding at Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto and Braden River high schools for the 2019-20 year. The district owns two sites north of the river now, but they are not big enough for officials to feel comfortable building a school there. They are looking to acquire additional property. The new high school, Greene said, is the most pressing issue.

"I think we're embarking on a really significant period of decision-making," board chairwoman Karen Carpenter said.

Fran Padgett, a former principal at Orange Ridge, asked the board to take the school's rich history into account when looking at the decision-making process.

"These are tough decisions. I'm not taking a stand on whether you should or should not close it," she said. "Think about the students who have been there and the history of that school."

Padgett said she loved every day of working at the school. She listed some of the leaders who started as principals at the school and told some of the stories about why certain areas of the school are named after the people who had an impact at the school.

All five board members said they were in favor of the Orange Ridge-Bullock move, but no formal vote was taken on Monday. A formal vote will come before the board at a future meeting.

"As long as we get buy-in from the parent groups I think it's fine," board member John Colon said. "We're a choice area, so if anyone wants to opt out, they can choice into another school."

District staff will begin holding information sessions for parents and notifying parents of the rezone and the potential closure.

"We'll be very busy the months of March and April," Greene said.

Part of the driving factor behind closing Orange Ridge is the physical condition of the school, Greene said. The school floods whenever it rains and would require a significant amount of dirt to raise it out of a flood zone. That's also a major factor for Wakeland Elementary closing to students, Greene said, since the district has tried to fix the foundation twice, but that hasn't worked. The district will likely declare both sites unfit for student stations, the first step in getting rid of the schools once students are gone.

Greene also included other long-term considerations and recommendations, including rebuilding Oneco Elementary School at a new site.

The administration's recommendations do not include allowing Rowlett Academy for Arts and Communication to open a middle school charter in Harllee, an option that is of strong interest for the Rowlett board, Rowlett principal Brian Flynn told the board Monday.

Rowlett will submit a charter application to the school board in hopes to open a charter middle school for the 2017-18 academic year, and they are interested in taking over the Harllee space for that school.

"I believe this can be a win-win for all the stakeholders in Manatee County," Flynn said.

Flynn said this would a be a less expensive alternative for taxpayers, and it would help relieve overcrowding in district middle schools because it would pull students into the charter. The board is also looking at acquiring land if the Harllee plan doesn't work out.

Board member Bob Gause supports Rowlett's plans, saying the district has historically been unable to pull students to Harllee no matter what district staff has put forward.

Instead, Greene suggested something new: Convert Harllee over the course of the next few years to a school for gifted students.

Harllee has been deemed an F school for the past three years by the state. If it receives a fourth F in a row, the district will implement a major turnaround plan and convert the school into a school for the highest achieving students, Greene said.

Regardless of what else happens with the planning to balance enrollment, it's likely the district will want the change for Harllee regardless, Greene said, because it's an underperforming school.

Greene said she respects Rowlett's success so far, but said a performing arts middle school could compete with district schools and that success has not yet been proven.

"They are not tested as a middle school, they are tested as an elementary," Greene said. "They had an automatic zone before they converted to a charter. There is a big difference."

The majority of the board members were on board with Greene's plans for a gifted school. Gause said he supports doing the gifted school, but not at Harllee.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Orange Ridge-Bullock in Bradenton could close first, followed by Wakeland, Blackburn ."