City leader calls Manatee school board ‘nonfunctional.’ That’s why this request failed

The Manatee County School District wants free reign to build anywhere in the city of Bradenton after requesting the city add school uses to all of Bradenton’s future land use categories.

“That’s a very dangerous situation for us,” Ward 1 Councilman Gene Gallo said. “Especially if you have a nonfunctional school board, as in my opinion, you have in Manatee County.”

When asked by Mayor Wayne Poston what prompted the request, Planning and Community Development Director Catherine Hartley this week said the district’s perspective is that it’s a technicality to match an interlocal agreement that already gives the district the authority, “But I haven’t been able to find that.”

Until that agreement is found and reviewed by the city attorney, the city refused to take action on the request this week.

“It’s pretty clear to me, they want the right whether we want it or not and that worries me,” Gallo said. “I don’t feel comfortable with that. They are already exempt from everything else. They walk on the planet by themselves and that’s not a healthy situation. We can’t even send a fire inspector into a school without their permission.”

Gallo said if there is an interlocal agreement he would like to revisit it.

Hartley said it may be irrelevant because, “The truth is they are closing schools in the city so I’m not sure of their motivation. Their growth is in the county.”

Gallo said he has no issue with the district replacing an existing school, “But I don’t see anywhere in the city where I would like them to build a new school and I’d hate to open that door.”

Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff agreed, noting the city’s long friendship with the school board, “But we shouldn’t move one millimeter past what the law is now. We also don’t know the possibilities of what the school board can do with the properties of any school closing. It’s something to be considered because I can think of a couple ideas they may have that I wouldn’t be thrilled about.”

There are 20 public and private schools within the city’s 17 square miles with about 56,500 residents — roughly 20 percent of which is school-aged children — according to the 2017 U.S. Census Bureau report.

Poston is fond of saying that the city doesn’t have a traffic problem, it has a school traffic problem with about two-thirds of students being driven to school rather than using the bus system.

Downtown traffic through spring break, other holidays and summer tends to be noticeably less severe, Poston has said.

Several school district officials could not be reached for comment.