Manatee School Board names new school in Lakewood Ranch after community input
The School District of Manatee County officially announced that the new Lakewood Ranch school will be named Rangeland High School.
After asking the community for recommendations, a total of over 1,600 names were suggested to the school board, according to Kevin Chapman, the associate superintendent. Rangeland will become the county’s eighth public high school.
The high school is under construction at Post Boulevard and Rangeland Parkway near the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch. School Board Member Heather Felton said this new name not only represents the school’s location, but also the area’s history.
“I like Rangeland because it was cattle ranges out there,” Felton said. “I think that’s really appropriate for the area because it was a ranch.”
Manatee names Rangeland High School
Other highly recommended high school names included Lake Manatee, East Manatee, East Ranch and Lakewood Ranch East. The board chose Rangeland to ensure the name was unlike other schools in the county.
“Personally, we’ve got a Lakewood Ranch High School,” said School Board Member Chad Choate. “So, Lakewood Ranch East, to me, I don’t think should be used.”
“I could just see confusion with a team arriving from another county, and the bus driver thinks they’re going to Lake Manatee High School, and they arrive at Manatee High School,” said School Board Member Charlie Kennedy.
The School Board voted unanimously at Tuesday’s public meeting to accept the community’s most popular recommendation and go with Rangeland High School.
“You do want your school to be unique in its name and in recognition, so I’m all for Rangeland,” Felton said.
The new high school is built on about 85 acres of land, and it will open to grades 9 and 10 in August 2027. Each subsequent year, an additional grade level will be added to the school, so that by August 2029, it will be open to all grades.
The school district says the high school will initially have about 1,070 students.
Construction on the school began in January, and the $144 million, 300,000-square-foot building will be the first school in the district with college-like lecture halls. It will also feature cutting-edge sporting areas.
The school district says it plans to name the school’s principal sometime this summer, and more details on the school’s mascot and colors should be announced closer to the opening.
