Economic official says Manatee school district needs to market itself better

BRADENTON -- For the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation's five-year strategic plan to be successful, the Manatee County School District has to be successful, its leader told school board members.

The EDC's president and chief executive officer Sharon Hillstrom told the Manatee County School Board during a workshop on Tuesday the district needs to be better at marketing itself and its programs.

"Nobody knows what's going on in the school district. We need to do a better job marketing the Manatee School district and all the great things that are going on," she said. "That will help us in terms of the perception of the public school system here in Manatee County."

A better perception will help the EDC meet its ambitious goals for the next five years. Goals include having 62 businesses either relocate to Manatee County or expand within Manatee County, have 11 new start-ups originate in Manatee County, bring 4,000 new and retained jobs and have new businesses make $460 million in capital investments.

Board member Charlie Kennedy said those seemed to be solid and attainable goals if the county stays on the pace it has run the last five to 10 years.

"This school district and this board is obviously invested in continuing to do our part, as much as we can," Kennedy said.

Companies are looking for a skilled workforce and those looking to move choose areas they know can provide those skilled members of the workforce.

That's where programs run in the K-12 education systems, and at places like Manatee Technical College -- which falls under the Manatee County School District -- come into play. And that's why marketing is so important, Hillstrom said. Companies need to know the school system can help provide the skilled workers they need.

"We have companies that are just crying for those skilled workers," she said. " I'm sure the school system plays a role. It's a huge, huge issue. Again, marketing, public relations, it's got to be out there."

Outside consultants that worked with the EDC on the five-year strategic plan said the school district's website needs to improve to attract more businesses. The consultants thought it was an old website, Hillstrom said.

Board chairwoman Karen Carpenter agreed with Hillstrom on the marketing issue.

"I really agree with you. We're a well-kept secret," she said.

A change won't happen overnight, said board member Bob Gause, who supported strengthening the relationship between businesses and the school district to anticipate what skills future students will need to be successful.

"This is a district that's trying to head educationally in the right direction not just today but down the road," he said.

Some suggestions are already in place, Superintendent Diana Greene said, such as strengthening the school district's relationship with the local colleges so children graduating the public school district could easily move into higher education at one of the local colleges or universities.

"We're excited about where the possibilities of that could be going," Greene said.

With the strategic plan now in place, Hillstrom said she expects the relationship with the EDC and the school district to grow over the next five years.

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

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Economic official says Manatee school district needs to market itself better."