Superintendent Diana Greene answers teacher questions as Rogers Gardens in Bradenton prepares for more students

BRADENTON -- As the recommendation to close Orange Ridge-Bullock Elementary School moves through the process, Superintendent Diana Greene met Friday with the staff at G.D. Rogers Garden Elementary School, which is slated to pick up the majority of the students from Orange Ridge.

"I know I'm standing between you and spring break," Greene said. "I'm not too fond of that."

In a meeting similar to one held earlier with Orange Ridge teachers, Greene spent about an hour answering questions from teachers and other staff. The majority of teachers wanted assurance they'd have a job next year.

As long as the teacher or staff member is in good standing, they'll have a job in the district, but Greene said she can't necessarily guarantee where.

"You will have a position if you are renewed as normal," Greene said.

Orange Ridge would be the first, but not the only, school to close under a long-range plan to help balance enrollment across the Manatee County School District. Greene made a series of recommendations to the board in February after the district worked with DeJong-Richter, an Ohio-based company that helped bring all the pertinent data together.

Redrawn attendance zones will go before the board April 12. If the new zones are approved, the change will go into effect the next school year.

At the meeting, senior secretary Cindy Davis said the school has long been underperforming, but with second-year Principal Latrina Singleton, the school seems to be on the right path. Davis said she was worried that would change when the school changes and the current momentum would be lost and the school would not be supported by the district.

"I know it's not simple, but somebody needed to say it," Davis said.

Greene said she could not guarantee Singleton or Orange Ridge Principal Maribeth Mason would be the principal at the school, which Greene said had to be imagined as a brand new school, not some type of merger.

"It'll be a brand-new school for a second time," Greene said. "We'll be here to support whoever the principal is on that path."

If the board approves the new attendance zones, finding a new principal and new teachers will likely happen all at the same time. District officials said they couldn't guarantee teachers would know who the principal at the school would be before they had to decide where to work.

"It'll all come about at the same time. It'll be very close," Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Cynthia Saunders said.

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

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Superintendent Diana Greene answers teacher questions as Rogers Gardens in Bradenton prepares for more students ."