- December 4, 2025
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A trio of construction projects are currently progressing in three east Manatee County schools.
The most prominent is the building of the new Lake Manatee K-8, at 17210 Academic Ave. in Lakewood Ranch. The elementary section of the project opens Aug. 11, on the first day of the new school year. Work crews are putting the finishing touches on the school but should be finished in time for opening day. The middle school portion on the campus is scheduled to be ready in August 2026.
It was important to the district that the elementary portion of Lake Manatee K-8 was finished on time.
“We had B.D. Gullett Elementary School bursting at the seams,” says Reginald Goff, director of the construction services department at the School District of Manatee County. “We had it to get Lake Manatee K-8 built in order to reduce overcrowding in that area,. This new school will do that for us.”
At Carlos E. Haile Middle School, an HVAC renovation project is underway that includes a 10-classroom addition.
“In the process of changing out the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, it gave us an opportunity to gut the entire buildings, put in new ceilings, put in new LED lighting, paint, and carpet,” Goff says. “We put in new smart screens technology and it gave us an opportunity to totally upgrade the campus while adding 10 classroom additions which gave us more capacity to handle more students.”
Goff says the Haile project is 99% complete, with only a locker room to finish that should be completed in July.
Tara Elementary School is also going through a campus wide renovation that will add four classrooms and replace the plumbing, lighting, floors and more. The sixth and seventh phases of the project will be cafeteria and kitchen upgrades and a final classroom addition. It will be complete by late November.
A deeper look at projects details include:
Lake Manatee will have five primary building — all connected via walkway canopies. It is a 40-acre site with a courtyard at the center. There will be a covered play area and two main parking lots. There are separate areas for student drop-off and pick-up, a queuing loop and a bus loop.
A new 10-classroom addition and comprehensive HVAC renovation project includes new HVAC system, windows, doors and insulation system. It will improve campus safety and security and replace the fire alarm system.
The campus-wide renovation and addition project at Tara Elementary adds four classrooms; replaces roofing; improves traffic issues; adds fencing; and implements administrative/reception security upgrades. Campus-wide improvements include new plumbing, LED lighting, windows, doors, carpet, tile flooring and more.
