The School Board of Manatee County votes Tuesday on a teacher salary increase plan for the 2026-27 school year. The packed agenda also formalizes the completion of two new elementary schools and sends a high school chorus to Carnegie Hall.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Walter Miller School Support Center Board Room.

Teacher pay plan lacks public details

The salary increase allocation plan covers classroom teachers and other instructional staff. The board agenda lists the item under new business with "no financial impact." No specific dollar amount or percentage has been made public.

The vote comes as the state's fiscal 2027 budget, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, directed $200 million toward raises for veteran teachers and raised per-student funding to $9,338, according to Tampa Bay Beacons.

The district reported record-low teacher vacancies at the start of the school year. "We have record low vacancies," Superintendent Laurie Breslin said on Aug. 10, the first day of classes, according to SNN News.

Two new schools reach substantial completion

The board will formally approve substantial completion for Veterans Elementary School in Palmetto and Rye Ranch Elementary School in Parrish. Both $75 million campuses opened to students on Aug. 10, expanding the district to 56 schools, according to Tampa Bay Beacons.

Veterans Elementary, at 6360 Maidenstone Way, enrolled about 300 students at opening but has capacity for 969. The school sits adjacent to Valor Commons, a veteran-focused community center. Principal Laura Campbell told WWSB in late July that the campus had been under construction for more than a year and a half.

Rye Ranch Elementary, at 18450 Legacy Preserve Drive, can serve about 960 students in grades K-5. Its construction contract with Skanska USA Building LLC carried a guaranteed maximum price of about $53.4 million, according to board records from November 2025.

The agenda lists Veterans Elementary's item as "Phase I Substantial Completion." No public records describe what later phases would include.

Closer to home for Lakewood Ranch residents, the consent agenda includes a permanent utility easement for Rangeland High School. The $144 million campus at the southwest corner of Rangeland Parkway and Post Boulevard is under construction and set to open in August 2027 for about 1,170 ninth- and 10th-graders.

Carnegie Hall trip highlights other business

The board will also consider approving a trip for Manatee High School chorus students to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York from May 28 to June 2, 2027, funded through school internal accounts. Parrish Community High School's advanced chorus students are separately seeking approval for a trip to the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, from April 14 to 18, 2027.

Other agenda items include a presentation on the Visible Men Academy School Improvement Plan, a $281,589 federal farmworker jobs grant and a 60-day notice to terminate the district's contract with Lantern. Board member Felton is also seeking travel approval, not to exceed $550, to attend a Florida School Board Association legislative platform meeting in Tallahassee.

The meeting is open to the public.