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Future
Foundations Manatee County School District gets ready to open three new schools.
WORDS & PICTURES: Jessica Schubick
The Manatee County School District
is growing! Jane Dreger is helping
the District keep up with the
demand for new spaces and new schools.
Dreger is the Director of Construction
Services for the Manatee County School
District (MCSD). Currently, she oversees
the construction of three new public
schools in the District – a feat that hasn’t
been accomplished in Manatee County
since 2007.
The projects include Barbara A. Harvey
Elementary, a new elementary school in
Parrish off of Moccasin Wallow Road; Dr.
Mona Jain Middle School, adjacent to
Gullett Elementary in Lakewood Ranch;
and Parrish Community High School,
located off of Erie and Fort Hamer Roads.
All three new schools will open to students
on August 12th for the 2019-2020 school
year. The projects are funded by MCSD
with bond proceeds and impact fees.
While Dreger oversees all construction for
the School District, she works closely with
her team, including the Project Directors
for these new sites, to make it all happen.
Regi Goff is the Project Director for Jain
Middle School and Brian Mabee is the
Project Director for Harvey Elementary
School and Parrish Community High
School. Dreger’s team is additionally in
the late design stages for an expansion
and renovation to Gene Witt Elementary
on Rye Road, increasing the capacity of
the school by about 200 students and 10
classrooms.
MCSD hasn’t opened three new schools
at the same time since 2007 – when
Dreger herself was Project Director for
several of the new schools built around
that time, including Bayshore, Prine, Anna
Maria, and Miller Elementary Schools. The
experience of working on those schools,
plus the decade-plus experience that
she’s gained since then, has Dreger
well-equipped to oversee these projects.
But she is quick to point out that this is a
District-wide undertaking.