Palmetto High School, the only high school north of Manatee River, is full.
PARRISH — The Manatee County School District has made an offer to purchase 48 acres for the future site of a high school north of the Manatee River.
School Superintendent Diana Greene informed the school board on April 1 through her weekly newsletter to board members about the possible land purchase.
The acreage at 11601 Erie Road is adjacent to and just north of another 50 acres on Martha Road that the school district purchased in 2005 for future elementary and middle schools.
Michael Barber, spokesman for the school district, said district staff has been looking for property north of the Manatee River as a result of the Facility Master Plan report issued in January.
All of the six high schools in the district are at capacity, and some are over capacity, Barber said.
“With the new development expected in northeast Manatee County,” he said, “the plan recommended the construction of a new high school in the area.”
Palmetto High School is the only high school north of Manatee River and is full, Barber said.
The student population has been growing by 1,000 students a year over the last several years.
Last year the school board approved hiring the firm of Dejong Richter to develop a long-range plan for the district.
“We took a significant amount of time,” Barber said, “and a significant amount of community dialogue” to write this report.
The property on Martha Road was part of the land banking the district did in the 2000s when it was experiencing a student population growth.
Greene indicated in the newsletter that a new high school would require between 80 to 100 acres.
The property the school district made an offer on, owned by Ohio-based Aris Horticulture Inc., added to the land the district now owns, would provide the necessary acreage.
Aris Horticulture now has working commercial greenhouses covering most of the property.
The owner completed a preliminary environmental report and school district staff did not find anything unfavorable, although the district has yet to do any due diligence on the property, according to the newsletter.
The broker for Aris Horticulture was reviewing the school district’s offer and is expected to make a counteroffer.
The Manatee County Tax Collector website shows the assessed value of the property at $1.3 million.
According to an email from Barber, Jane Dreger, director of construction services for the school district, was not told how much the district offered Aris Horticulture for the property.
Dreger said, according to the email, that the property was listed for $2.6 million.
