Not everyone loves the island’s “little school by the bay.”
In a June 25 one-on-one meeting with Holmes Beach City Commissioner Jayne Christenson to discuss parking issues, Manatee County administrator Scott Hopes said he would prefer the school district repurpose Anna Maria Elementary School as a marine science research center.
Minutes taken at the meeting read: “There was discussion about the elementary school and the decline in use by local children. The county is busing kids to AME from off island. Instead, he would like to see the county close the elementary school and use it instead as a marine science research center for school kids to come and visit.”
AME is at 4700 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.
Hopes, who resigned June 2 from his seat on the Manatee County School Board to focus on his new role as county administrator, told The Islander June 24 the island does not need an elementary school.
“The superintendent and I had been talking about and considering — while I was on the school board — to repurpose AME as a marine science center for the school district,” Hopes said. “It makes no economic sense for tax dollars to be used to support a school for 100 students. …If the community doesn’t have enough students to support a school, that’s another consideration.”
Hopes said he would like the school board to partner with Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium or the University of South Florida on a research lab and public learning center at the school.
Already, Mote is planning to open an educational center on the Anna Maria City Pier, with financial support from Manatee County tourist tax dollars.
When told that some residents were concerned about losing the school, Hopes said his opinion on the issue no longer matters.
“Well, the good news is: I’m not on the school board anymore if they feel that way,” he told The Islander.
The island school opened in the early 1900s in Anna Maria, where the community center is now. It later moved to Holmes Beach and the school was rebuilt in 2005 and opened in early 2006.
For the 2021-22 school year, AME is projected to staff 18 teachers and instruct 195-200 students, according to retiring principal Jackie Featherston.
Featherston told The Islander June 24 that she opposes repurposing the building.
“Mr. Hopes is no longer with the school district. So that is simply his opinion as a past board member … and it would not be one that I would agree with, personally, to be in the best interest of the community on the island,” Featherston said. “I think it should remain a school.”
“It’s a very successful school that provides unique opportunities for students that go here,” she added.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth told The Islander June 24 that the school is an integral part of maintaining the island’s residential community and she is “highly opposed” to any efforts to repurpose the building.
“It just goes to show how out of touch the county is with the residential character of our city,” Titsworth said. “They’re not interested in the residents.”
She said the school attracts families to the island.
“At this point in time, to give up on our school — which is a grade-A school — I’d be really surprised if our school board would be interested in doing that. I think we’re all really grateful that Hopes no longer wears those two hats,” Titsworth added.