WEEk Of NOVEMBER 13, 2024
VOLUME 62, NUMBER 52
City’s anniversary School board on commences with updated island schools time capsule opening By MEGHAN BRADBURY
By TIFFANY REPECKI
T
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
he city of Sanibel kicked off the year-long celebration for its 50th anniversary last week. On Nov. 5, the city hosted a Time Capsule Opening at City Hall on Sanibel for the capsule sealed 40 years prior as part of the building's dedication ceremony in 1983. The first celebration of many planned by the city and island community over the coming year, it served to mark five decades since the city's official date of incorporation on Nov. 5, 1974. Despite an overcast sky and drizzling rain, the event drew a larger-than-expected crowd. The city's administration and staff and the current Sanibel City Council were joined by present and past islanders, officials and dignitaries, including former Mayors Steve Brown, Mick Denham, Porter Goss, Marty Harrity, Mike Klein and Jerry Muench; former City Councilmembers Charles LeBuff and Jason Maughan; former City Attorney Bob Pritt; county and state representatives; and officials and staffers from the Sanibel Police Department and the Sanibel Fire and Rescue District; along with others. Before the program's start, The Sanibel School's Seahorse Chorale performed for attendees.
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Remediation continues to be done at two barrier island schools within the School District of Lee County — The Sanibel School and Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. Operational Planning & Projects Director Frederick Ross provided an update regarding the Hurricane Milton recovery at the school board meeting on Nov. 6. He said the biggest obstacle of Milton was power. “We suffered power outages at 32% of facilities,” Ross said, adding that they were still accessing power at the schools as late as Oct. 14, the night before students returned to campuses. He said the majority of the damage See SCHOOL BOARD, page 23
IslanderInsIde
See TIME CAPSULE, page 20 City of Sanibel Recreation Department Director Andrea Miller and Mayor Richard Johnson open the time capsule on Nov. 5 at City Hall as the kickoff event for the city's 50th anniversary celebration. CITY OF SANIBEL
School district weighs student enrollment plan changes By MEGHAN BRADBURY
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A modified student enrollment plan came before the Lee County School Board on Nov. 6 for its first formal consideration. School District of Lee County Student Enrollment Director Soretta Ralph provided an update on the plan for the 2025-26 school year during the first reading. The past two years have had significant changes with proximity plans for elementary and middle school enrollment, she said. The district’s West Zone includes
Island Coast High School, which will now have a Florida Gulf Coast University collegiate program. Island Coast High will be a school choice for subzone three in the West Zone. “They are going to have to rank it for the upcoming school year,” Ralph said of the district's school choice system. The East Zone, which includes Bayshore, will have grade 7 for the 202526 school year. “Bayshore will be available for middle school zone CC for sixth and seventh grade,” she said. “How we are going to do
that is wait until after all current Bayshore fifth and sixth graders are preplaced for the upcoming school year. The seats left will be filled. We will be able to set that capacity and let students in subzone CC to be able to select Bayshore.” Island Coast will be a school to rank in the East subzone one. There are two changes for the South Zone, both of which involve Dunbar High School. Ralph said they will be ranked in subzone one and two. Families that live in subzone three or four can rank Dunbar See ENROLLMENT PLANS, page 23
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