Hours after he was hired to the interim position on April Fools Day, Hopes helped the county declare a local state of emergency in response to the breach at the former Piney Point fertilizer processing facility and spent his first few weeks on the job at the helm of the county s response.
Every commissioner has spoken favorably of Hope s performance during that incident, a sentiment echoed by community members during public comment at recent meetings.
However, some local residents have raised concern over their distrust toward Hopes due to his involvement with controversial decisions at the Manatee County School Board, such as the move to revoke the Lincoln Memorial Academy s charter, and more recent decisions related to the board s COVID-19 mask-related policies.
Did the flea market on 53 street close or move somewhere else,. - Bradenton, FL - Did the flea market on 53 street close or move somewhere else, it was always open the first Saturday of the month.
“We would be violating our own board bylaws to say we are not going to enforce our own mask mandate,” Board Chairman Charlie Kennedy said. “We only have two and a half weeks to go, and the mask mandate will be gone.”
Many parents said that, if the board does not rescind the policy, their children would be participating in a protest on Monday, May 17, when they will attend school mask-free.
Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said that anyone not wearing a mask in school would be treated as a basic dress code violation. Under the code of student conduct, a student receiving such a violation has the opportunity to fix their outfit and then return to class.