- May 15, 2025
Flagler County School Board Chair Will Furry speaks at the ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the new Matanzas High School expansion. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County School Board members Lauren Ramirez (left) and Christy Chong (right) and Superintendent LaShakia Moore cheer as Matanzas Principal Kristin Bozeman and Board Chair Will Furry cut the ribbon on the Building 5 expansion. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler County School Board Chair Will Furry speaks at the ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Matanzas Blue Steel band performs before the ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Matanzas Blue Steel band performs before the ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas High School JROTC cadets present colors before the ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler School Superintendent LaShakia Moore speaks the Matanzas expansion ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas High School Principal Kristin Bozeman speaks at the school expansion ribbon cutting ceremony. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Chuck Coates, project manager for the Matanzas expansion, and Kory Bush, director of Plant Services, stand in front of books in the new media center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Schools Director of Teaching and Learning Jeff Reaves, a former Matanzas principal, and School Board member Derek Barrs tour the new 1,560-square-foot building construction workshop in Matanzas' expanded Building 5. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mia Apfelbach and Mya Lawrence, posing in a new classroom, were student tour guides during the official opening of the expansion of Building 5 at Matanzas High School. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Schools Human Resources Supervisor Joshua Walker in the Matanzas new media center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Matanzas Blue Steel band performed the national anthem. The school’s three former principals — Chris Pryor, Earl Johnson and Jeff Reaves — were in attendance, and tours were held as Matanzas High School celebrated its expansion with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, May, 13.
The centerpiece of the project is an expanded Building 5 that includes a 1,560-square-foot building construction workshop with an adjacent classroom, covered outside area and garage door for deliveries. There are also four new classrooms on the first floor. The second floor includes an art-focused classroom with a movable wall and a brand new media center.
The expansion also includes Building 22, a multipurpose metal PE building next to the football stadium.The old media center has been transformed into the Sand Bar, a new dining area that connects to the cafeteria.
Principal Kristin Bozeman thanked the 1/2-cent citizens oversight committee for helping the project become a reality. She thanked a host of others, saving special thanks to project manager Chuck Coates, who has guided the two-year construction project from its plans to completion.
“Chuck knows every detail of this project. He was on site every day,” Bozeman said. “If there was a problem, he’d be the first one here in the morning with a solution.”
Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore noted that Pryor, Matanzas’ first prinicipal, said the expansion was something the school staff envisioned from Day 1. Matanzas opened in 2005. Assistant Principal Sara Novak has been with the school since Day 1.
“After 20 years and seeing what the school looks like now, it’s just crazy,” Novak said.
