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Kent County Public Schools board meeting, Sep 14, 2026

2 h 44 min · 0 public speakers

Reading and test scores ▶ 1:11:28

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Kent County school board approves speech therapy contract, hears middle school cost update 2:26:38

  • The superintendent presented a first-year update on the district's strategic plan, saying the district hit more targets than it missed and was not satisfied with performance in literacy and mathematics. 1:11:28
  • Board members also heard a special education staffing plan, a monthly financial report and a request for an FFA overnight trip to Indianapolis. 1:59:42
  • The board unanimously approved a sole-source speech therapist contract for school year 2026⁠-⁠27 with Illuma in the amount of $69,270. 2:27:02
  • A staff member reported a guaranteed maximum price of $69.8 million for the Kent County Middle School Replacement Project, with $39.9 million covered by the state and $29.9 million left for the county. 2:27:38

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Item by item (11)
  1. Opening, agenda and closed session 2:42
    • Trish McGee said the agenda vote was unanimous. 3:13
    • The board voted 4⁠-⁠0 to enter closed session to discuss personnel matters and consult with counsel on pending litigation related to a nationwide social media class action. 4:25
    • Trish McGee reported after closed session that the board discussed legal counsel and personnel issues and that no personnel items would be voted on. 4:27
    • Trish McGee announced the closed session motion passed 4⁠-⁠0. 4:27
  2. Consent agenda 1:10:25
    • The consent agenda included the minutes of the August 10th, 2026 open meeting and approval of a donation. 1:10:25
  3. Strategic plan first-year update 1:11:11
    • A staff member said the plan had 58 discrete points of measurement and that 3 measurements were still awaiting state data, and described the report as year 1 of a 4-year plan. 1:11:28
    • A staff member said literacy across the school system rose by a full 2 percentage points, said the district was not satisfied with mathematics, and said the district is using STAR Renaissance for K-8 this school year as MAP sunsets. 1:16:03
    • John Queen asked why the number of AP students dropped from 98 to 85, and a staff member cited an 11% reduction in staff that led to fewer courses. 1:31:45
  4. Superintendent's report 1:55:19
    • The superintendent said enrollment was 1,708 students as of that afternoon, including pre-K 3 through 12th grade, with a final count due September 30th. 1:55:19
    • A staff member said the district opened a 3-year-old pre-K program at Galena Elementary this year, and a staff member later said Galena's program has about 13 students. 1:56:22
  5. FFA national convention overnight trip 1:59:42
    • A staff member presented a request for a Kent County High School FFA overnight stay at the FFA National Convention in Indianapolis from October 20th through the 24th of 2026. 1:59:42
    • Students from the chapter described the trip, including transportation costs of roughly $275 a student and lodging at the Holiday Inn at the Indianapolis Airport. 2:00:53
    • A staff member said the trip is funded through fundraising from the FFA budget and that donations can be made by check to KCHS FFA. 2:06:42
  6. Special education staffing plan 2:08:49
    • A staff member presented the special education staffing plan and said the district has 6 conditionally certified special education teachers, not 8 as a typo in the plan stated. 2:09:00
    • Laura McKenzie asked about the outlook for conditionally certified teachers, and a staff member described individual coaching, structured workdays and after-school trainings with a stipend. 2:12:28
    • The staff member said the plan would return next month for approval. 2:20:08
  7. Monthly financial report 2:20:26
    • A staff member reported about $8.1 million in receipts so far this year, an increase of about $1 million attributed mainly to grant timing. 2:20:48
    • The staff member said about $14.1 million remains in the unrestricted fund and that $2.75 million sits in the school construction fund for the Kent County Middle School project. 2:22:24
  8. Speech therapist sole-source contract 2:24:53
    • A staff member said the sole-source contract with Illuma is with the same vendor used last year for the same services. 2:24:53
    • Trish McGee called for a motion to award the contract for school year 2026⁠-⁠27 to Illuma in the amount of $69,270. 2:27:00
    • Trish McGee announced the vote was unanimous. 2:27:31
  9. Middle school replacement project update 2:27:38
    • A staff member said the project is expected to cost $69.8 million, with $39.9 million covered by the state and $29.9 million by Kent County, and that the Maryland Stadium Authority holds the bids. 2:28:08
    • A staff member said value engineering focused on cosmetic items such as paint and finishes and that the county share is down from an estimate of about $31.2 after value engineering to $29.9. 2:29:27
    • A staff member said the project's square footage was not reduced and that the district would present the numbers to the county commissioners the next evening. 2:31:05
    • Trish McGee said the item was for information only and no action was needed. 2:32:13
  10. Board member comments 2:32:13
    • One board member said the commissioners would make another decision on the middle school the next day and asked the community to see it as more than a construction project. 2:33:47
    • John Queen announced a rally at Garnett Elementary at 5 PM followed by a march to the County Commissioners building at 6 PM. 2:37:07
    • One board member said there would be an opportunity the next night to support giving young people good options to stay in Kent County and very much looked forward to supporting that. 2:40:20
  11. Announcements and adjournment 2:41:55
    • Trish McGee announced a board retreat on Saturday, October 3rd, at 9:00 AM and the next monthly meeting on Monday, October 12th. 2:41:55
    • Trish McGee announced the vote to adjourn was unanimous. 2:43:33

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Kent County Public Schools Board of Education Meeting, September 14th, 2026”