Kennett school board approves policies, CCIU budgets and releases proposed $103M operating budget

The Kennett Consolidated School District Board of Education voted April 8 to approve a slate of policy changes, contracts and intermediate‑unit budgets and to release its proposed final general operating budget for 2024–25.

The board approved revisions to several policies, including policy 105 (curriculum), policy 108 (textbook adoption, now explicitly including digital formats), and policy 251, a comprehensive rewrite that expands the district’s prior homelessness policy to cover students experiencing foster care and other forms of educational instability. Board members and staff said the longer policy implements Act 1 of 2022 requirements and aims to remove barriers to attendance and credit recovery for a broad group of students. Miss Jones and other staff described the policy as a ground‑up effort led by district social workers, and President Cronenberg thanked staff for the work.

On finance items, the board approved the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) Core Services budget of $38,662,587 and the CCIU Occupational Education budget of $33,229,493. The district will not vote on the larger CCIU marketplace services budget, which was described in the presentation but requires no board action.

The board approved administration requests including personnel changes and a bill list covering multiple funds (Mr. Tracy detailed the general operating bill list for the period in the amount of $3,289,805.28), a contract with Reading Aloud for one‑to‑one structured literacy tutoring when the IU cannot provide certified staff, the district special education plan for submission to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and one confidential settlement addendum and one settlement agreement with parents (details withheld because of confidentiality).

After discussion led by finance committee chair Mr. Finnegan and Mr. Tracy, the board voted to release the proposed final general operating budget for public review: $103,000,702 for fiscal year 2024–25. Mr. Finnegan said the package reduces previously modeled tax impacts and projects a proposed real estate tax increase of 2.82 percent, which he described as an average residential increase of about $168. The board emphasized that the budget release is a required step in the calendar and that final adoption is scheduled for June 10.

Votes at a glance (actions taken April 8, 2024):
• Approve minutes of March 11, 2024 — approved.
• Approve committee minutes (curriculum, policy, finance) — approved.
• Approve personnel report (retirements, hires, leaves) — approved.
• Approve bill list across funds ($3,289,805.28 general operating list for the period) — approved.
• Approve Kennett High School choir overnight trip (October; initial group up to 40 students; cost $150 per student plus buses) — approved.
• Approve contract with Reading Aloud for literacy tutoring services (when CCIU cannot staff) — approved.
• Approve district special education plan for submission to PDE — approved.
• Approve one confidential settlement addendum and one settlement agreement — approved (details not public).
• Approve CCIU Core Services budget ($38,662,587) — approved.
• Approve CCIU Occupational Education budget ($33,229,493) — approved.
• Release proposed final general operating budget for 2024–25 ($103,000,702) for public review — approved.

Board members said more detailed backup is available in board documents for each agenda item, and the administration urged residents to review posted materials and provide feedback during the public comment period associated with the budget calendar. The board also noted that PDE guidelines inform some curricular and guidance materials referenced during public comment.