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Board assigns Parkside/North Walnut development to Bancroft and hears two public-safety and library-content concerns
Summary
Trustees voted to assign the Parkside (Parks at North Walnut) development to Bancroft Elementary's attendance area; public commenters urged the district to review emergency communications after a private-school lockdown and raised questions about allegedly explicit digital library materials accessible to students outside district Wi‑Fi.
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — The Kennett Consolidated School District board on Nov. 10 voted to assign parcels for a new Parkside development (Parks at North Walnut) to Bancroft Elementary's attendance area and heard two public comments raising safety and content concerns.
Mister Tracy described demographer projections for the Parkside development, estimating about 75 new students across grade levels (approximately 38 elementary). The recommendation—which will not move current students but assigns future parcels as residences are built—passed on a voice vote. Administration and trustees discussed larger build-out studies and recommended a formal forecasting study within three to five years if development patterns continue.
During public comment, Dina Marie Vanover recounted an Oct. 31 lockdown at Pathway, an approved private school her son attends; she said federal agents on site did not identify themselves, local and state agencies provided inconsistent information, and parents were left without clear communications for roughly two hours. Vanover asked the district to share best practices with affiliated private schools and to review emergency protocols to ensure timely parent notification and coordination with local and federal authorities.
Rick Bochanski raised concerns about content accessible via linked library resources (Catalog/Access PA/Power Library), saying he found titles he considered explicit and asking whether the district had a problem with that material. The administration responded that the links Bochanski referenced are blocked on KCSD Wi‑Fi, that students may access library resources from home outside district controls, and that the district has previously answered similar queries.
What happens next: The board said it would incorporate community input into ongoing emergency-protocol reviews and can provide factual details to partner schools; trustees also reiterated that district network filtering restricts the sites described when students are on campus.
