The Queen Anne's County Board of Education on Nov. 5 approved a series of items including a student travel request, curriculum additions and multiple procurement awards.

Kate Beaton, Kent Island High School athletic director, asked for permission for the varsity dance team to travel to Orlando, Fla., Feb. 5–9 to compete in the Dance Team Union National Championship. "Each team member would be responsible for paying about $200," Beaton said; the team will fundraise for the remainder. The board approved the travel request by voice vote with no fiscal impact listed to the district.

Michael Belt, supervisor of visual and performing arts, presented three new one‑credit high‑school courses—Music Technology, Film and Cinema, and Commercial Band—and told the board each "has no additional budget or staffing implications" and will use existing resources at both high schools. The board approved all three courses.

Jolene Smith, supervisor of special education, presented two nonpublic tuition requests. She said a placement at Kennedy Krieger Institute (Fairmount campus) would cost $138,702.47 and a second placement recorded in the meeting materials as $54,317.09; both would come from FY26 restricted and unrestricted accounts with partial reimbursement from MSDE. The board approved both tuition requests.

Facilities and procurement approvals included a recommended design‑services award for Kennard Elementary School HVAC renovation to Burdette, Kohler, Murphy & Associates (BKM) for $292,000 plus $8,000 in reimbursables (total $300,000) from FY26 capital funds, which the board approved. The board also approved a contract with Arbutus Refrigeration LLC for a walk‑in cooler and freezer at the district warehouse for $81,565 (FY26 local funds).

On a larger construction item, staff recommended rejecting a bid from General Commercial Construction of Falls Church, Va., as non‑responsive for failing to acknowledge required addenda and awarding the Bayside Elementary storefront replacement to Scheibel Construction of Huntingtown, Md. Project documents described a base bid of $1,217,000 plus alternates and a 10% contingency for a total encumbrance of $1,338,700 (FY26 state and local CIP). The meeting record contains a typographical error in the motion's fiscal‑impact line; the correct total encumbrance as stated earlier in the board packet is $1,338,700.

All the above motions were approved by voice vote during the Nov. 5 meeting. The board did not record a roll‑call tally in the public audio transcript for these motions; minutes and board docs (boarddocs packet) are the official record for vote details and supporting materials.

What happens next: Projects awarded will move into design or procurement phases and be funded from the FY26 capital or operating sources identified at the meeting. The district will schedule construction and confirm contract start dates and contingency use in follow‑up materials.