Kennett policy committee swears in new board member and forwards updated policies to full board

The Kennett Consolidated School District’s policy committee swore in newly appointed board member Willa High Totower and voted to send a slate of revised policies to the full board for approval at its April 27 meeting.

President and interim committee chair Dave Croninberg opened the meeting noting third-party technology problems were limiting access to the agenda and materials. "We're flying by the seat of our pants a little bit tonight," he said, before administering the oath to High Totower, who was introduced as the replacement for Linda Kario.

The committee then postponed approval of last month’s policy minutes and moved into review of multiple policy updates. Croninberg told members he had identified an unintended change in Policy 005 and presented redline language intended to replace the current text; the committee referred that correction and the related Policy 006 to the full board after members said both items had been workshopped and reviewed by the solicitor previously.

The committee reviewed the 700-series policies in turn. Director of Facilities Dave Bryce summarized Policy 701 (facilities planning), noting the changes mainly clarify responsibility language — including a superintendent or designee duty to report enrollment projections annually to inform planning — and recommended moving the policy forward. "We updated it but these four that I updated … were the ones that we updated," Bryce said while describing the redline edits.

Policy 702 (gifts, grants and donations) was edited to clarify authority language and to state that gifts accepted by the board become district property unless specifically stipulated otherwise; Bryce added that the board would be responsible for maintenance of accepted gifts unless conditions state otherwise. Chief Financial Officer Mark Tracy distinguished that Policy 702 focuses on physical plant donations while other financial-donation language is addressed elsewhere.

The committee referred Policy 703 (sanitary management), which now requires a sanitary management program in all district buildings, periodic cleanliness inspections and assignment of responsibility to the director of facilities and building principals. Members noted the language aligns with Pennsylvania Department of Health guidance.

Policy 704 (maintenance) was updated to emphasize a regular maintenance program, equipment replacement, modernization and periodic inspections. Dr. Michael Barber, assistant superintendent, described plans for a maintenance checklist and making that information available on request.

Dr. Kimberly Rizzo Saunders, superintendent, presented Policy 827, which adds conflict-of-interest language about private compensation for staff who provide student services. The recommended text says staff who are directly responsible for a student may not accept private compensation to provide supplemental instruction to that same student; the policy directs staff to use the district’s MTSS process and special-education channels for student supports before private options are considered. "If they are in their class, they should be first moving them through MTSS," Rizzo Saunders said. Members discussed whether the change could affect negotiated agreements and whether an executive-session discussion of negotiation strategy would be appropriate; the committee nevertheless moved 827 to the full board.

Finally, Rizzo Saunders reviewed proposed changes to visitor and parent/guardian relations policies (907 and 908) adding civility and respectful-conduct expectations for visitors and representatives. The language states that speech or behavior that materially disrupts the educational environment or infringes on the rights, safety or dignity of others will not be tolerated and describes escalation pathways — from the staff member being addressed to the building principal and, if necessary, to assistant superintendents or law enforcement when appropriate. Committee members asked about standardized escalation procedures and solicitor review; Rizzo Saunders said she had pulled language from the school code and was willing to run the changes past the solicitor if the committee wanted.

All the reviewed policies (005, 006, 701, 702, 703, 704, 827, 907 and 908) were forwarded to the full board for consideration, typically "without objection" during the meeting. The committee adjourned after Croninberg thanked staff and noted the technology issues had affected some deliberations.

What’s next: Each referred policy will appear on the full board agenda for formal consideration; the superintendent indicated she would consult the solicitor when members requested additional legal review.