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Student board member reports on new school plans, a net gain in enrollment and pre-K expansion
Summary
Owen Swanson, student member of the Kent County Public Schools board, updated the board on a planned new school construction project for which the county is seeking early bids and additional state funding; reported a net gain of 13 students through September; and described a 24-child, grant-funded pre-K program hosted at the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown.
Owen Swanson, the student member of the board for Kent County Public Schools, delivered the October 13 student-member report, updating the board on a new school construction project, enrollment figures and a grant-funded pre-kindergarten program.
On the construction project, Swanson said Kent County commissioners recently met and that “Commissioner Price made a motion to allow us to get early bids on construction materials so we can get ahead in line of spring material demand, which is good for pricing, and finalize decisions related to funding in May 2026.” He said the county plans to request additional state funding and to seek adjustments to the state–county payment split, which the transcript records as "67 to 23." Swanson urged ongoing advocacy to maintain momentum on the project: “The most important thing for you watching this to know is that we need to continue to advocate for and support the construction of this new facility.”
Swanson presented an unofficial enrollment snapshot through the end of September and reported, “We have gained 13 net students compared to last year,” reversing a projected decline. He provided school-level detail: Galena Elementary up 2 students, Rock Hall Elementary up 9, the middle school up 7, the high school up 7, and Garnett Elementary down 12. He said most withdrawals appear to result from family relocations out of county or state rather than transfers to private schools.
On early education, Swanson described a three-year-old pre-K program funded by a grant that serves a cohort of 24 children. The program, which began Sept. 15, is hosted in space provided by the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown. Swanson said that “students are only interacting with Kent County Public School staff and volunteers approved by HR” and that KCPS calculated families’ savings by multiplying an average regional weekly daycare cost ($210) by 38 weeks to estimate that families save nearly $8,000 per year by participating.
Swanson said KCPS hopes to expand three-year-old programming to Galena and Rock Hall elementary schools and to implement further early education offerings to better prepare children for kindergarten. He closed his report by thanking listeners and signing off.
The report did not record a formal vote or action by the Kent County Public Schools board on the items Swanson discussed; the motion Swanson cited took place among county commissioners and the transcript does not state the motion’s outcome or vote tally.
