With the new school year now underway, the Kennett School Board meeting on Sept. 14 was highlighted by the approval of the appointments of dozens of new staff members, most of whom were hired to fill vacancies during the summer.

The school board approved the appointment of Jacob Moore as the new assistant principal at the Kennett Middle School. Moore previously served as a Spanish teacher at Perryville High School for eight years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Slippery Rock University and his master’s degree in educational administration from McDaniel College.

Kennett’s assistant superintendent, Dr. Michael Barber, told the board that there were 56 candidates for the position. The Kennett administration evaluated all the applicants, and then conducted two rounds of interviews.

“Mr. Moore was exceptional throughout the process,” Barber said.

The board also approved Sean Harvey as the new Kennett High School athletic director. Harvey comes to Kennett from the Oxford Area School District, where he was a teacher and a former athletic director for about ten years. Harvey earned his bachelor’s degree in social studies and his master’s degree in athletic administration from West Chester University.

In addition to their strong performance as educators, both Moore and Harvey come to Kennett with a long list of accomplishments as coaches of sports teams, Barber noted.

The assistant superintendent also offered the board 19 new instructional staff members for approval. The board reviewed and formally approved these hirings as well.

The school board also approved the retirement of Sharon Bennett, who is departing as the director of special education after nearly seven years with the district.

KCSD has reached an agreement with AssetWorks for the re-inventory of appraisal services. Each year, the district contracts with an independent appraiser to conduct an on-site inspection to inventory all capitalized and controlled fixed assets, including machinery, furniture, and equipment. This district-owned property will be recorded in a database of fixed assets. Then, at the conclusion of the on-site inventory, a report will be generated detailing the description, location, value, depreciation, and other information so that the district can maintain accurate records for financial accounting and insurance purposes. The district’s business office tracks annual fluctuations in assets so that the re-inventory appraisal services will only be necessary once every five years. The school board approved the contract with AssetWorks on a five-year agreement for the re-inventory appraisal services, with the first four years having an annual fee of $1,750, and the last year’s annual fee set at $7,800. This will allow the district to save approximately $24,200 over the life of the contract.

The school board’s next meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at Greenwood Elementary School.