The Kennett School Board voted on two new clubs for the high school, received the results of an audit report, and shared an update about the efforts to build a new baseball field for Kennett Middle School at a brief meeting on Nov. 14.

After listening to requests from students at the high school, the school board formally approved the establishment of two new clubs at Kennett School: a Medical Club and a Mini-Thon organization.

The Medical Club is aimed at educating students about the pathway to occupations in the fields of health care and medicine.

The Mini-Thon Club will raise awareness about pediatric cancer and stage a fundraiser each year. Kennett High School will join a growing number of high schools in the area hosting these events. Mini-Thons are modeled after Penn State's Dance Marathon. Kennett High School's first Mini-Thon took place in February of this year as the school's Humanitarian Club took the lead in organizing the event. There were eight hours of activities for participants, including basketball, floor hockey, soccer, yoga, Zumba, line-dancing and more. The initial goal was to raise $5,000 for the Four Diamonds Fund during the Mini-Thon, but they were able to far exceed that goal, raising more than $16,600.

In other business at the Nov. 14 meeting, the school district received the independent audit report for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2016. The report was first presented to the district and reviewed at the Nov. 7 Finance Committee meeting. The district received what it typically referred to as a “clean opinion,” which is to say that the auditors did not have any significant reservations with regard to the financial statements. The audit report did not identify any findings or deficiencies in the district's financial operations or internal controls. The audit report was prepared by Barbacane Thornton and Company, certified public accountants. School board member Michael Finnegan thanked the school district's business office for the work that led to the good audit report.

In his Facilities and Operations Report, school board member Dominic Perigo, Jr. informed the board that district officials are still considering the options for moving forward with a plan to build a baseball field at the Kennett Middle School. Perigo explained that when the district first put the project out to bid, the best bid came in at $485,000, which was much higher than expected. District officials then scaled back the scope of the project and sought bids again. When the new bids came in, the best one was costing the district approximately $412,000, still more than what officials expected. District officials are now going back and taking another look at all the options.

The Kennett School Board's next meeting will take place at 7 p.m. On Monday, Dec. 5 at the Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center.