By Chris Barber
Contributing Writer

Kennett Consolidated School District Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders has her sights set on strengthening the school’s counseling system and enhancing it beyond state requirements.

In the report she presented through Director of Pupil Services and Supports Cassandra Jones at the July 14 meeting, Rizzo Saunders illustrated her goals in charts that compared the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommendations with the additions she hopes to make.

In general, the Kennett enhancements seek to further identify student needs, issues and challenges to a greater degree.

To that end, they have added a fifth counselor at the high school level and will establish a steering committee to outline the final recommendations.

Those recommendations will be presented to the board in February 2026 for board approval and will be sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education by September 2026.

At the current time there is one counselor in each of the elementary schools, three in the middle school and five in the high school.

In her announcement of staff changes, Director of Human Resources Chris Marsala presented two items of note: The first was the retirement of middle school health and physical education teacher Dan Augustine after 36 years, and the other was the change in assignments of several counselors.

Tia Ennis, who has been a counselor at Greenwood Elementary, will move to the high school, and Jennifer Reinheimer, who has been a counselor at the middle school, will move to Greenwood Elementary School.

Jaime Halpert has been added as the assistant principal at Greenwood Elementary.

In previous meetings, several parents had expressed concerns that Greenwood students have been under stress because of changes in the administration and undergoing the experience of building construction.

Board President Dave Kronenberg said later in the meeting that he believes the changes and new assignments at Greenwood will benefit the students as well as their parents.

In connection with the financial reports presented by CFO Mark Tracy, Rizzo Saunders said that with the federal cancellation of school support funds, Kennett will lose $370,000. She said the school program of breakfast and free lunches would no longer be funded by federal money, but she did not say they would be eliminated.
“[The federal funding] is a real loss,” she said.

In the absence of Facilities Director Dave Brice, Tracy announced that the construction work on the two new elementary schools is continuing and is still on schedule.

New Garden Elementary has progressed to the point where many interior features are being added now, including some of the painting.

At Greenwood Elementary, the second of three water retention basins are nearing construction, as is the new playground.

The schools are scheduled for students’ entrances in September 2026.

Tracy also said the new roof installations that will control heating and air conditioning at Mary D. Lang Kindergarten are nearing completion.