Kent County School Board President Michael Harvey sat down with the Chestertown Spy to talk candidly about a challenging year of budget woes, school building consolidation, and the loss of a new principal at Kent County High School. Even after what many would consider to be the county public schools “annus horribilis,” Professor Harvey, who also is Chair of Washington College’s department of business management, remains confident that real progress is being made.
Spy News: School Board President Harvey Reviews a Tough Year
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Doneitall says
I’m afraid that things will get worse before they get better.
Concerned Citizen says
Problem is….if you listen to this interview – and the word “inkling” is used….INKLINGS were in fact all over the place – on an everyday basis but No-one at the board office or Admin listened.That is the true problem. No listened until it was too late. Foreshadowing was everywhere. Its sad.
Kent lifelong citizen says
Unfortunately what Mr Harvey does not want anyone to know (and does not think that the majority of we “locals” are smart enough to understand) is that he has an ulterior motive. Mr Harvey truly wants to completely dismantle our public school system here in Kent County as he desperately wants a Charter School here. Combining the schools is an excellent fiscal decision but it will drive families from our towns to outlying counties where their children are not forced to ride school buses for an hour and a half to two hours one way! This idiocracy is already present for high school children who are forced to get up too early in the morning to catch a school bus at 6:40am to accomodate the athletics at the high school. As a healthcare professional I can tell you some of the primary reasons for the High School students failing on assessment tests is that they are ALL terribly sleep deprived. I htink it is time to wipe the School Board clean and elect more “local” people who actually care about this county and the children in it!!
John Seidel says
The notion that someone who came here to live and work is not a “local,” or that only “lifelong citizens” somehow have the franchise on what is best for Kent County is both unfair and way off base. I know that Michael Harvey cares deeply about Kent County and its schools, as do many other “come heres.” He wouldn’t take on such a miserable job if he didn’t care. You may not agree with him or the Board, but how about sticking to the facts and arguing the issues, rather than throwing out red herrings? We need to improve the schools, and personal attacks and “us vs. them” don’t help.
Dawn Graney says
The outcome of this consolidation process has disrespected the majority of public opinion. This type of action is unacceptable from a local agency that should be the role model for ethics, and making educated decisions. This has caused massive distrust among citizens and is creating a reputation for KCPS that will continue to stifle the economic development of our entire county. How are we going convince educators and families to come to our beautiful county, when we allow agencies, such as the Board of Education, to treat current residents with such disrespect? People are your biggest cheerleaders, deserving of transition and planning. How can a group so “smart” make so many errors in judgment?
citizen says
Where is the savings??All the buildings stay open, so no savings there. All are fully (or in some cases, more than fully, with class sizes of 13 and 14 students in some buildings) staffed. For the same number of students the amount of total staff has increased, so no savings in salaries. And the number of administrators for those students is ridiculous. Transportation costs must have increased – as students are farther from their schools. The board of ed building is costing a fortune – no savings there. All on the dime of kent county taxpayers! Maybe it’s time the county commissioners put a stop to this mess. All over the country local governments are tightening belts and Kent county seems to have a money tree when it comes to what the school system wants.