New Kent School Board gets first look at proposed CIP recommendations for FY2025-26

Even though New Kent County Public Schools are barely into the new year, plans are already underway to improve facilities in the next fiscal year.

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jonathan Hochman presented New Kent County’s School Board a first look at facility upgrades for consideration in the FY2025-26 cycle during Monday night’s regular board meeting.

Hochman’s plan was broken down by category, as well as short-term and long-term considerations. Among early recommendations for transportation include the purchase of four school buses ($640,000), and a car and van for school transportation ($99,000). Operation upgrades include $1.4 million to finalize New Kent Middle School’s HVAC system, $450,000 for New Kent High School’s Roof Replacement, and $425,000 for improved lighting for all schools. Athletic upgrades are recommended at $3.5 million which includes new locker rooms, a concession stand, fencing, and ticket booth for the stadium, $600,000 for lighting upgrades at the baseball and softball fields, and $75,000 for court maintenance.

With New Kent County’s continuing growth, $3.5 million has been requested for additional classrooms at New Kent Middle School, while $750,000 has been tabbed for New Kent Elementary School playground equipment replacement. In total, all the short-term replacements mentioned above total $6,844,000.

A continuous item that remains on the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and has for years is addressing New Kent Elementary School. According to Hochman’s presentation, upgrades or replacement of the facility currently has a $55 million price tag attached to it.

School board members approved of the recommended items on the CIP and will propose those items to county leaders at future meetings for further discussions.

In other matters addressed at Monday night’s school board meeting:

–Received an update on the cell phone policy implemented and the number of violations. As of Monday, there have been approximately 52 cell phone violations at New Kent Middle School, with six of the violations as repeat offenses. At New Kent High School, there have been 248 violations with 40 repeat offenses.