On Tuesday, the Kent County Board of Commissioners approved a letter of intent for the construction of a new Kent County Middle School.
During a June 9, 2026 meeting of the Kent County Board of Commissioners, local leaders voted to provide a conditional letter of intent for the construction of a new Kent County Middle School. The letter does not obligate the county to fund the project but gets the discovery process underway at the state level to continue moving forward. With the bidding process being allowed to move forward it will allow the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) to provide the county with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) and the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) to do a preliminary assessment of available funds in the FY28 Capital Improvement Program.
From the letter:
This letter is intended to provide the assurance of conditional approval of funding to the Maryland Stadium Authority. The BCC commits to fund its share of the KCMS replacement project under the following conditions:
1. The GMP shall be developed based on a competitive procurement process for all bid packages. The CM shall use best efforts to obtain the most favorable pricing available, including soliciting competitive bids and negotiating with subcontractors and suppliers, while maintaining the required quality, long-term durability, and performance standards of the Project.
2. MSA will make best efforts negotiating with the CM to reduce the cost of general conditions, contingencies, etc., so as to arrive at a reasonable and feasible GMP.
3. The committed County share of funding will be determined when the IAC issues its re-calculation of the State share in mid- to late-July 2026.
4. The BCC reserves the right to reject the GMP and withdraw its support from the project if the estimated total County share exceeds an amount that the County is able to support financially.
Local officials reiterated why a cautious and thorough approach is necessary saying that the new middle school will be the largest project the county government has undertaken since construction of the high school in the 1970s. They further stated that it may affect the local government ability to fund other critical infrastructure needs for some years. More information is anticipated to be available in late July and early August.
