June 13, 2023 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Christopher David Millard

Christopher David Millard, 58, died peacefully at home on Friday, June 9, surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of Kristi Roberts Millard with whom he shared 41 years of his life and 36 years of marriage.

Born in Buffalo, N.Y. to David J. Millard (deceased) and Barbara Dietrich Rizzo, Chris moved to Houston, Texas during his teenage years graduating in 1982 from Stratford High School.

Chris went on to study civil engineering at Texas A&M University, graduating in 1986. Chris was a proud Aggie and loved participating in all A&M traditions, such as bonfires, yell practices and attending football games.

After college, Chris worked for 17 years at Dupont starting as an engineer and working his way up to Global Strategy director. In 2015, Chris moved on to work for Seieffe Corporation as their vice president of business development. Chris had a strong work ethic and took pride in all that he accomplished for Dupont and Seieffe.

Undoubtedly, Chris’ greatest pride in life are his children James and Anna. He was active in all extracurricular activities from coaching little league (baseball and softball) to attending ice hockey games and tournaments to being a “dance dad” at yearly recitals.

Chris was an outstanding husband, father, son, brother, friend, and provider. He was the life of any gathering and the host with the most! His positive energy, determination, and sense of humor carried him throughout his professional and private life.

In addition to his wife, Chris’ memory will be kept alive by his two children James Millard and Anna Millard. He is survived by his mother Barbara Rizzo of Baltimore, Md., sisters Jackie Kramer (Steve) of Baltimore, Md., Jennifer Nichols (Brian) of Syracuse, N.Y., nephews Justin, Adam and niece Nora. Chris is also survived by his stepmother Judy Millard of Houston, Texas, and three sisters-in-law and their families who he loved dearly!

Family and friends are invited to visit with Chris’ family from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 8, at the Avon Grove Church of the Nazarene 240 State Road., West Grove, PA 19390. A Celebration of Life will be held immediately following visitation. Burial will be private.

Chris’ grand dog Penny brought him so much comfort and joy during treatment. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Providence Animal Center (Penny’s rescue) https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E348887&id=3 or mailed to Animal Providence Center at 555 Sandy Bank Road, Media, PA 19063 in Chris’ honor.

To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com

Arrangements by the Kuzo Funeral Home, Kennett Square.

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Budgets and all-day K at U-CF

School & Education

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District administration continues recommending all-day kindergarten starting in the 2025-2026 school year. School Board directors will be voting on that and the next school budget next Monday.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Michael Audevard reviewed the results of a survey the district ran from May 16 to May 20 in which 88 percent of the 554 respondents said they were in favor of all-day kindergarten, while 10 percent were not in favor. Audevard’s comments came during the School Board’s June 12 work session.

Audevard said those who don’t want the change expressed concerns over how it will affect school taxes and a preference for the half-day. The difference was 50/50, with half concerned about taxes and the other half simply favoring half-days. He added that some of the respondents in favor of all-day K wanted it to start sooner than 2025, while some said they want it to start later.

The remaining 2 percent expressed concerns about the pre-first program, he said but that the percentage was too small to draw conclusions and the responses did not address the question asked.

“I don’t want that small percentage to indicate how much the community is thinking about pre-first,” he said. “But the overall major takeaway was that the vast majority of respondents are in favor of the full-day kindergarten program.”

Audevard continued, saying the pre-first program would remain but only at Unionville Elementary School for space reasons. The other schools don’t have enough room. Additionally, the district would be re-evaluating the pre-first program for the 2027-28 school year.

The cost to implement all-day K is estimated at $2.08 million, Audevard said, with just less than $1.5 million for staffing.

School Board directors are scheduled to vote on the proposal next week during the regular meeting. Also scheduled for a vote at the June 19 meeting is the 2023-2024 academic year budget.

The current budget proposal calls for $100.9 million in appropriations with a millage rate of 31.95 mils in property taxes for properties in Chester County municipalities in the district, and 16.72 mils for properties in Chadds Ford Township, the lone Delaware County municipality in the district. (A mil is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.)

Director of Finance Joe Deady said the 31.95 mils in Chester County is a 3.97 percent increase over this past year, and the Delaware County rate is a 4.63 percent increase. The weighted average increase is 4.1 percent.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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