Huntingdon School Board Approves Budget, Welcomes Reps

Huntingdon Special School District's Board of Education welcomed their newly-appointed student representatives at their regular meeting July 16. They also approved the district's FY25/26 budget, discussed upcoming projects, and updated a number of board policies.

Student Representatives

Paige Costello and Madison Dill attended their first official meeting as student representatives to the school board.

During April's meeting, the board approved adding student representatives to attend meetings and offer input from the student body. Since only two students applied, they were both approved.

Huntingdon Special School District's student representatives Madison Dill (second from left) and Paige Costello (third from left) with Director of Schools Dr. Jonathan Kee (far left) and board chair Dr. Lee Carter (right). Photo by Jesse Joseph

“We’re excited to have you here,” said chairman Dr. Lee Carter. “We look forward to a great year ahead and the insight you’ll bring from the student perspective.”

Costello and Dill are both upcoming Seniors in the 2025-2026 school year.

2025-2026 Budget

The board approved a $15.26 million balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget represents a $677,985 increase over the previous year, with no change to the local maintenance of effort or tax rate.

Director of Schools Dr. Jonathan Kee called it “a good step forward” for both students and staff.

“This is the largest overall budget we’ve ever had,” Kee said. “We feel really good about this and what we can do with salaries and what we can do for our students.”

The general purpose budget totals $12.77 million, which is up from last year by $319,340. The cafeteria fund increased to $815,928 and federal projects to $975,613. Debt service allocation rose to $698,175.

Certified Staff will see a $3,000 salary increase, while non-certified staff will get a five percent raise.

Additionally, staff members with more than 20 years of service will receive an extra personal day.

The art position at Huntingdon Primary Schoo l will also be upgraded from non-certified to certified. The current teacher, Alex Gooch, is set to earn her certification.

"We want to keep her here for as long as we can," Dr. Kee said.

The Director also highlighted a few of the district's signature programs.

“We want to continue to prioritize programs like agriculture and STEM,” he said. “We’re also continuing free student admission to all home athletic events for the third year. We will [continue to] offer free breakfast and lunch through the Community Eligibility Provision.”

The budget is based on a certified tax rate of $0.7022 per $100 of assessed value, with $0.4482 allocated for general purpose and $0.2540 for debt service.

Kee emphasized that this rate reflects no tax increase.

“We’re still paying our bills. We’re still doing very well in our budget, and we’re blessed because of that,” Kee told the board.

Other Business

The board approved $84,221 in additional paving at the high school. The project includes the north side student parking lot and new paving around the baseball press box currently under construction.

Josh Tucker and crew with Tucker Masonry pouring the footers for the new press box at HHS Baseball field on July 17. Photo by Jesse Joseph

Kee said Martin Paving agreed to maintain the current rate per square yard from their previous contract for the rear parking lot.

The board also voted to increase the Ruth Rigsby Scholarship of Excellence award from $1,000 to $2,000 annually until the fund is depleted.

The scholarship fund's balance is approximately $16,000.

When it was first set up, recipients were paid from the interest that had accrued.

"Some years, the interest didn't amount to a whole lot," Dr. Carter said.

The school board changed the payout to $1,000 in 2018.

After the board approved the motion, Dr. Carter said, "She would love it."

School Board Policy Updates

The board unanimously approved ten policy updates.

Policy 4.403 was updated to clarify that materials may not be removed solely on religious grounds.

Policy 4.406 was revised under the Teen Social Media Act to prohibit students from accessing social media platforms on district internet unless authorized for educational use.

Policy 4.601 was amended to require that K–8 report cards now include results from the student’s most recent universal reading screener and dyslexia screening.

Policy 5.119 , which governs the employment of retirees, was updated to reflect state guidelines requiring a 60-day break in service before rehire and prohibiting pre-arranged rehiring agreements.

Policy 5.305 , which governs the district's FMLA guidelines, was amended to require that the state-funded six weeks of paid leave for qualifying medical events be taken in no less than one-week increments. This prevents employees from using paid FMLA in one-day increments.

Policy 5.701 was changed to ease the requirements for obtaining a certified substitute for a teacher on extended medical leave from 20 days to 30 days.

Policy 6.303 defines who is allowed to conduct a search on students. Only school resource officers and administrators conduct them. However, the policy requires administrators to complete state-provided training before conducting searches, limiting the task in the meantime to just school resource officers.

Policy 6.312 was rewritten to reinforce that student wireless devices must remain turned off and stored throughout the school day, except under specific circumstances such as emergencies or accommodations.

Policy 6.411 was updated to require 40 minutes of daily physical activity for elementary students and to limit fundraising with non-compliant foods to 20 days per semester.

Dr. Kee noted that while the physical activity requirement is a positive step, it presents scheduling challenges.

“We didn’t get any extra time in the school day, so something else has to give. That’s the reality,” he said.

One concern raised was the potential negative impact the new physical activity requirement could have on instructional time, particularly in core subjects like reading and math.

Reducing classroom time could unintentionally put students at risk of falling below proficiency benchmarks, with the state’s third-grade retention law tied closely to literacy scores.

Lastly, policy 6.600 now mandates that a school must transfer student records to another district within five days of a student’s withdrawal.

Huntingdon Special School District's next meeting is on August 20 at 5 p.m.

Huntingdon School Board Approves Budget, Welcomes Reps

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