jaredw@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON – Canton Area School District’s board of education heard from concerned citizen Dale Keltz at their May meeting.
Keltz voiced his concerns about how the school has handled COVID restrictions, and that the school board should stop saying the pledge of allegiance.
“During the lock down you denied students their constitutional rights,” he said. When referring to the Pledge Of Allegiance Keltz said,“One nation under God, you failed to honor him.”
Business Manager Mark Jannone then added that it is a requirement of the Pennsylvania School Code that all board meetings are to begin with the pledge of allegiance.
Keltz then responded, “Well I’m asking that you discontinue it. If you’re not going to honor the Constitution of the United States, if you’re not going to honor God of creation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there’s no reason for you to stand up and take that pledge because you’re dishonoring me as a veteran, and you’re dishonoring all of the people who have laid their lives down so you can sit here tonight.”
Superintendent’s report
Canton Area District’s Superintendent Dr. Eric Briggs started off his report by citing two Pennsylvania State House Bills that are currently under discussion and that could have an effect on the school district.
He named House Bill 2022 for school-based behavioral health assistance, House Bill 2023 for a behavioral health curriculum, and House Bill 2024 for a mental health instruction study. He also thanked the Canton Moose for providing their meal for teacher appreciation week, along with thanking the Parent Teacher Association.
Dr. Briggs then went on to congratulate several teachers and staff on their retirement. He started by thanking Sarah Brown for her 20 years as custodian and custodian supervisor.
“Sarah’s always supportive of her staff and made sure they were diligent in their work they have done to ensure that our building would always look clean. Many times over my past six years here I’ve received comments on not only how nice our students and staff are, but also on how clean our facilities look. Sarah was a huge contributor to the cleanliness of our facilities. Thank you Sarah, and we wish you the best of luck on your retirement,” he said.
Dr. Briggs continued by thanking Elizabeth Cole for her 25 years as a teacher. “In recent years it was my pleasure to see how she would always reach out to attempt to help some of our neediest students and families to see if she could be of an additional support for them outside the school setting. Thank you Beth for the impact you’ve made for the past 25 years with our students and families. Your support will be greatly missed by all, and I wish you nothing but the best in your retirement,” he said.
Dr. Briggs then ended by thanking Robert Rockwell for 35 years as an educator, athletic director, and baseball coach.
“(Robert) was a master at assuring that not only students and athletes learn in the classroom and on the baseball field, but they did it with dignity and respect. Thank you Bob for the countless hours you have spent in the classroom, on the field, and attending sporting events to support all of the Canton Warriors. Thank you for being a model of what we call the warrior way,” he said.
Another main point of Dr. Briggs’ report was decreasing the truancy rate. He reported that 68 students were identified throughout the school year as missing more than 10 days of school. This did not include any days spent in quarantine or medical excuses. 16 of those students needed a truancy hearing to be fined, or fines and children and youth involvement and support.
Dr. Briggs also provided some updates. He announced that all formal and informal observations have been completed, and Mr. Wells has been working with teaching staff members as they complete their Act 13 goals for the Elementary School.
The Special Education Department is currently preparing for Extended School Year (ESY) Services. The program runs from June 13 through June 30 and will operate Monday through Thursday each week.
The Special Education Department will also be conducting a Child Count. It will tell the school which students will exit from special education services, and it provides a disciplined report with various factors from special education staff and personnel.
Other news
The board then approved the General Business, Art, Shop, Science, Custodial, and Fall Athletic bids, not exceeding the threshold of $36,481.63, for the 2022-23 school year.
The distribution of gaming funds in the amount of $375,791.88 to provide homestead and farmstead relief from Pennsylvania under the Act of 2006 was also accepted, along with the homestead and farmstead exclusion real estate tax assessment reductions for the amount of $262.96. This was resolved and dated back to the beginning of the current school year which began on July 1 2022 under the Homestead Property Exclusion Program Act.
The board also approved the Engagement Letter from EFPR Group, LLP to provide financial audits of the fiscal years 2021-22 for $27,500, 2022-23 for $28,500, and 2023-24 for $29,500.
The letter to the Canton Borough for the 2022 graduation parade on Friday, June 3, was also accepted.
The next Canton Area School District meeting will be held on Thursday, June 9, at 5 p.m. in the library.