The Gettysburg Area School District’s Board of Directors returned from summer recess with questions surrounding the Athletics Handbook, proposed Team Room, and Adams County Technical Institute.
All of the projects will be further examined at the board’s Aug. 17 meeting.
Athletics Handbook.
Board member David Sites insists the district “needs to change the culture,” starting with athletes’ eligibility.
The current handbook states that a student-athlete cannot be failing more than one class and still compete. Sites proposed changing the rule so students failing any class cannot compete.
“Being an athlete is a privilege, and they need to earn it. They can’t float through it and go play,” Sites said.
Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Matzner did not offer an opinion on Sites’ proposal but noted that the current handbook aligns with PIAA standards. Sites wants Gettysburg to stress academics first, noting the order of words in the term “student athlete.”
Board member Kathleen Pratt supported Sites’ proposal. Matzner and Board President Alice Broadway suggested the topic be tabled until the next meeting so they could get insight from Principal Jeremy Lusk and Athletic Director Kody Godsey, who were not in attendance.
Pratt and Sites agreed, noting their input is not likely to change their stance.
Team Room
In October 2025, the board of directors gave what appeared to be final approval to build a team room at Warrior Stadium. Almost a year later, the proposal is up in the air.
Josh Reynolds, director of facilities/school safety, said obtaining permits delayed the project so it had to be rebid, giving the current board the opportunity to rethink their predecessors’ decision.
A team room with a viewing platform is expected to cost $2.409 million, according to estimates provided with the board agenda. Reynolds said the cost has increased about $300,000 since last year.
District administrators do not support the viewing platform, citing safety concerns. Removing it from the plan would reduce the total cost by $205,000.
Sites and Pratt questioned whether the entire project is necessary.
“I continue to have heartburn that it really serves few students in the overall scope of our school district, and we just raised taxes 3.5%,” Pratt said.
The board is expected to vote on the project Aug. 17.
ACTI
Three of Adams County Technical Institute’s five participating districts have approved Adams County Technical Institute’s purchase of land near New Oxford for a new school. Gettysburg and Littlestown are the holdouts, but the board is keeping the door open to changing its mind.
Anthony Coleman, project manager from Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, confirmed ACTI needs 140,000 square feet. Some community members are pushing for ACTI to purchase the current HACC Gettysburg property on Old Harrisburg Road, which is 100,000 square feet. The additional space would require 25 acres of land, which is not possible on the HACC land due to wetlands and zoning issues.
Sites asked if ACTI could combine the HACC land and the existing ACTI building, located next to the High School on Old Harrisburg Road. Coleman said the board examined a similar proposal a few years ago, but the Joint Operating Committee declined due to a desire to have one building on one property.
“School districts have multiple buildings already and they are under one umbrella,” Sites retorted. “So from a theory standpoint, I wouldn’t say that’s true.”
Dr. Tony Payne, ACTI director, noted that he joined the school in July and is focused on providing more opportunities for students.
“If you say ‘we are going to purchase 17 construction trailers and put them down Route 30 so you can service more students, then I am going to be ‘OK, let’s do it,’” he said. “We had 20% of students who got rejected this year.”
Coleman said if ACTI purchases the land, classes would likely not begin for four or five years. Board member Tim Seigman asked if ACTI could lease HACC in the meantime so more students can receive technical education during construction.
“That would have a couple of benefits,” Payne said. “We could serve more students and start to get the operational costs closer to where it would be when it would be finished.”
Broadway suggested Seigman present his idea to the Joint Operating Committee, of which is he is a member.
Board member Ryan Kerney noted that if Gettysburg rejects the ACTI proposal during its Aug. 17 meeting, it would still be responsible for paying for it if Littlestown approves it. Conewago Valley, Bermudian Springs, and Fairfield expressed their support earlier this summer.
