One school board member resigned from Bermudian Springs school district as the board prepared to hold its annual reorganization meeting on Monday evening.
Travis Mathna, formerly the board’s vice president, resigned due to personal reasons at the beginning of the caucus meeting. The board held back-to-back caucus and regular meetings.
Mathna has juggled his school board and other commitments but said the long-term illness of a family member has necessitated more of his time and energy. Mathna was at the ER with that family member when he was due to attend the November ACTI meeting and had to use Zoom to tune in from the hospital.
“I cannot commit this time needed for my school board duties and it is not fair to my fellow school board members, as well,” Mathna said.
Mathna said he had initially hoped to complete the rest of his term, which runs through 2025.
“I feel like I’m letting folks down that voted for me but if I cannot focus mentally on the tasks of my school board duties, then I’m not any good to them at this point in time,” Mathna said. “It was a great honor to serve on this board with all of my fellow board members. Even though we did not agree on everything at all times, I have great respect for each and every one of you and will greatly miss the back-and-forth that even sometimes got heated but everybody showed respect for each other.”
Board president Daniel Chubb thanked Mathna for his time on the board.
“Thank you so much for your time and investment in this board,” Chubb said. “It’s greatly appreciated. We enjoyed working with you and getting to know you on a personal level, to know you better. We keep your father and family in our thoughts and prayers and everything like that, and again, thank you for all you have done.”
In addition to serving as the board’s vice president, Mathna also served on the ACTI and policy committees.
The district will also lose Joshua Korb, the director of innovation, who turned in his resignation, effective Jan. 6.
Acting superintendent Shannon Myers led the meeting with Chubb.
Myers, the district’s assistant superintendent, has held the top leadership role in the interim while the district hunted for a replacement for former superintendent Shane Hotchkiss, who retired.
The board recently hired Dr. Brad Sterner as its new superintendent.
Sterner, the former assistant superintendent of Conewago Valley School District, attended the meeting on Monday while Myers led it. Sterner will lead the board’s January meetings.
School calendar
Myers presented the board with two possibilities for the 2025-26 school calendar.
The first option was highly similar to the 2024-25 calendar, Myers said. The second one took into account a request from the athletics department to begin school one week later in August.
The second choice also aligned more smoothly with holidays, Myers said. While it pushes the last student day to June 3, that option was the most popular with staff.
“Some people prefer (option) A, because they liked starting earlier and ending sooner,” Myers said. “I will say, and I don’t want this to influence anyone’s decision, but most people saw B and felt like B was in the best interest of staff and students.”
No final decision was made on Monday, though some board members voiced a preference for the second calendar option.
The district calendar will likely be finalized during the board’s meeting in January.
Finance
Justin Peart, the district’s business manager, apprised the board of a request from its tax collectors to review their compensation.
The current compensation has been in place since 2010-11 and the district ties for the lowest tax collector compensation rate in Adams County, according to Peart.
Currently, Bermudian Springs pays $2 per bill collected. The highest-paying district in the county pays $3.75 per bill, according to Peart.
Peart said if the district increased its compensation to $3 per collected bill, the district would see an increase in its budget in the amount of $13,716. In reality, the increase would not take effect until January 2026, according to Peart.
Peart recommended making the increase, saying $3 per bill collected is “definitely reasonable” and a small difference to the budget.
“I think it would go a long way with our tax collectors… they do a good job,” Peart said. “They get us the money.”
The board will likely decide on the issue in January.
The next caucus meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13.
The next regular board meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Imari Scarbrough is a freelance journalist. She was a staff newspaper reporter for five years before becoming a freelancer in 2017. She has written on crime, environmental issues, severe weather events, local and regional government and more.
You can visit her website at ImariJournal.com.