Huntingdon School Board Approves Calendar Changes

HUNTINGDON (February 18) — The Huntingdon Special School District Board of Education met Wednesday afternoon to finalize amendments to the 2025-26 school year calendar after the ten-day break caused by Winter Storm Fern.

The Huntingdon Special School District began the school year with 13 stockpile days. Two were used in the fall semester for staff development days, leaving 11 days available at the time of the winter storm. Because students were out for 10 days, Director of Schools Dr. Jonathan Kee recommended for the board to amend the HSSD calendar to remove spring semester staff development days — February 2 and April 6 — and make them into regular instruction days. This way, HSSD will keep one available stockpile day in case of an emergency.

Kee assured the board that, if another storm were to occur in March, the district could still retroactively apply for the state waiver to get its ten stockpile days back. Right now, he said, the district needs to exhaust all available stockpile days before applying for the waiver.

The board approved Kee's request to make February 2 and April 6 regular instruction days for HSSD students.

Kee also informed the board of a sizable surplus list, containing items such as CD players purchased in 2005, belonging to the district. The board voted to declare all items on the list as surplus, therefore allowing the district to dispose of them.

The school board also chose two student school board representatives for the 2026-27 school year. Rising senior Katherine Meggs and rising junior Lila Reed were selected to represent Huntingdon High School in HSSD school board meetings starting in June 2026.

Huntingdon High School's first baseball game is March 10, Kee informed the board. That makes March 10 the district's official target date to get the field's new press box finished. Now that the brick siding has been added to the structure, more progress can be made. Kee reported that the building still needed heat and air units, ceiling tiles and cabinets.

Several locations on HSSD campuses were damaged by Winter Storm Fern. The batting cage at Fillies Field completely collapsed, and the gutters on the middle school sustained damage from ice sliding off the roof. Kee said the district is working with its insurance provider to report these damages.

The HSSD Board of Education's next meeting is Wednesday, March 18, at 5 p.m.