The Pleasant Valley School District is holding out hope for an in-person graduation ceremony. The school board voted Thursday night to hold the ceremony on July 24 at the Pocono Raceway.

Lee Lesisko, the superintendent of the school district, said if the county is still unable to have large gatherings by that time, then the graduation will be held virtually on that date.

He thanked the students, their families, and the community for their patience.

“The Pleasant Valley School District is making every attempt to hold an in-person graduation for the Class of 2020,” he said. “Because of the coronavirus pandemic and Gov. Wolf’s stay at home order, we may not be able to host a traditional ceremony. This is unfortunate for our graduating class, but we need to ensure the safety of our students, families and staff, while adhering to CDC guidelines and the orders of Gov. Wolf. All we can say now is, stay tuned.”

Also during the meeting, the school board voted on whether or not to contract with Hamilton & Musser P.C. CPA in Mechanicsburg to provide accounting services for almost $49,000. As per the contract, they will be paid one-third of the cost at the signing of the agreement. This amounts to $16,283.33. They voted 7 to 2 to approve the contract.

School Board directors Sue Kresge and Dan Wunder voted against the resolution.

“If we approve this agreement this evening, the money for this line item has not been approved yet, because it’s being slated to go into next year’s budget. So I’m curious as to how that would work,” Kresge said. “At this time, I don’t feel it’s necessary for us to spend $48,850 for this audit especially in this time of COVID-19, during the reassessment of property, and due to unemployment, and whether people will even be able to pay their taxes come the fall, so I will be voting no.”

Wunder asked how they could vote for this item if it hasn’t been added to the budget for next year.

School Board Director Laura Jecker said she thinks the money for the first payment is already in the budget. Donna Yozwiak, the president of the school board, confirmed that the money is there.

“I’d like to clarify something before the vote is taken,” Yozwiak said. “This is not an audit. The process is called an Agreed Upon Procedures, and the purpose is to evaluate our internal controls. It’s very forward thinking on our part as a board. We’re looking for meaningful recommendations on how we can improve our processes and procedures in order to save the tax payers as much money as we possibly can in the upcoming years.”

Wunder said his concern is the same as Kresge’s in that the district is trying to save money, while also trying to update the math and science programs.

“I’m not sure we need this audit,” he said.

School board Vice President Len Peeters disagreed.

“I do believe we will be saving money in the long run, because they’re going to present to us ways that we can save money, so I’m definitely in favor of it,” he said.

Under personnel, the school board approved the resignation of John Burrus, the director of human resources. His last day of employment will be May 30. He will be taking a job in human resources in the Easton Area School District.

“Dr. Burrus will certainly be missed at Pleasant Valley,” Lesisko said. “We wish him the best of luck in his new position.”

Additional employees who will be leaving at the end of this year include Colleen Clark, resignation; Barbara Foder, Jasmeen Koehler, Bruce Krogulski, Judith Sanberg, Roxanne Scheller, Maryann Veneziano, Melissa O’Keefe and Patricia Urban, retirements.

The school board also held a moment of silence in memory of Monica Williamson, an instructional support teacher at Pleasant Valley Intermediate School, who died on April 30.