Panther Valley Superintendent David McAndrew Jr. told the school board that spirit is high within the district with homecoming this Friday.

“It’s just a great culture down there this year for spirit week, and hats off to the staff and all the students,” he said during the board’s meeting Wednesday.

Both McAndrew and the school board wished the girls volleyball team good luck as they take on Pottsville for the league championship at Martz Hall in Pottsville.

The board also asked if the school planned a send off with cheerleaders and the band before the team headed out.

McAndrew also expressed his disappointment that Panther Valley’s team had to travel to Pottsville for the championship match, as it gives Pottsville a home court advantage.

“It seems like we’re driving up there to play them on their home court,” he said. “It would be nice to have that somewhere else, Tamaqua. It’s been many years that has gone on.”

McAndrew also reported on a productive in-service day on Oct. 9, breaking down data, looking into special education and looking at new programs, such as bootcamp.com.

“We are currently evaluating our math series and we’ll be bringing in different companies to decide what works best for our students,” he said.

The board also heard reports about the current enrollment numbers in the district, which now stand at 1,949 students. Last school year, enrollment was at 1,866.

Panther Valley has seen enrollment trending upward for the past three years, and last year was in the top five schools in the state in percent increase growth.

Purchase

The board approved the purchase of a New Holland Boomer 5 loader with a backhoe attachment at a CO-STARS contract price of $47,236 for AG-Industrial.

The district will be trading-in two pieces of equipment as part of the purchase. They are a New Holland TC-45DA and Ford Model 1300 Diesel. The trade-in will bring down the cost to $41,916.

Other business

The board took the following action:

• Approved school board meeting calendar for 2024. The meetings remain the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. Reorganization in 2024 will Dec. 4 at 6:30 p.m. followed by the regular meeting.

• Approved the Panther Valley Intermediate School use for league or district volleyball/basketball games and wrestling matches at a cost of $619 per game for the 2023-24 season.

• Approved the winter ticket prices for 2023-24 school year. Season tickets for a family of 4 are $125, extra person $30; students, $35, and single person, $45.

• Adopted a resolution to continue working with Municipal Revenue Service to sell the district tax debt each year.

• Approved writs of execution for a parcel in Nesquehoning and two in Lansford with delinquent taxes of $9,144.81; $4,297.61, and $4,051.78.

• Approved a settlement agreement with a student which anticipates an expenditure not to exceed $20,000.

• Approved a lease agreement with Coaldale for the Pre-K Counts program at a cost of $2,073.60 a month during the months that school is in session.

• Authorized an overseas educational trip in 2025, as presented by teacher Nancy Gardiner.