Metro

CLAYSBURG — Claysburg-Kimmel School Board members approved a resolution requesting a public school facility improvement grant to replace the elementary school roof and repair the high school roof at Wednesday’s board meeting.

If accepted, the grant — awarded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and the Commonwealth Financing Authority — can award the district upwards of $5 million in funding. In turn, the district is required to supply 25% of the grant’s total amount.

But upcoming roof work depends on if the district secures the grant, according to Assistant to the Superintendent Brannan Raptosh.

“The only way that small schools like us can do large projects like that right now would be through grant assistance,” he said after the meeting, adding that they will continue seeking alternate paths in funding projects.

Superintendent Brian Helsel said during the meeting that receiving the full bid is very rare, so the district is open to other possible financial avenues as well.

The search for grant funding came after McClure Co. conducted an energy and needs assessment earlier this year, and the board decided to focus on improving their campus’ roofs first.

Raptosh said the grant’s request will be determined by fall 2026 with hopes of starting roof construction summer 2027.

“If we get awarded, it’s going to be a huge win for us,” Raptosh said.

In other business, the board has engaged in ongoing conversations in previous months about the number of sports coaches, as member Joseph Musselman questioned how many coaches the district is paying in an effort to save Claysburg-Kimmel money.

Board President Jeremy Knott said the number of coaches will continue in the future in budgetary conversations in April, mentioning that they already approved of the spring coaching list during January’s voting session.

They are currently repeating what they’ve done in the past, he said, pulling information from other districts to compare the number of coaches.

All board members except Vice President Amy Claar-Gill were present at Wednesday’s meeting.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.