Claysburg parents upset by jazz band elimination

District had said no programs would be affected by resignation

CLAYSBURG -- District parents expressed their disappointment during Claysburg-Kimmel's school board meeting that a jazz class had been eliminated despite assurances that no programs would be affected by the resignation of the previous marching band director.

Gareth Wicker told the board that the district had even called community members to say that no programs would be eliminated and that there would only be personnel changes.

"Then we received this letter stating that jazz band will not occur," Wicker said. "This directly affects my kids, and it's no longer just an extracurricular, it's an academic course. So now it's affecting my children's education. So, I mean with the promises made and the assurances given, to see this happen, I'd just say it's very disappointing."

Band mom Stacey Claycomb echoed these sentiments.

"The jazz class has been eliminated, and you guys know and that's just the way it is, but I just want to say that that's a disappointment," Claycomb said.

Fellow band mom Lisa Imler addressed the letter that was sent to parents from music adviser Maureen Lightner. The letter read in part that "due to scheduling conflicts, jazz band will not be offered this year" and that while she has band and instrumental experience, it is "mostly in woodwinds."

"I will ask more advanced brass players and percussionists to step up into more leadership roles within their sections," Lightner wrote.

Imler said that this leaves out her daughter, who is an eighth grade trumpet player.

"No one is really going to instruct her or help her improve on her instrument abilities," Imler said. "So, I'm going to take matters into my own hands. I'm seeking outside trumpet lessons."

Several board members appeared unaware of both the elimination of the jazz class and the letter that Lightner had sent to parents.

"I'll tell you that we'll take that matter up," Board President Richard Gergely said.

Later in the meeting, the board approved the appointment of Lightner as a music adviser for the 2023-24 school year with a stipend of $3,000. Lightner is also listed as a teacher on the district website.

In other matters, the board retroactively accepted the resignation of Brian Helsel as the district's athletic director, effective July 10. Helsel is acting as a substitute superintendent while Mark Loucks is on leave. The board then retroactively approved Corey Reffner as athletic director, also effective July 10.

"One of the biggest changes obviously, I did resign as athletic director," Helsel said. "We have Corey Reffner in place, and he's good at what he does. He'll do an excellent job."

The board approved the temporary appointment of Brannon Raptosh as director of special education and assistant to the superintendent, effective Aug. 21, with a stipend of $75 a day. Raptosh is stepping in for Helsel, who acted in the role before taking over for Loucks.

Board member Jeremy Knott gave an update on the district's ongoing athletic project, saying that the concession stand, landscaping and paving was starting to come together.

"So literally in the past week, there's been a ton of action down there," Knott said. "Everything is moving along as planned. They're feeling pretty good about the 25th of this month."

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.