Saint Marys Area SD opens pre-K lottery, sets kindergarten registration; board hears plan for new agriculture program

The Saint Marys Area School District told the board it has opened a pre-K enrollment lottery for children who will be 4 by June 1, 2025, and that kindergarten registration for next year will begin Feb. 3.

At the meeting the superintendent outlined the pre-K process: two classrooms with 20 seats each (40 total slots), an online lottery form on smasd.org open through Jan. 31, and a public random draw scheduled for 1 p.m. on the lottery date. The district will notify families who placed in the top 40 and those added to the waiting list; the district keeps the wait list open and has historically filled openings from it. The superintendent said 52 applications had already been submitted as of that morning.

The superintendent also described the district’s inclement-weather decision process. The district coordinates closely with PennDOT, local road crews, the National Weather Service and neighboring superintendents, and aims to make a decision by 5:30 a.m. to align with bus departure times and a 7 a.m. student arrival window. The superintendent said recent storms have proven difficult to predict and sometimes brought heavier accumulation near school start times.

Board members then heard an update on a proposed agriculture education program. The board authorized posting an anticipated agriculture teacher position and the district has posted the opening; the superintendent said they received three applications and met with Penn State representatives who had interest. The superintendent described the three components typical to ag programs: classroom agricultural education, FFA (student leadership), and supervised agricultural experience (entrepreneurship/project work).

For facilities and funding, the superintendent said the district plans to renovate an existing 2,000-square-foot shop and build a second production greenhouse. The district has received a $125,000 private donation earmarked for the renovation and has about $250,000 in grant requests outstanding to fully equip the space. The superintendent described the $125,000 donation as a 0-taxpayer-dollar investment into the project and noted the district already operates an outdoor classroom and raises roughly 1,500 trout annually as part of hands-on learning.

Why it matters: Establishing an agriculture program would expand career-technical pathways in the district, adding options tied to local industries such as hardwoods, forestry, conservation, and agribusiness. The pre-K lottery and kindergarten registration schedule affect family planning and district enrollment for next school year.

Votes and routine business: The board approved the meeting agenda for the Jan. 13 regular meeting and approved minutes of the Dec. 5, 2024 organization and regular meetings; both motions were moved and seconded and carried by voice vote in the meeting excerpt provided. The meeting also listed fund payment approvals for multiple district funds (general, athletic, food service, payroll and bond series); specific roll-call tallies were not specified in the transcript excerpt.