McKeesport Area SD meeting: commenter raises 27% chronic absenteeism; district outlines high‑school initiatives

A community member raised concerns about chronic absenteeism at the McKeesport Area School District board meeting on Aug. 7, saying the district’s chronic absenteeism rate is about 27 percent.

The commenter, identified in the meeting transcript as Wagner, said: "I was a little shocked to see the chronically not chronically absent is down to, like, 27 percent in our district." A district staff member acknowledged the figure and described new efforts at the high school to address attendance.

"We we have, we've got a new initiative starting in high school with, PBIS specialist," the staff member said, adding the district aims to create an environment that encourages students to attend. The staff member said a steering committee meets periodically to develop and monitor the plan and offered to provide a breakdown of how much of the absenteeism comes from online students if the board requests that information.

Board members did not take a formal vote on attendance policy at the meeting. The exchange occurred during the public comment portion of the agenda; the staff member characterized the plan as a work in progress and identified the high school initiative as one of the district's goals.

The discussion did not include a detailed, board‑adopted attendance policy change, nor did it include a specific timeline or budget for the new staffing or incentives. Staff indicated they could supply further data on online versus in‑person absenteeism upon request, but no formal direction or follow‑up deadline was recorded in the transcript.

The board continued with the rest of its consent agenda after the public comment period.