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Students and parents press Connellsville Area SD board over class‑rank change and AP staffing
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Summary
Parents and students criticized the district’s 2023 decision to eliminate class rank and raised concerns that an AP statistics class currently lacks a qualified teacher, urging the board to provide evidence and find qualified instruction before graduation.
Connellsville Area School District trustees heard sustained public comment Tuesday night from parents and students who said the district’s elimination of class rank has been mishandled and that advanced classes lack qualified teachers.
“Every student that was already in the high school should not have been impacted by this decision,” Ron Perinton told the board, referring to the November 2023 policy change that removed class rank and honors such as valedictorian and salutatorian. Perinton called the change “a poorly executed decision” and said families were not given rank information that could have helped with college applications.
Parent Jody Magnus urged earlier hiring for band staff and asked the board to restore recognition of valedictorian and salutatorian at graduation, but her longest concern was classroom quality. “My daughter’s currently taking [AP statistics]. The class doesn’t currently have a math teacher,” Magnus said, describing lessons based on videos the former teacher made during COVID and a substitute who cannot answer students’ questions. “These students, they’re AP students, they deserve to have an educator.”
Student Julian Smith told the board she and classmates have waited seven months for a response. “We have not gotten a solution from any of you,” she said. Smith said requested evidence about the original decision has not been shared and that students feel ignored, though she thanked several trustees “who do care.”
Board members did not vote on a reversal or a procedural change during the public‑comment period. Trustees accepted the comments for the record; no board motion to reinstate ranks or immediately reassign staff was recorded in the meeting minutes.
What happens next: commenters urged the board to produce the documentation behind the 2023 decision and to prioritize finding a qualified AP statistics instructor for the current term. The board did not announce a timetable for either follow‑up during the meeting.
