What's Happening in the Kutztown Area School District in fall of 2025?
Learn More about the Results by Our “Common Sense” Republican Majority School Board:
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Vote November 4, 2025 to Keep Our Common Sense Majority on the School Board.
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Kutztown Area High School is Now Ranked No. 1 in Berks County by U.S. News and World Report.
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81.7% of KASD Voters Defeated the Democrat-Endorsed Ballot Question to Raise Taxes by 10.63%.
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Deciphering the Word Salads by the Democratic Candidates for KASD School Board.
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Only You Stand in the Way of the Far Left’s Recruitment and Indoctrination of Students.
You Spoke, They Listened. We’re Getting Results but the Far Left Won’t Give Up.
1. Vote November 4, 2025 to Keep Our Common Sense Conservative Majority on the School Board.
On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, a Municipal Election will be held and the voters in our school district will choose four school directors by region. The Democratic Party nominated former teachers for the purpose of jacking up property taxes so the Union can pad salaries, despite our teachers being the highest paid in the County. The Democratic candidates have used a lot of word salads to confuse voters, but we’ll translate that for you (see Part 5). Our “common sense” conservative directors are seeking re-election this year, and Steve Morris has stepped up as the Republican candidate in Kutztown Borough.
Maxatawny and Lyons
Erin Engel, a mother of two children, one still a student in our District and the older one having graduated from our Kutztown Area High School in 2024 as Salutatorian. Erin kept her promise to voters and repealed the DEI Policy (see Part 3).
“Like so many of you, I care deeply about the quality of education, fiscal responsibility, and preserving traditional values that make our community strong.”
Kutztown Borough
Steve Morris, a father of two children, one in our District and the older one having graduated from our District. Steve is a full-time counselor who serves inmates in the Berks County Jail System, men who are awaiting a trial or sentenced and imprisoned.
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“From more than 25 years of counseling men who have been accused or convicted of crimes, I have seen firsthand the results when people are underserved by their public school system, as well as those who had fair opportunities but still made poor choices. If elected, I want to ensure our district will not sexualize our students with inappropriate material that should be reserved for adults.”
Albany, Greenwich, and Lenhartsville
Jason Koch, a father of three children in our District, is President of the Board. He’s a manager for a small business and understands the importance of the bottom line. Jason kept his promise to voters and repealed the DEI Policy (see Part 3).
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“This year marked a new beginning in our district when we allowed 12th graders, with parental consent, to take greater control over their educational decisions by using a defined number of school hours to obtain jobs, internships, or career-related electives, or to enroll in trade school or community college. There’s no better way to give our students opportunities than to get them into the real world sooner, learning what it means to accept responsibility, meet job-related expectations, and appropriately interact with adults rather than just their own age-group.”
Jeremiah Light, a father of two children in our District, is a construction manager. He heads the Facilities Committee for the School Board and has led the effort to remove asbestos-containing materials from all school property. Jeremiah kept his promise to voters and repealed the DEI Policy (see Part 3).
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“I staunchly believe the reasons our high school is No. 1 in Berks County are the hard work of students and their families and by following long-standing instructional methods and curricula which have a proven record of success, rather than new fads pushed by Leftwing elites. A majority of our teachers respect our district by keeping their personal politics out of the classroom and I want to keep it that way.”
2. Kutztown Area High School is Ranked No. 1 in Berks County and We’re Heading in the Right Direction.
In addition to the results presented elsewhere in this Booklet, our Board of School Directors are constantly delivering great results:
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We’re No. 1 in Berks County
According to the 2025 rankings by U.S. News & World Report, the Kutztown Area High School is ranked No. 1, not only for Berks County, but also in the Reading Metropolitan Area, based on State standardized testing. We have a 90% graduation rate.
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Putting Families and Students in Control of Their Future
On February 3, 2025, the Board authorized 12th graders to use a certain number of school hours to obtain relevant life experiences during their final year in high school, such as jobs, internships, or dual-enrollment in trade schools, the Berks Career & Technical Center, or the Reading Area Community College.
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Vaccination Exemptions: Privacy and Personal Autonomy
On July 15, 2024, our Board revised Policy 203, allowing parents and guardians to claim medical, religious, or philosophical exemptions from child vaccination requirements without having to give intrusive explanations or unnecessary documentation. The revised policy now requires the district to give parents and guardians a check-the-box form.
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Asset Sale of Former Maxatawny Elementary School
On August 5, 2024, the Board approved the sale of the former Maxatawny Elementary School to New Story Schools for $1.75 million. New Story helps parents and guardians with special needs students in our district and in the Lehigh Valley.
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$4.77 Million for HVAC Upgrades in the Middle School
On April 21, 2025, the Board approved $4.77 million in HVAC and network upgrades for the Kutztown Area Middle School.
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New School Bus Contract to Save $1 Million to Taxpayers
On May 5, 2025, the Board approved a five-year contract with the Berks County Intermediate Unit for school busing services, projected to save taxpayers $1 million.
3. Repealing the DEI Policy and then Sacking a Woke Administrative Position.
In our Spring Edition released last May, we announced to voters that our “common sense” Republican majority, on December 20, 2023, repealed the infamous Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI” or Didn’t Earn It) Policy. This awful policy would have forced the district to allocate services on the basis of a student’s race and for students to “value” gender identity.
Since then, on June 2, 2025, our Board eliminated the administrative position of Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development. This position was used to promote the Woke Agenda in the district.
Our Current “Common Sense” Republican Majority School Board
Jason Koch
Albany, Greenwich, & Lenhartsville
Republican
Reba Cortés Hoffman
Maxatawny any Lyons
Republican
Jeremiah Light
Albany, Greenwich, & Lenhartsville
Republican
Dennis Udicious
Maxatawny any Lyons
Republican
Erin Engel
Maxatawny any Lyons
Republican
Dan Wismer
Albany, Greenwich, & Lenhartsville
Republican
Directors Voting to Keep DEI
Michael Hess
Kutztown Borough
Democrat
Caecilia Holt
Kutztown Borough
Democrat
Laura Ziegler
Kutztown Borough
Democrat
4. 81.7% of KASD Voters Defeated the Democrat- Endorsed Ballot Question to Raise Taxes by 10.63%.
Our teachers were already the highest paid in Berks County when their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expired on June 20, 2025 (see chart, next page). But their teachers’ union demanded significant pay raises and the Democrat school directors proposed raising property taxes by as much as 11%. Our district already faced a $1.9 million deficit caused by the former Democrat school directors before we regained control of the Board of School Directors in December of 2023. While the Negotiations Team tried to reach an agreement with the Union for a new CBA, our Board released a ballot question to the voters which, if it had passed in the May 20th Primary, would have increased property taxes by 10.63%. Our conservative directors believed it proper for the people to decide that question and, simultaneously, campaigned against its passage and asked voters to say, “No.”
Being out-of-touch with our small community, the campaign to vote “Yes” on the ballot question was led by the Democrat school directors, including incumbent Laurel Ziegler (Kutztown Borough) and former director Dennis Ritter who lost re-election in 2023, and leftist organizations like KOFEE (Kutztown Organized for Educational Excellence). From the public outcry against the ballot question, the teachers’ union compromised and accepted a new, taxpayer-friendly CBA that the Board approved on May 5th. On the May 20th Primary, 81.7% of voters chose “No” on the ballot question—sending a strong message to the Union and local Democratic Party leaders that enough is enough. To close the $1.9 million deficit, our Board modestly increased taxes by 4%.
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How Does That Compare to the Berks County Average?
95% (111 out of 117) of our teachers are above the Berks County Average, but the extent of that is shocking. 76% (89 out of 117) are between five and 30 percentage points above the County Average. That top 18% of teachers that receive more than $110,000 per school year are 18 percentage points above the County Average.
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What is the Current Compensation for Our Teachers?
For the 2024-2025 School Year, our District’s teachers are the highest compensated in Berks County. 76% (89 out of 117) of our teachers earn more than $84,745.00 per school year. In fact, 18% (21 out of 117) earn more than $110,000.00 per school year. Sick leave, health insurance and pension benefits are additional. Roughly 30% of a teacher’s salary is mandatory pension contributions paid by the district.
In the 2024-2025 School Year, What is the Maximum that Teachers in Berks County Can be Paid after 14 Years of Service and Completion of Additional Credit Hours/Higher Education?*
Maximum Salary
School District
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Kutztown Area
Exeter Township
Wyomissing Area
Muhlenberg
Reading
Fleetwood Area
Daniel Boone
Tulpehocken Area
Twin Valley
Schuylkill Valley
Hamburg Area
Governor Mifflin
Conrad Weiser
Wilson
Oley Valley
$110,727
$98,856
$96,464
$96,350
$96,348
$95,385
$94,015
$93,330
$91,250
$90,000
$88,477
$86,415
$85,413
$85,322
$82,153
Source: 2024 Salary Comparison Study, Kutztown Area School District Administration.
*Not obtained: Antietam School District, Boyertown Area School District, and Brandywine Heights School District.
How Did Our Teachers become the Highest Paid in Berks?
In 2018, a liberal-controlled School Board approved a CBA which took effect in 2019 and contained a significant pay schedule. It modifies the base salary on the number of years a teacher worked for our District and, additionally, whether a teacher obtained a higher education and credit hours offered by the Berks County Intermediate Unit. Colloquially, we call this “Step” (the number of years worked) and “Column” (the higher education and number of credit hours).
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On the Pay Schedule, the Step increases vertically and the Column increases horizontally, both increasing the base pay. Therefore, every teacher who moves each Column will enjoy a compounding effect as the Steps increase for each year of employment. With the 2019 CBA in effect, many teachers maxed out the number of credit hours paid for by the taxpayers.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, the liberal-controlled School Board voted to extend the CBA until June 30, 2025, even though it wasn’t set to expire until June 30, 2022. What was perverse was that the Board used COVID-19 money from the American Rescue Plan Act to fund its handsome compensation for teachers, thereby conditioning their wealth on the plight of a “public emergency,” to the detriment of our students and their families.
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There’s no evidence that additional courses or doctorates have any discernible benefit for our District. Many Master’s Degree programs offered by teachers’ colleges focus on Leftist agendas, such as Critical Race Theory, transgenderism, Queer Studies, etc. Some of these courses, such as educational equity, cannot be constitutionally followed in a public school setting, where school districts are bound to adhere to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
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Who was Appointed to the Negotiations Team?
Jason Koch, our President of the Board, appointed the members of the Negotiations Team and wisely avoided any school director who had a relative employed by our District. Besides himself, Jason appointed school directors Jeremiah Light (Rep., Greenwich Township), Dan Wismer (Rep., Greenwich Township), and Caecilia Holt (Dem., Kutztown). The Union wanted to sit at both sides of the table to renegotiate the CBA, but Jason Koch successfully blocked that.
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How Does the New CBA Benefit Taxpayers?
The new CBA limits total annual payroll to a 1% increase, whereas the Union usually enjoyed at least a 4% increase in prior years. As a result, our conservative directors saved taxpayers more than a quarter of a million dollars this year! But it will expire in 2027. This creates another opportunity for the Union to try again at raising salaries. If the public will rally behind our conservative school directors and financially support KASD Children First PAC for bringing this information to you and other voters, and if our teachers will privately ask their Union representatives to do the right thing, then the Board can continue to insist on better terms for our community.
For any voters who personally know the teachers of our District, the problem isn’t them but with their Union. The message for our teachers is: Be grateful for what you already have.
5. Deciphering the Word Salads by the Democratic Candidates for KASD School Board.
The Democratic candidates for school director in our district are having trouble speaking plainly to voters on what they intend to do, if elected this November. Fortunately, we in the KASD Children First PAC are gifted interpreters of Leftistspeak. We’re happy to do our job and translate their word salads for you!
Exhibit A: Matthew Biniek in Maxatawny and Lyons.
Biniek’s X.com Account (retrieved Mar. 11, 2025)
This retired Fleetwood Area teacher, living off a nice pension funded by taxpayers, sent a mailer on September 25th to Republican voters in Maxatawny and Lyons. In it, he did not acknowledge that he’s the Democratic candidate, hoping this Republican-majority region might miss that in the voting booth. But there’s a number of other things he hopes voters will miss about his candidacy:
What He Really Means is:
When Matthew Biniek Says:
“Educational Excellence”
“Educational excellence” is the slogan of the leftist organization, KOFEE (Kutztown Organized for Educational Excellence), which endorsed Biniek. Like KOFEE, Biniek wants to revive the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE) policy—promoting gender identity and “white shaming” students.
“Fiscal responsibility”
He thinks you’re not paying enough taxes for teachers’ salaries, even though our teachers are the highest compensated in Berks County.
“Putting students first”
He wants your kid to be able to read adult-themed books, like Gender Queer, without your knowledge or consent. The other Leftist code phrase for this is “freedom to read.”
Exhibit B: Katie Monahan in Albany, Greenwich, and Lenhartsville.
This former Allentown School District teacher is now employed as a professor of education at Kutztown University, regarding herself as a “change maker.” As a KU professor, educating the next generation of school teachers, Monahan will encourage them to be social justice warriors.
What She Really Means is:
When Katie Monahan Says:
“Committed
to our kids”
She regards your kid as the government’s kid, as in the government is the family. You unknowingly agreed to co-parent with the government.
“Creating safe, inclusive, and enriching schools for all students”
She thinks diversity of thought and honest disagreement are unsafe, where Leftists equate anything they find offensive as violent. She wants an environment sanitized of anything and anyone with disagreeable viewpoints that fall short of promoting LGBTQ lifestyles in students. Also, when Leftists say “all” students, they mean equality of results rather than of opportunity.
“Our students deserve school board members who know this community, value public schools, and will lead with compassion and common sense.”
She doesn’t regard you as part of the community if you disagree with Leftist policies. Her idea of compassion is letting students use bathrooms and locker rooms based on gender identity. And if you don’t like that, then you fail to value public schools.
Exhibit C: Mike Sailsbery in Kutztown Borough.
This retired superintendent from the State of Indiana is the father of a teacher’s union officer in our district, Mrs. Karise Mace. He’s running for one reason only: To help the teachers’ union try to shakedown our district for higher teachers’ salaries when their collective bargaining agreement expires in 2027.
What He Really Means is:
When Mike Sailsbery Says:
“I am committed to fostering meaningful dialogue and ensuring that all voices are heard in the decision making process.”
Oh, he’s willing to listen to you, alright. It’s just that he doesn’t care to act on anything you have to say! After hearing you on all the reasons why he shouldn’t vote a certain way, he’ll smile and nod and proceed to vote howsoever he wants. Don’t expect him to listen to the 81.7% of voters who rejected the ballot question on May 20th to raise taxes.
“By listening to perspectives, we can create a school district that serves all students effectively and prepares them for future success.”
When he finds out that the Kutztown Area is a conservative-majority district, he’s going to whine for the next several years why we don’t compromise with the Democrat minority and further their Fabian strategy of constantly moving the goalpost.
6. Only You Stand in the Way of the Far Left’s Recruitment and Indoctrination of Students.
Despite Donald J. Trump winning the 2024 Presidential Election with 57.4% of the districtwide vote in the Kutztown Area School District, we’re informed that a No Kings Protest will be held in Kutztown Borough this month and may already occur by the time this Booklet reached your mailbox. This follows on the heels of Leftwing Kutztown University students who protested a local Charlie Kirk memorial. The Far Left dehumanizes our leaders, such as calling President Trump, “Nazi Scum.” The Far Left wants to use all our educational institutions, from kindergarten all the way through graduate school, to recruit and indoctrinate the children and young adults in our communities.
April 5, 2025 “Hands Off” Protest, Kutztown Borough
Only you stand in their way. In addition to voting the Republican ticket this November 4, 2025, crowdfunding makes a dramatic difference. Our school directors serve without any public salaries. That requires conservative candidates to suffer a net loss in having to campaign for that office. If everyone donates $30 a year to KASD Children First PAC, then we will have sufficient funding to recruit qualified candidates for school director who share our values and help them win elections by getting their message to the community and by retiring their campaign debts and any legal fees. That funding will also cover the costs, such as this booklet, of informing you on important issues facing our District. Support our PAC with an online donation at KASDPAC.com or by mail to P.O. Box 223, Lenhartsville, PA 19534 (checks payable to KASD Children First PAC).
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Under Pennsylvania law, persons who donate $50.00 or less per year to our PAC do not have to be publicly named on campaign finance reports, thereby allowing you to maintain some privacy. Donations, however, are not tax deductible and business entities, such as corporations, are prohibited from making contributions. Therefore, if you make a contribution, please ensure it does not come from any business account.