Pittston Area Solicitor Attorney Samuel Falcone, Assistant Superintendent John Haas, and Board Vice President Rosanne Ricotta view agenda items at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Sydney Allabaugh | Sunday Dispatch
Officials remain tight-lipped about superintendent status
Pittston Area will have a girls’ wrestling team next year.
The district’s school board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve creating the team in 2027.
Assistant Superintendent John Haas said female students are interested in competing.
“The timing is right to get this going for our girls, and we’re just enthusiastic about it, and of course, extremely supportive of them,” Haas said.
Pittston Area Head Wrestling Coach David Krantz said after Tuesday’s meeting it’s been a long time coming and will be great for the sport and school.
“I think it’s important that these girls have the same opportunity as the boys,” Krantz said.
Girls’ wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the country, he said. Two varsity girls and about 12 junior high girls competed on the Pittston Area boys’ wrestling team last year.
“It’s really becoming popular in the school, and we’re hearing a lot that when we so get the girls’ program, there’s going to be a lot more girls coming out,” Krantz said. “We’re excited.”
Related steps, including appointing coaching staff, are still to come.
The PIAA approved girls’ wrestling as an official sanctioned sport in the state in 2023. Pittston Area will join various Luzerne County schools that have established girls’ wrestling teams.
Superintendent status
Assistant Superintendent Haas delivered the superintendent’s report at Tuesday’s meeting, as he has since Superintendent Kevin Booth was charged in October with simple assault and harassment after an alleged domestic dispute with his wife.
The charges against Booth were dropped March 3 after his wife said she did not want to proceed with the case. A temporary protection-from-abuse order against Booth was withdrawn in December in Luzerne County Court.
Booth admitted himself to an inpatient rehabilitation center days after the charges were filed in October, according to a civil court record.
The district has repeatedly declined to comment on Booth’s employment status since the charges were filed.
At the October school board meeting, an unnamed employee was placed on paid administrative leave. Haas previously did not respond when asked whether the employee was Booth.
The school district partially denied a Right-to-Know request submitted by the Times Leader seeking records related to the unnamed employee placed on administrative leave, as well as communications with its medical insurance provider regarding inpatient rehabilitation.
Haas declined to comment after Tuesday’s meeting on the dismissal of the charges against Booth or on whether or when Booth will return to his position.
Rosanne Ricotta, Pittston Area school board vice president, also declined to comment on the matter.
“It’s a personnel issue, and we just don’t discuss it publicly,” Ricotta said.
Haas also declined to provide a comment to community members concerned about ongoing leadership uncertainty.
“I just can’t comment on that at this time,” he said.
