Burket Steps Down from CK Board

The Claysburg-Kimmel School Board is down a member following the resignation of 10-year school director Craig Burket at its Oct. 11 meeting. Burket said he was honored to serve on the board and said his resignation is due to moving out of the district.

Burket said a change in his personal life with his upcoming marriage has changed the direction of his life and that he considers having served on the board as an honor and privilege.

“I’d like to thank my constituents who voted for me, who trusted my judgment,” he said.

Burket said his desire to learn how the mechanisms of running a school district work and wanting to be involved propelled him to seek a seat on the board.

“How do people learn unless they get involved,” he said. “It’s a great learning experience for someone who wants to get involved and be a servant, and that’s what we are.”

Burket said being a board member means balancing the needs of the district while not asking too much of taxpayers.

“It’s a juggling act, a headache sometimes, but you have to do what’s best for the taxpayers,” he said. “There were some memorable moments.”

Burket said he is grateful for the civil working relationship he’s had with other board members and said although they didn’t always agree, they were always civil.

“It’s been a great relationship with the district and with the taxpayers,” he said. “It’s been a great learning experience.”

Board member Joseph Musselman said Burket is a “true gentleman” and a man of “great integrity.”

Mona Eckley has sat beside Burket at the table for a decade and playfully thanked him for “putting up with me.”

“It has been great working with you, and I wish you the best of luck,” Eckley said.

Board President Richard Gergely has served with Burket for eight years and said if he had to sum Burket up in one word, it would be “passion.”

“There has never been a time you were on this board that you just sat idle,” Gergely said. “If you disagreed with something, you were very passionate about it and that is what really makes this board work.”

The board will advertise for candidates to fill the remainder of Burke’s term which runs until Dec. 2025. District Solicitor Jennifer Dambeck said they hope to interview candidates and appoint one to the board at the next regular meeting Nov. 8.