Each year during graduation, Panther Valley Superintendent Dennis Kergick would use his remarks to remind graduates to give back to others without the expectation of personal gain.

Kergick took the same approach in his career, and particularly during his six years as Panther Valley’s top administrator.

“You have to put aside some selfish feelings, and your well-being and concerns sometimes. You have to address what you can address, and help these kids to be better human beings,” he said.

Kergick officially retired from the school district on Tuesday.

As he looked back on his time at Panther Valley, Kergick said without question the strongest memory will be the people. He fondly recalled working with a faculty and staff who shared a passion for helping students.

“Reading, writing, arithmetic are supposed to be the foundations of any education system, but if you can’t raise functioning, well-meaning, caring human beings, you’re fooling yourself. That’s what your total goal is.

“All of the staff over there are a commodity to these kids. Kids without role models is detrimental to the country’s well-being. There’s good role models over there, there’s a lot of people going in every day and doing everything possible to help these kids and their families,” he said.

The desire to have a positive impact on as many people as possible was a major factor in Kergick deciding to become a superintendent. Whenever he faced a tough decision he tried to prioritize what was best for the students, even if it wouldn’t please all the adults.

“You think about being a pebble cast into the water and the ripple effect. You kind of envision you’re going to have more of an impact - especially working in administration - on so many people, but very few people understand the complexities, the challenge, and things of that nature,” he said.

During his time at Panther Valley, Kergick was an advocate for making school funding more equal across the state. He believes that students should receive the same quality of public education regardless of their Zip code.

He continued the district’s involvement in a lawsuit against Pennsylvania’s top lawmakers, using the courts to get the state to implement a fair school funding formula. The lawsuit is set to be argued before a state appeals court in 2021.

“There’s a severe lack of equity in funding for school districts across the commonwealth. And across the nation for that matter. We’re not unique in Pennsylvania to have these type of situations,” he said.

While the district faced declining revenue and increasing expenses, Kergick always tried to preserve extracurricular programs because they are unique in their ability to inspire students to get excited about school.

“You have kids that are interested in music and performing arts, kids who are interested in athletics, kids who are interested in academics - and you can’t shortchange any of those children. It’s unfair,” he said.

Kergick said he was also proud of the unique partnerships the district entered that provided services beyond regular classroom construction. The St. Luke’s Adopt-A-School program has provided vision screenings and dental exams for hundreds of students and sought to improve the overall health of the area.

And thanks to an anonymous alumnus, the district has had a college adviser to help high school students prepare for life after they graduate from Panther Valley.

When the first day of school rolls around, Kergick may still be feeling some of those butterflies which accompany the beginning of the school year. But instead of planning curriculum and staffing, he’ll be focusing on family. He hopes to travel as much as COVID-19 will allow. He’ll also be continuing to work on the lawsuit to help make Pennsylvania’s school funding more equal.

He’ll also be watching to see how schools navigate educating students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Kergick said he does not envy his colleagues who have to attempt to plan for a school year without knowing exactly what it will look like.

“There’s a great deal of uncertainty about what it’s going to look like in the fall. I’m probably not going to miss that. It’s always nice to have the butterflies and sense of excitement as you enter a new school year,” he said.