By RON GOWER

rgower@tnonline.comWhile most of us are concerned about whether we should be turning on the heat in our house on fall days, there are many who don't have such an option.Twelve families in the Panther Valley School District are homeless, said Superintendent of Schools Dennis R. Kergick.These families have 14 children ages 5 and under, he said. There are nine children between the ages of 6 and 18."We try to do what we can (for them) in our schools," Kergick said, "but some things we can't do."The superintendent said the statistic was given to him by the group Family Promise of Carbon County, whose motto is "every child deserves a home."Under Family Promise, community churches provide hospitality and fellowship to guests.This includes meals, some supplies and a place to sleep in the evening.During the day families are housed in a center in Lehighton, where staff help them connect with community resources.The district might start a project in April for homeless families.More details will be forthcoming.In other business during a meeting of the Panther Valley School Board on Thursday:• Board members were presented with a final draft of a comprehensive plan for the district, which addresses the period July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2018.The board will be asked to consider adopting the plan at its Nov. 13 meeting.• Dave Kost, the board's representative to the Carbon Career and Technical Institute, presented a check to the board totaling $29,889.63.It represents proceeds from the sale of the Adult Education Building that was owned by CCTI.The building was sold for $260,105, but there were costs associated with the sale which brings the total proceeds to $249,028.83.The money was divided among the five school districts in Carbon County which comprise the CCTI, based on the respective district's ratio of property assessment to total assessment in the county.Panther Valley has 8.79 percent of the county's assessment.• Kevin O'Brien was hired as the district's truant officer and disciplinarian for the high school and middle school effective Oct. 28. He will receive a salary of $30,000 pro rated on the district's school year.He succeeds Roobhenn Smith, who resigned to accept a position at Pius X High School in Northampton County.• The board approved the expulsion and 10-day suspension of a high school student, from Oct. 16 to Oct. 29, for violation of the district's policy on weapon's possession.Kergick said he could not give details of the incident, but said it was a facsimile of a weapon.