Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe honored Ken Bonkoski, the facilities manager at Antietam School District who has guided the district’s recovery and rebuilding project after a flood devastated one of its school buildings in 2023, as a 2026 Pennsylvania Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award recipient.
In the summer of 2023, Antietam Middle-Senior High School experienced significant damage from catastrophic flooding, leaving the building unusable. As the district’s facilities manager, Bonkoski immediately jumped into action after the 2023 flood to salvage resources and develop a long-term plan that gave Antietam students the best educational experience possible. He personally rescued the old scoreboard from the damaged building’s gym, and musical instruments from the music room. As repair work continued, Bonkoski worked alongside his team and contractors to stabilize HVAC systems and sewer lines. Bonkoski was critical in the district’s plan to establish temporary modular units for elementary students while construction on a new building continues.
A year after the flood, Governor Josh Shapiro visited the district to announce a grant award of $7,831,350 through PDE’s Environmental Repairs Grant program for repairs and construction at the site of the former Antietam Middle-Senior High School. The Department of Community and Economic Development also awarded $2.5 million to the Antietam School District to build a new K-3 addition to a building that wasn’t flood-damaged in 2024.
“We were proud two years ago to deliver financial support to a district experiencing a crisis, but we were most inspired by the resilience of the students, staff and community members who faced adversity together and then began to rebuild,” Rowe said. “Today, I’m proud to recognize the role of one individual in particular, Ken Bonkoski, who has led Antietam’s recovery. Facilities managers may do their work mostly behind the scenes, but Ken’s story illustrates the critical importance of their expertise at every school district. Education cannot happen without safe facilities, and safe facilities do not exist without professional and dedicated facilities managers like Ken.”
“Ken is a tireless and dedicated service-oriented professional. He believes in working alongside anyone and everyone. He focuses on taking care of the district by keeping our facilities pristine and safe but also is always willing to ask what the community needs and to lend a hand where he can,” said Antietam School District Superintendent Tim Matlack. “After the catastrophic flooding in July 2023, Ken has been a constant source of calm and relentless work in the school and community in the recovery efforts. The district would never have been able to start the 2024-2025 school year without the work he did.”
“With boots on the ground from day one, he was visible, present, and actively engaged wherever work needed to be done,” said Hunter Ahrens, Mount Penn Borough Manager. “As the Borough and the School District navigated the immense challenges faced by the community, Ken was a consistent and dependable partner. He was always transparent and forthcoming—providing timely, accurate updates or promptly following up with the information needed regarding building projects, timelines, and logistics.”
“Ken is the type of person who will go above and beyond without asking for anything in return,” said Stacy Stair, Antietam School District Business Manager. “He works tirelessly every day to ensure that the students and staff of the Antietam School District have a safe, clean, dry, and inspiring environment in which to learn and work. Ken is the first person in the buildings each day and most often is the last person to leave at the end of the day.”
The RISE Award, established by Congress in 2019 and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, honors a school employee who provides exemplary service to students in pre-kindergarten through high school. To be eligible for the award, an individual must be a full- or part-time non-teaching school employee, including paraprofessionals, clerical and administrative services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance services, security services, health and student services, technical services, and skilled trades.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) selected Bonkoski and Kimberly Lokhaiser, a bus driver and paraprofessional at the Butler Area School District, as 2026 Pennsylvania Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award honorees. PDE will honor Kimberly Lokhaiser at an event with the Butler Area School District in March.
Governor Shapiro believes that growing Pennsylvania’s economy and creating opportunity for future generations starts in the classroom. Over the past three years, the Shapiro Administration has proposed and secured historic investments in education — increasing K-12 funding by nearly 30 percent and securing $400 million for 208 school facilities and solar projects that fund repairs and upgrades, with additional projects expected to be awarded near the end of this fiscal year.
The Governor’s 2026–27 budget proposal builds on these successes by adequately funding all public schools, supporting safe learning environments, and continuing to reform the way schools pay for cyber charter schools. The budget proposal directs an additional $565 million through the bipartisan adequacy formula and tax equity supplements to ensure resources reach the schools that need them most – including the Antietam School District.
Under the Governor’s plan, Basic Education Funding increases by $50 million, totaling $8.31 billion, while Special Education Funding grows by $50 million, totaling $1.58 billion to support students with disabilities and special needs. Funding supports after-school programs, full-day pre-K and kindergarten, evidence-based reading instruction, school libraries, social and health services, and professional development for educators.
The budget also continues funding universal free breakfast, menstrual hygiene products at no cost to students, and $111 million for school safety and mental health supports. Over 800 schools have expanded mental health services, and more than 200 counselors have been hired since the Shapiro Administration began. School facilities investments total $125 million, including $25 million for the Solar for Schools program.
