YATESVILLE — The Pittston Area School District is not providing updates regarding the status of Superintendent Kevin Booth, who was arrested over 100 days ago on charges related to domestic violence. The silence from district officials continues to raise questions about the future leadership of the district. During a meeting on Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent John Haas reiterated the district’s policy of refraining from commenting on confidential personnel matters.
“Right now, we just don’t have any further comment on that,” Haas stated when pressed for details about Booth’s employment status. The board of education did, however, vote to grant or extend unpaid leave for two anonymous employees while tabling a request for unpaid leave from a third unnamed employee. After consulting with the district’s solicitor, Sam Falcone, Haas declined to confirm whether any of the employees on leave were Booth.
Importantly, none of the employees involved shared an employee ID number with Booth, who was placed on administrative leave on October 21, 2023, shortly after his arrest. As a condition of this leave, Booth’s salary and benefits were to continue, pending further action by the school board.
Booth, aged 55, was arrested on October 5, 2023, following an incident where he allegedly choked his wife, Jessica Booth. Initially, Booth denied the allegations, stating he had “no idea” what had occurred. He was arraigned on charges of simple assault and harassment and was released on $2,500 unsecured bail. Jessica Booth filed for divorce on October 27, 2023, and sought a temporary protection-from-abuse order against her husband, which she later withdrew.
Following his release, Booth entered an inpatient treatment facility, although district officials have not disclosed whether their health insurance policy covers this treatment. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 3, 2024.
Recognition of School Board Contributions
In addition to discussions surrounding personnel matters, the meeting also recognized “School Director Recognition Month,” an initiative designated by the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA) in January. Haas proposed a resolution honoring this recognition and expressed gratitude to the Pittston Area school board for its commitment to the district.
“We really have a board that is student-centered and really cares about our children,” Haas said.
The meeting featured presentations from principals, teachers, and students, who highlighted the board’s achievements. They expressed appreciation for the introduction of innovative academic programs, a dedicated faculty, new safety measures, and various investments made for the benefit of students.
“I thought our students did an outstanding job representing what our primary center and intermediate center schools are about,” Haas remarked. “Their thankfulness to our school board members for all that they do behind the scenes is just a testament to the character of what our board does and everything that our students believe in.”
The school board also passed a resolution limiting any tax increase for this fiscal year to no more than the state index, agreeing not to seek exceptions to this limit. This resolution is routine, as other school boards in the region have taken similar actions. The Pittston Area’s state index for the 2026-27 fiscal year is set at 4.7%.
