A State College Area School Board candidate was escorted by security from the State High building in April for entering without authorization during after-school hours, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the incident.
Candidate Megan Layng and her husband, Ken Layng, were identified as the two individuals who entered the building at 5:30 p.m. on April 10, multiple sources confirmed to StateCollege.com. Layng was quietly removed from the United for SCASD political action committee’s slate of school board candidates within days of the incident.
Current board member Peter Buck said Superintendent Curtis Johnson sent an email to school board members asking for help identifying the individuals. Surveillance video showed a man and a woman enter through a door at the back of the building. Johnson told the board that they then went into the library and photographed books before a staff member approached them and notified security, who escorted them out of the building.
The door, which did not have a “no trespassing” or similar sign, was unlocked at the time because of after-school tutoring and other activities.
Buck said that two other board members identified the individuals as Megan and Ken Layng.
Layng declined to comment on the incident or why she was no longer part of the United for SCASD slate.
“I would be happy to see any of the United4SCASD-endorsed members win their race, and… I would be happy to serve with any of them as well,” Layng wrote in an email.
School district spokesman Chris Rosenblum, who did not identify the individuals involved, said no police report was filed.
“After our investigation with the assistance of our high school school resource officer, we do not believe that the individuals entered with any violent intent and/or with an intent to harm any student, staff member or others,” Rosenblum wrote in an email. “However, as with any security incident, we are reviewing our protocols and procedures for after-hours security to see if there are any areas in need of improvement.”
United for SCASD — which has endorsed candidates Nathan Bish, Barry Fenchak, John Krajcovic and Michelle Young — declined to comment on the reason for the separation from Layng. Young wrote in an email only that the group decided “to move forward with four candidates” and would refrain from further comment “out of privacy concerns for Megan.”
Eleven candidates in total are running for State College Area School Board in the May 16 primary election. All are cross-filed on the Democratic and Republican ballots.
