William Penn School Board meetings in recent years have not exactly been the most joyous of occasions.

School board members routinely have their hands full with a never-ending budget dilemma, railing about the inequities of the archaic way the state funds education, specifically the reliance on property taxes, which puts their district at a distinct disadvantage.

Board members routinely face the kind of question that’s simply not an issue in many more affluent districts: Why do our students have to do without?

Last night the shoe was on the other foot. The rest of the state was looking up at William Penn.

The school board took time to honor the Penn Wood High School boys basketball team, fresh off their crowning victory in the state PIAA AAAA basketball tourney over the weekend.

It is the first time Penn Wood High has won a state hoops title.

School board members Jennifer Hoff and Charlotte Hummel, who routinely appear in the newspaper as they grapple with the numbers that usually challenge the district, had another number on their mind Monday night.

No 1.

It is sometimes suggested that schools spend entirely too much money on athletics, that perhaps such efforts would be better utilized in the classroom.

But you can’t put a number on what sports has done for Penn Wood High School in the last couple of weeks.

“All I want is the sports section,” Hummel told the crowd at Monday night’s meeting. “You have given me the gift of so much excitement.”

It’s likely they are saying much the same at Archbishop Carroll, which is celebrating a double-dip. Both their boys and girls teams captured state AAA hoops titles.

Both Penn Wood and Archbishop Carroll will honor their student-athletes on Friday.

In capturing state titles, these young men and women have brought respect and honor to their schools, their towns, and the county.

Yes, they are champions. On and off the court.