Just weeks after its hot tempered school board meeting, Windber School District is being recognized as one of the best schools in the region. 

The school made the decision earlier this month to restructure its staff. Now, students and teachers are being praised for their hard work. 

"It's the wise use of resources and the dedication of our staff. They are very accustomed to overcoming challenges and they don't let those challenges distract them from their students," Superintendent Rick Huffman said.

It was just three weeks ago when students and parents stood up in front of the board concerned about possible cuts. 

The school board did not make any layoffs, but 10 teachers and two administrators did accept early retirement to save the district money. 

Not only did the district face a $1,000,000 budget shortfall, the superintendent said they have one of the lowest tax bases in the state.

"Windber Area School District has a history of being fiscally sound, and we are currently ranked out of taxes, equalized mills, 499th out of the 500 school districts," Huffman said.

Windber's PSSAs test scores remain strong. 

Windber ranked 83rd out of 500 school districts in 2010 and 2011.

This school year, they jumped to 67th out of 500. That makes the school the highest ranking among all districts in Cambria, Somerset, Bedford and Blair Counties.

"We're going to continue to do what we do best, and that's focus on our students. We will continue to provide an excellent educational environment for all of our students K-4 through 12," Huffman said.

Despite the reduction in faculty, the school said the expectations won't go away. 

"We're looking at all of our resources that we have available, and how we can best fit those into a format to serve our students, and we think that, again, we're going to have a very strong system next year," Huffman said.

The superintendent told 6 News, Windber received $500,000 in grant awards to implement new technology, as well as special education and literacy programs.