The Whitehall-Coplay School Board discussed safety issues at its operations and transportations committee meeting Sept. 23.

"[Safety] is an issue we want to keep on the front burner," Superintendent John Corby said.

The committee spoke about placing cameras inside the middle school building. While the committee commissioned The Wire Guys to look at areas to place cameras, it wants other experts to explore possible placement areas.

"We want the state police to come in," Corby said. "If it'll take [state police] a year to come in, I want to look for other options."

The committee also spoke about contacting the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to acquire additional resources to assist with the issue.

During the Education and Student Activities Committee, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Lorie Hackett discussed the Choices program at the high school and middle school.

The Choices program collaborates with community partners to provide students and their families support to develop skills for healthy living.

Richard Wietzke, a Pyramid Healthcare counselor, provided details on the success rate of the programs.

"We saw a lot of growth," Wietzke said. "The statistics look really good from last year."

Students in the Choices program at the middle school had 66 percent fewer absences and 26 percent less tardiness, along with a 53-percent reduction in failure and 60 percent fewer disciplinary referrals.

At the high school, students had 36 percent fewer incidents of tardiness and a 33-percent reduction in failure. A total of 60 percent of students did not fail a class and 66 percent had fewer disciplinary referrals.