At the Feb. 22 virtual Whitehall-Coplay School Board operations/transportation, finance/personnel and education/student activities committee meetings, the board discussed a water main break that happened Feb. 4 behind Whitehall High School.

During the operations/transportation committee meeting, board member George Wiliams said Whitehall-Coplay School District was notified by Whitehall Township Authority, which supplies water to the campus, that 200,000 gallons of water per day were being lost. This is greater than the amount of water in the WHS swimming pool.

WTA and Phil Bankos, supervisor of buildings and grounds at WCSD, discovered a leak in the eighth water main behind WHS. Bankos and his team, along with WTA, excavated and repaired the leak Feb. 6. D’Huy Engineering Inc. was on-site at the time to offer guidance.

Earth Engineering was brought in to investigate, document and analyze the situation below the surface of the area of the leak. The firm also conducted a geophysical investigation Feb. 8 to check for the potential for sinkholes due to the leak’s proximity to WHS and beneath Campus Drive.

Earth Engineering found there were anomalies in the areas near the leak that should be monitored and recommended WCSD consider having test borings conducted to ensure no further work is necessary. The cost for that will be $4,000, and Williams is currently looking into WCSD’s insurance policy before the board makes a final decision.

Earth Engineering recommended WCSD continue to check that water from driveways, grassy areas and buildings in the area of concern is properly draining into the stormwater system.

Steve Beherns, of Breslin Architects, gave an update on WHS’ stage riggings and said the stage in the auditorium will be usable in 12 weeks.

The plans for the new elementary school have been approved by Lehigh County, and the permit gives WCSD a five-year window to have the new school completed.

Also during the meeting, WCSD Superintendent Dr. Lorie Hackett asked the board about purchasing a portable speaker system in order to have alternate locations, such as the auditorium, for school board and other public meetings, at the approximate cost of $4,000. Hackett asked the board to add this to the agenda for approval at the next board meeting.

In other business, WCSD Business Manager Mike Malay informed the board three of WCSD’s budgets, including the costs for students attending Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, Lehigh Carbon Community College and Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit, have increased by $150,000.

During the education/student activities portion of the meeting, the board discussed whether or not snow days have come to an end now that school can operate remotely. Currently, there are an unlimited number of flexible instructional days, but when COVID-19 is no longer affecting academics, flexible instructional days for weather will be limited to five. WCSD still builds three snow days into the calendar, and at this time, all snow days for the 2020-21 school year have been used.

Hackett also talked about correspondence she has had with concerned parents about the board meetings. One question she received is why the board meetings are not recorded, when other districts have theirs available to the public.

According to Hackett, it is not legally required they be recorded, but the board is considering it so community members who cannot attend the meetings can view them at a later time. The board discussed making recorded meetings available for one year, but no decisions have been reached at this time.

Another question Hackett received concerned meeting minutes being posted a month after the meeting. The board waits to post the minutes of the past meeting until they are approved at the current meeting. The board is also discussing this and may vote on it in March.

Another concern of parents was the restriction of public participation to three minutes per person and 20 minutes total per meeting. Hackett said it is not a state law to mandate any specific method of public participation.

It was noted participation at board meetings should be reserved for comments for specific items on the agenda. It is not intended to be a question-and-answer session. It is also not mandatory for board members to provide a rationalization for their votes at meetings.

Board member Tina Koren suggested posting the agenda the Friday before a meeting, so parents could email members with any questions they might have.

The board discussed holding parent liaison committee meetings or holding a town hall meeting to engage parents, extending the length of public participation and hiring or contracting a public relations specialist.

In other news, the board also discussed ideas for graduation, such as holding a ceremony outside on campus or at the PPL Center, though nothing is firm as of right now. WCSD is hopeful for an in-person graduation this year.

Extended summer learning opportunities to help students who may have fallen behind during the unusual academic year were also explored.

Whitehall High School Theatre Club will be performing “Shrek the Musical” in the spring. It will be held at Scottish Rite Cathedral in Allentown.

The next school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. March 8.