At the virtual March 8 Whitehall-Coplay School Board meeting, the board approved Whitehall-Coplay School District’s new superintendent, Dr. Robert Steckel.

Steckel will be replacing Dr. Lorie Hackett, who is retiring at the end of the school year. He will join the staff May 3.

Steckel is currently the assistant superintendent in the Northampton Area School District and has been in public education since 2003 in different roles. He received a Bachelor of Education degree from Kutztown University and then earned Master of Education degrees in classroom technology and educational leadership from Wilkes University. Steckel received his Doctor of Education degree from Lehigh University in 2020.

Finding a new superintendent was an arduous task, and there were multiple phases involved. WCSB worked with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and its human resources staff to conduct a professional search, which resulted in 28 qualified candidates.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the board’s selection and will look forward to working with you for a smooth transition,” Hackett said to Steckel.

Hackett also thanked board President Wayne Grim and other members for the time and effort they put into finding a new superintendent.

“Searching for the next superintendent is one of the most important actions we do as school directors,” Grim said in a statement released by the district. “Our school board committed to a rigorous process, dedicating a great many hours to the search. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Steckel as the next superintendent of the Whitehall-Coplay School District.”

“I look forward to working with the students, teachers, staff, administration and the broader school community in meeting the needs of our students, furthering the good work and mission of the Whitehall-Coplay School District,” Steckel said in the statement.

In other news, Hackett said WCSD staff will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines, with the first group by March 17. A second group will follow in the next few weeks. According to Hackett, Lehigh County’s COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped to 6.6 percent, or 128.3 per 1,000 residents. Hackett thanked staff and parents for following proper protocols.

Hackett congratulated winter sports athletes on the completion of their season and announced the start of spring sports.

She also said the district is busy planning the PSSAs and Keystone exams. Dates will be released to parents shortly.

WCSD is also working on forming a parent advisory committee, as discussed at the last committee meeting. Senior events, graduation and the summer school program will be topics at the next committee meeting March 22.

Hackett thanked the general manager of Staples in Whitehall, Aregny Vasquez, for a donation of school supplies.

In other news, the board approved the collective bargaining agreement between WCSD and Whitehall-Coplay Educational Support Personnel Association, which is effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

The board approved Dr. Leticia Rodriguez as a provider of Title IX services to WCSD.

The board approved the 2021-22 Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21 general operating budget in the total amount of $819,040, the same as it was last year. WCSD’s sponsor share is $58,159, an increase of $1,069 based on MVAR (Market Value Aid Ratio) and enrollment.

Also approved were the 2021-22 Lehigh Career & Technical Institute budgets. The general fund budget is $28,967,100, an increase of 2 percent over last year’s budget, and member districts’ share will be $21,929,600, or 75.68 percent. WCSD’s sponsor share is $2,217,949, an increase of $105,596 based on a five-year average enrollment of 252.12 students. The academic center budget is $2,078,200, an increase of $237,800, or 12.92 percent, over the prior year’s budget. The WCSD current sponsor share is $187,543, an increase of $45,293 based on a five-year average enrollment of 29.85 students.

The final budget approved by the board was the 2021-22 Lehigh Carbon Community College budget in the total amount of $43,542,222, a decrease of 0.8 percent. The sponsor district’s share of the total operational, debt and capital budgets is $6,186,337, with no increase from last year. WCSD’s sponsor share is $535,159, an increase of $4,653, or 0.9 percent, for the 2021-22 school year, based on an average enrollment of 292.5 students.

Also at the meeting, the board approved the textbook “The Art of Public Speaking,” McGraw-Hill, 13th edition, 2019, paid for by a grant awarded to LCCC.

The board approved the WCSD 2021-22 school year calendar, including professional development and Act 80 days and local school district holidays.

Approved retirements include Debra Frankenfield, principal’s secretary at Steckel Elementary School; Dorothy Hoffman, Whitehall-Coplay Middle School secretary; Sophia Leinweber, fourth-grade teacher at Zephyr Elementary School; William Pugh, fifth-grade teacher at Zephyr Elementary; Stephanie Edwards; math teacher at Whitehall High School; and Faye Schreiner, paraprofessional at Zephyr.

The board approved the resignation of Khola Jarrah, cafeteria worker at WCMS.

New appointments include Kristen Riedy, payroll specialist at the district office, at $45,000 per year; Marisol Perez, principal’s secretary at Steckel Elementary, at $36,093 per year; Melanie Rabeh, inclusion paraprofessional at Zephyr, at $18.44 per hour; Man Ching Yeung, inclusion paraprofessional at Zephyr, at $19.59 per hour; and long-term substitute paraprofessionals Dean Roth, districtwide, and Gabriella Olivieri, math at Zephyr, both at $18.44 per hour.

Approved coaches include Christopher Saliby, assistant baseball coach, at $3,954; Tyler Miller, head track and field coach, at $6,000; Dereck Martinez and Brooke Hamscher, assistant track and field coaches, at $1,499.50 each; Natalie Schlofer, Glenn Reightler, Frank Schlofer and James Sebesta, assistant track and field coaches, at $2,999 each; and Nicholas Ressler, Michael MacLaughlin, Nichole Umbenhauer, Marissa Karl and Kassidy Cunningham, assistant track and field coaches, volunteer; Jeffrey Brosky, boys WCMS volleyball coach, at $2,454; George Cowitch, boys volleyball head coach, at $4,500; Douglas Barriner, boys assistant volleyball coach, at $2,454; Andrew Fehnel, Cristal Fernandez and Alex VanNatten, boys assistant volleyball coaches, volunteer.

Extracurricular advisers for the spring musical include Edward Hong, spring musical producer and director, at $1,650 for each role, and musical accompanist and pit musician, at $540 for each role; Melissa Zimmer, choreographer, at $950; and Kendra Kramer, music director, at $1,355, and pit orchestra conductor, at $850.

The board also granted tenure to Kaitlin Sauerzopf, first-grade teacher at Gockley Elementary School.

The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. April 12.

Committee meetings on education/student activities, operations/transportation and finance personnel will be held 4 p.m. March 22 and April 26.

Correction: In an article on the Feb. 22 committee meetings, Northampton Borough Municipal Authority, not Whitehall Township Authority, assisted with repairs to a water main break at WCSD Feb. 6.