At the virtual Whitehall- Coplay School Board meeting April 12, retiring Whitehall-Coplay School District Superintendent Dr. Lorie Hackett thanked the board, staff and community for “the many years of support, collaboration and collegiality that I’ve enjoyed being part of in this district” and wished WCSD the best in the future.

Board President Wayne Grim said Hackett began her career at WCSD in September 1988 as a second-grade teacher, becoming assistant to the superintendent in July 2005 and superintendent in October 2016 - totaling 33 years of service, five years as superintendent.

Grim presented Hackett with a certificate from the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators for her leadership and years of service.

“Thank you for all of your help and all the time you put in,” Grim said. “Enjoy your retirement, and thank you for your service.”

Board member George Makhoul also thanked her for her service and dedication.

“You’ve spent your entire career here, and that really sends a loud message to everybody in this community, how you’ve been so committed, dedicated to families and your colleagues who you’ve come up with through the ranks to be here,” Makhoul said.

Makhoul thanked her for the leadership over the past year, acknowledging it hasn’t been easy, and there was a lot of stress and many difficult decisions to be made.

In other business, Hackett discussed Whitehall High School’s virtual career fair held March 24, calling it “a great success.” WHS partnered with Catasauqua High School and the Whitehall Area Rotary Club to present the career fair.

“Students took part in 25-minute discussions with small panels of business professionals from across the Lehigh Valley. The virtual expo featured four sessions, during which students spoke with business professionals, and there were teacher moderators in each session to guide the conversation,” Hackett said. “So, the students got to choose from topics such as architecture and construction; the arts, technology and communication; business; education; government; health sciences; hospitality; law and public safety; and the armed forces.”

Hackett thanked the counseling department, Rotary Club and local businesses for helping provide students with these experiences.

Hackett reminded parents and the board PSSA testing will begin April 19 for grades 3-8.

Hackett gave the board an update from Whitehall-Coplay PTO PLUS President Toni Fillman, which includes combining the teachers, paraprofessionals and nurses appreciation weeks into one celebratory week, as well as committing scholarships and planning something special for elementary students in lieu of Children’s Day.

Hackett thanked T.J. Maxx, Whitehall, for a donation of school supplies, which have been distributed among the schools.

Also at the meeting, WHS Student Council President Jalyn Jimenez announced Student Council will be hosting its first virtual Zoom mini-thon bake-off contest 1 p.m. April 24.

According to Jimenez, all contestants will pre-bake a cake or cupcakes, then decorate them based on this year’s mini-thon theme, Olympics. Participants will get 30 minutes to decorate their desserts, guest star judges will pick a winner, and the top three contestants will win a grand prize.

The cost to enter is $5, and payments can be made at the WHS office. Cash is preferred, but checks are accepted and should be made out to WHS Student Council. Contestants will be given a baking starter kit, a rule sheet, Zoom link and other information.

Fillman will host, and teachers Michelle Abbadessa, Elizabeth Burnett and Michael Lynn will judge. Students are bringing in donations of cake mix, sprinkles and frosting.

The link to register is forms.gle/Jd9XSfnCdypHAeB88, and all proceeds will go toward research to end childhood cancer.

In other business, the board accepted, with regret, the resignation of board member William Leiner Jr., effective April 12.

The board approved the appointment of Eileen Abruzzi to fill the open school board seat, effective through the reorganization meeting in December. The two-year term seat will be filled permanently after the November election.

The board approved vacation leave for Hackett May 3-June 30, in accordance with the superintendent agreement dated June 13, 2016, between the WCSD board of directors and Hackett.

The board approved the appointment of Fox Rothschild LLP as the WCSD solicitor, July 1-June 30, 2022, based upon a retainer of $19,500 per year, a base hourly rate of $185, alternate rates in accordance with the engagement letter, rates as established by the insurance carrier where Fox Rothschild LLP is an approved provider and a motion to approve the HIPAA business associate agreement between WCSD and Fox Rothschild LLP, as the result of Fox Rothschild LLP handling cases that involve protected health information on behalf of WCSD.

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

The next school board meeting will be 7 p.m. May 10.