The Northampton Area High School Class of 2021 graduates can toss their mortarboards in the air at commencement - and they can toss their face masks aside.

At the June 4 commencement, in Al Erdosy Memorial Stadium, graduating seniors will be seated on the field’s turf at a 3- to 4-feet distance from each other and will not be required to wear face masks, Northampton Area School District Superintendent of Schools Joseph Kovalchik said in his May 24 report to the school board.

Kovalchik’s announcement that seniors won’t have to wear masks elicited applause from the 11 people in the audience at the board meeting in Northampton Area Middle School cafeteria.

Each NAHS graduating senior receives eight tickets for family and friends to attend commencement. Families, if seated together in the stadium, will not be required to wear face masks.

If a family member mingles with a nonfamily group or person, gets up to use the bathroom or walks around the stadium, a face mask must be worn.

The Class of 2021 includes approximately 460 graduates. Capacity of the stadium is 3,000.

Kovalchik said he will post stadium logistics information for commencement in a video chat on YouTube.

“This is really the last week of school,” Kovalchik said in his report to the board, noting final exams are June 1-4 with early dismissals, and schools will be closed May 31 for the Memorial Day holiday.

“We’re going to require face coverings (for the remainder of the school year),” Kovalchik told the board.

The final day of classes is June 7.

As the 2020-21 school year, bookended by COVID-19 pandemic protocol, winds down, the NASD administration is looking to the 2021-22 school year.

“We are planning to open five days a week, normal schedule (this fall),” Kovalchik said. “Related arts will be five days a week. I’m hoping we will not have to wear face coverings. But there’s talk that 70 percent has to be vaccinated for no face masks.”

Kovalchik said 600 students have received Pfizer vaccinations through a collaboration between NASD and Newhard Pharmacy, Northampton.

“It’s not mandatory,” Kovalchik said of the vaccine program for students.

Kovalchik said they are going to offer the eLearning program if parents want to choose it for their student but cautioned there would need to be enough students in each grade level signing up for the online teaching program to continue across the district.

“If we have two first-graders across the district, we’re not going to have one teacher (for eLearning). And we’re not going to know until the end of July how many eLearning students we’ll have,” Kovalchik said. “It’s not fiscally responsible to have one teacher teach two students.

“At the current time, 95 percent of our parents want their students to return (to five-day, in-person classes),” Kovalchik reported from the latest survey of parents and guardians.

Kovalchik said he will update parents and guardians about fall classes in his upcoming video chat.

In his report to the school board, NAHS Student Council member Adam Reichelderfer thanked the NASD administration and school board for its transparency in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sounding an upbeat note about the fall, Reichelderfer, an NAHS junior, said, “Varsity band is already in full swing. We plan to go to every game and every event.”

Reichelderfer said the prom, held May 8 in the NAHS gym, went well.

“Students were very, very happy,” he noted.

Reichelderfer also thanked school Director Roy Maranki for coordinating the sixth annual NASD Student Council car show, set for 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 31 at Bicentennial Park West, East Allen Township.

The 2021-22 NASD budget is expected to be on the agenda for a final vote at the next school board meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. June 14 in the NAMS cafeteria, 1617 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

“It seems like we’re in a holding pattern. We’re not getting much information from Harrisburg,” school board President David Gogel said.

School directors voted 6-2, with Gogel and Maranki casting “no” votes, at the May 10 meeting to approve the 2021-22 school budget, available on the district website, nasdschools.org.

Approved was the general fund of $116,393,720, food service fund of $2,502,658 and athletic fund of $257,494.

The May 24 board meeting was the first for school Director Jennifer L. Johnson, appointed May 10 to represent Moore Township and Chapman and Bath boroughs.