By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

As was done during their September meeting, Northwestern Lehigh board President Willard Dellicker asked for a legal update, at the start of the Oct. 20 meeting, regarding the state masking order.

Solicitor Jessica Moyer reported two cases in Commonwealth Court are still pending, including one filed by state Sen. Jake Corman, R-34th, along with several parents, private schools and a school district.

Moyer said the case had just been orally argued in court that day.

She also said that on Oct. 18 a lawsuit was filed against the Delaware Valley School District and its school board members by several parents looking to enjoin the district from permitting parents to opt out of the state masking order without requiring a doctor’s note.

Lastly, Moyer said there was a challenge coming out of the Legislature’s health committee against acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam’s authority and the process used to issue the masking order.

Moyer said the committee was anticipating meeting that week and would request a determination from the Legislature.

In response to several audience comments during courtesy of the floor, Superintendent Jennifer Holman provided some numbers regarding COVID-19 in the district.

She said as of Oct. 19 there were 36 positive cases compared to 13 cases Oct. 19, 2020.

She added the district’s positive case counts are available online.

Holman said while last year the district had 26 people quarantining, as of Oct. 19 this year, there were 195 students exposed either in school or out of school.

She said the board receives a specific report every Friday with Lehigh County COVID numbers, information on positivity rates, case counts and local Northwestern Lehigh data, as well as updates on the number of granted mask-exemption requests.

Holman and Dellicker reiterated the district’s mitigation plan intends to keep students in school in person for five days a week.

Holman added the district already had a tiered mitigation plan in place for the start of school which still exists, and the district is prepared to “go back to [it]” should the proper time come.

In his president’s report, Dellicker noted the Senate Education Committee had advanced a House Bill to mandate that schools put all their curriculum online.

“Make it accessible to the parents and the public to review the curriculum, to look at it, and also the books that go along with the curriculum delivery,” Dellicker explained.

Both he and board member James Warfel, who used to be the district’s curriculum coordinator, said Northwestern Lehigh has been publicly posting its curriculum online for decades.

Dellicker noted the district also has a curriculum council, comprised of parents, students, board members and other experienced individuals, which creates the curriculum to suit the district’s need, as well as a review board that checks the curriculum every three years to ensure it meets the necessary standards and requirements.

Additionally in his report, Dellicker said the Pennsylvania School Boards Association had voted to withdraw from the National School Boards Association after the latter asked the Biden administration for federal assistance to deal with threats of violence, harassment and other issues from parents protesting mask mandates and other topics and compared them to domestic terrorism.

Dellicker said he was glad to see the PSBA withdraw its membership and support, and said a letter of support had been written to the state board.

Additionally, the board approved an application for homeless children and youth funding and set-aside funding provided through the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds, noting the item was previously vetted at their October workshop.

The funding includes allocations of $72,911 for learning loss set-aside funding, $14,582 for summer enrichment set-aside, $14,582 for after-school programs set-aside funding, and $20,553 for homeless children and youth funding.

Under the Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation report, Director of curriculum and instruction LeAnn Stitzel reported that after a one-year hiatus, the foundation is again taking application for the teacher mini-grant program, and said the foundation expects to have a “banner year.”

She also noted that several board member seats on the foundation are open and the organization is looking for interested people to contact them over the next several months about filling the positions.

More information is available on the foundation’s website.

In the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute report, Dellicker, Holman and board member Alan Rex reported they attended a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of LCTI, which included opening a 25-year time capsule.

Several photos were shown as part of the report including an old picture of Dellicker when he was the president of the LCTI Joint Operating Committee, and another of Rex and Dellicker with one of the event’s speakers, Julia Remaly, who Rex said was a full-time marketing student from Northwestern Lehigh.

The board also recognized the retirement of bus drivers Gail Vogels and Patricia McGonigle after 10 and 19 years of distinguished Black and Gold service, respectively, and under personnel items the retirement of Mary Ann Metzger after 19 years of service as a part-time instructional assistant was also noted.

Holman also told the board that October is National Principals Month and she thanked Northwestern Lehigh’s principals for being “total rock stars” in navigating the challenges and beginning of a new school year.

The next board meeting will be a workshop at 7 p.m. Nov. 3.