The East Penn School District regular board meeting was held Jan. 10 after a special board meeting where new board member Jennifer Bowen was chosen to fill the position vacated by Dr. Ken Bacher.

The regular meeting began with requests to address the board. A parent in the district spoke up about the bullying her son was dealing with at school. She said she reported the bullying, but no action has been taken. She said this occurred a month and a half ago.

A second speaker came to the microphone about school bus issues in the district. There is a staffing shortage, but it is impacting the children’s schedules. The speaker said, recently, her son was 45 minutes late coming home from school and he gets picked up in the mornings late as well. The speaker wanted to know what the district is doing to address the bus company issues.

A third speaker came to talk about wearing masks in school. He cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data and various medical studies on the efficacy of masks. His belief was masks should not be mandated in schools.

Next, another parent of a student complained about discrimination in the school district toward his daughter. This was, again, regarding the school’s mask policy.

The meeting then moved to the oath of office for Jennifer Bowen.

The nominations for president and vice president were the next items on the agenda. Board Members Dr. Joshua Levinson and Alisa Bowman were nominated for president. After a vote, Levinson was elected.

Board members Jeff Jankowski and Adam Smith were nominated for vice president. Jankowski was elected for that position.

Levinson thanked Board Member Paul Champagne for serving as vice president. Champagne stepped down after a few years as vice president.

Superintendent Dr. Kristen Campbell gave her report after the previous month’s meeting minutes were approved. Campbell thanked the candidates who applied for the open board seat and thanked Champagne as well.

Campbell then made a statement about the school’s COVID-19 policies. She said they are following the CDC and federal guidelines. She said that, ultimately, it is the school nurses that monitor each student’s health situation.

Additionally, Campbell talked about the busing concerns. She said they are surveying their drivers about behaviors on buses and acknowledged student misconduct has been an issue on buses.

Campbell also addressed the lateness of the buses and assured the public they will do a better job of communicating with the busing company so they can update parents and students on the bus schedule.

Board Member Michael Felegy said he is concerned about the mask mandate when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled the state cannot enforce mask mandates. However, Solicitor Marc Fisher said the ruling was directed toward Gov. Tom Wolf mandating masks and local school districts can still do so.

The personnel items, bill list and treasurer’s report were then quickly approved.

After a short discussion over the wording of a school wellness policy, the meeting was adjourned.

The next East Penn School District meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24. The meetings are held at the school administration building, 800 Pine St., Emmaus.