The Salisbury Township School Board met Feb. 9 to discuss topics including the district Health and Safety Plan, student achievements and preliminary budgets.

The meeting began with Salisbury High School representatives Nolan Grejda and Grace Kelly who reported on the many successes achieved during winter sports. They announced Salisbury High School will present their spring musical production “Rent” March 10-13. Most notably, a special congratulations to teacher Michael Barna and the debate team. The team performed well at its most recent competition which marked an 800th win for Barna.

Salisbury Middle School students Meredith Kelley and Soledad Lausch came bearing appreciation gifts for board members. They reported on the successful ski club season at Blue Mountain, eighth grade recognition night for basketball players and cheerleaders as well as the Interact Club’s candy gram fundraiser which benefits the PA Caring Hearts Animal Adoptions.

Salisbury Elementary School students Ryland Christ and Everose Figueroa reported Feb. 4 was the 100th day of school and many special activities were planned to celebrate the day. They also explained some classes are collecting items for a special donation drive called The Chemo Bag which provides comfort items for Lehigh Valley patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

February is a busy month for elementary students as they are looking forward to Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day and Read Across America month Feb. 14 through March 4. The celebration includes Dr. Seuss’s birthday, March 2 and is a way to promote a love for reading.

After months of passionate debate and discussion, the board voted 7-2 to amend the current Health and Safety Plan. The face covering matrix will still be used but will no longer consider the Lehigh County case count metric when moving from one tier to the next. Going forward, the district will rely on building case counts to determine on which tier of the matrix the district lies.

The “mask optional” wording in the least restrictive tiers has been removed and has been replaced by the term “mask recommended.” The board also clarified masks are recommended for athletes and performers when they are actively engaged in performances or practice and the decision to mask in the administration building will be determined by the superintendent.

The board voted 8-1 to approve the preliminary general fund budget for 2022-2023 reflecting expenditures of $42,768,013 requiring a real estate tax levy of 23.2667 mills. Notably, Director Joe Kuzo rendered a no vote, citing he would like to review the numbers before giving his approval since it affects taxpayers. Additionally, the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute budget was approved. Salisbury School District’s portion of the budget amounted to $1,190,559 which is an increase of $95,000 over last year.

Also approved by the board is an agreement with Hometown Ticketing and Event Management Software Services to give the district the ability to sell tickets to events online. This comes at no cost to the district since fees are attached to ticket prices when orders are placed.

Additionally, the board approved BerkOne to complete the Act 80 process which is needed due to a vacancy in transportation. BerkOne is necessary to make sure individuals on the bus routes live within the school district.

Curriculum and Technology Chairperson Carol Klinger reported math and reading midyear assessments at Salisbury Elementary School indicate students are on track to meet end-of-year bench marks in many areas. Areas of weakness are being addressed through targeted interventions.

In an effort to meet the needs of the whole child, the social and emotional learning aspects of education are top of mind. Salisbury Elementary School is partnering with Valley Youth House to assess, mitigate and provide students with effective coping strategies to use in this important area of development.

Science standards have recently been approved and the process of planning ways to achieve them through professional development and partnering with the Da Vinci Science Center are being discussed. The new language arts program Wit and Wisdom is expected to be adopted in the beginning of March.

Personnel changes approved by the board include the resignations of Emily Bumbulsky, speech and language pathologist at SMS and Valerie Ackerman-Cicconetti, building substitute at SMS. Part-time ESL instructor Jamie Roth-Gilly will retire as of Feb. 28. New hires include Pamela Marth, part-time instructional assistant at SES, Zachary Montenegro, musical director at SHS and Cassy Caliendo, building substitute at SES.

Coaching positions approved by the board include Michael Silberman, assistant softball pitching coach at SHS, Mark Allinson, assistant soccer coach at SMS and Megan Basile, assistant swim coach at SMS. Volunteers Melissa Knecht and Michael Silberman will serve as assistant varsity softball coaches.

The following Moravian University student teachers have been approved by the board: Macy Miller and Emma Marion will work with SHS teachers Andrew Cerco and Kelly Butterbaugh respectively.

During the superintendent’s report Lynn Fuini-Hetten shined the spotlight on the district’s school counselors and praised them for a job well done. National School Counseling week was held Feb. 7-11. She also reported February is Love the Bus month and encourages the community to recognize the adults who are the first to greet our children every morning.

During the week of Feb. 13-17, the Salisbury School District will celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week throughout the district.

In closing, Fuini-Hetten remarked administrators continue to work hard to find qualified candidates to fill the many job openings within the district, especially a part-time Spanish teacher and a school psychologist. Job availability is posted on the district website.

The next work session meeting will be held 7 p.m. March 2 and the next school board meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. March 16 at the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.