The East Penn Board of School Directors reviewed the District Health and Safety Plan at the Feb. 14 regular, masked, in-person meeting.

Before proceeding, a moment of silence was held in memory of Suzanne Reppert, a staff assistant at Lower Macungie Middle School. She died Feb. 2.

Four from the room addressed the board on the masking policy.

Emmaus High School student Elliot Munson encouraged the board to maintain mask mandates. “I don’t want to be worried about getting sick and bringing that home to my family and grandparents,” he remarked.

Jennifer Henry, of Upper Milford, said “Enough is enough,” as she urged the board to make masks optional.

Emmaus resident Joey Joyce quoted notables such as Lincoln and Einstein as she complained about “forced mandates. “Forcing someone to do something against their will is slavery,” she argued.

Jason Jenkins, of Macungie, railed against mask mandates saying, “It’s all for show.” Jenkins related his brother, a vaccinated teacher who wore protective masks, had recently died from COVID-19. “It’s time to stop!” he exclaimed.

Three others remarked on different topics.

Macungie resident Carl Sell questioned the safety and appropriateness of sending children on field trips to “political” events like the upcoming “International Women’s Day March in Philadelphia.”

Michelle Doster, of Macungie, said she supported the Pennsylvania Youth Survey but considered some of the items as “inappropriate.” She expressed anger her daughter had taken the survey after she had opted her sixth grader out of it. “You took away my right as a parent and my husband’s right to teach her about things that she wasn’t ready to learn about yet,” Doster said.

Kirsten Hess, of Emmaus, expressed appreciation of the district’s recent Panorama Study and sharing the results with the community. When she began bringing up the subject of “frivolous lawsuits” and said, “White children are not in danger of having their feelings hurt by honest lessons about our nation’s history,” some from the audience rudely shouted her down.

In her district update, School Superintendent Kristen Campbell discussed recommended changes to the Health and Safety Plan, regarding masking, contact tracing and quarantining and a proposed timeline for implementation.

While eliminating contact tracing, positive COVID-19 cases would be reported on the district dashboard and to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Quarantining of individuals exposed to COVID-19 would be eliminated except for unvaccinated household close contacts.

In addition to this, masks would be made optional beginning March 1.

Since the decision on some of the protocols would be a deviation from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules, the proposed changes would be voted on at the next meeting. Campbell said the mask mandates for buses and the health room would remain in effect as it is federal law.

When asked about if changing the masking rules could be added to the evening’s agenda for a vote, district Solicitor Marc Fisher explained the procedures.

While several directors were leaning toward relaxing the masking mandate sooner than waiting to vote on it at the next meeting, Director William Whitney agreed with Campbell that waiting for two weeks would allow the administration to address any possible implementation and communication issues in a proper manner. He pointed out the board’s being forced into making a hasty decision would provide a poor example to set for children to follow.

Several in the audience continually interrupted proceedings and had to be shushed by President Joshua Levinson. He reminded them, “This is not an interactive session.”

Director Michael Felegy’s motion to initiate the process to put the matter of ending mask mandates immediately to a vote received no second.

“We know who the slave masters are!” yelled one in the grumbling crowd of anti-maskers. Many of them had already pulled off their face coverings. “Vote them out!” shouted other angry attendees as they exited the board room.

An updated 2022 demographic study presented by Zach Worthen from PowerSchool showed little change in projected overall enrollment numbers from a previous study.

District Treasurer Robert Saul presented a 2022-2023 budget expenditure overview. More specific details are to come at a future meeting.

Before they voted to approve it, Fisher read a statement regarding a recent settlement agreement for $45,000 pending in the courts between the East Penn School District and the family of two district students.

“The school district was represented by its insurance carrier,” the school solicitor said. “The monies paid to settle the cases was provided solely by the insurance carrier and not the taxpayers of the East Penn School District.”

He added there was no admission or finding of liability on behalf of the district and its employees. The insurance company agreed to make the payment to avoid additional expenses and the uncertainty of litigation.

A draft of the 2022-2023 East Penn School District student/teacher calendar was presented to the board by Assistant Superintendent Douglas Povilaitis. With 184 student days and 191 teacher days, three inclement weather make up days are already built into the calendar. If needed, additional inclement weather days include April 5, 2023 as a full day or April 6, 2023 becomes an early dismissal day.

If fewer than three inclement weather days are used, the last day of school will be June 8, 2023. Otherwise, June 13, 14, 15, 16 and 19, 2023 will be make up days if needed.

In personnel matters, the directors approved the retirement of Shoemaker Elementary Principal Jacqueline Vogel effective July 18. Campbell praised the retiring educator.

Alon Hogan received approval to begin as a special-education teacher at EHS effective Feb. 15.

Director Alisa Bowman reported the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit’s mask mandates continue through March 4.

Director Paul Champagne said Lehigh Career & Technical Institute tours for interested fifth grade students are scheduled for March.

Levinson said an executive session was held before the public forum on “negotiation and litigation.”

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 28. The public can access documents through BoardDocs via a link on the district website. Livestreaming of meetings is available on the district’s YouTube channel.