A plan to livestream Northampton Area School District Board of Education meetings was rejected 7-2 by school directors at the May 9 board meeting.

Voting for streaming the meetings were school Directors Kim Bretzik and Doug Vaughn.

Voting against were board President James Chuss, Vice President John Becker and school Directors Dr. Michael Baird, Chuck Frantz, David Gogel, Russ Makary and Robert Mentzell.

The vote also defeated a plan to make video recordings of school board meetings available for public viewing beyond 24 hours after the meeting.

Before the vote, some in the audience at the May 9 meeting in the auditorium of Northampton Area High School spoke in favor of livestreaming school board meetings and on allowing recorded videos of the meetings to be viewed for more than 24 hours after a board meeting.

“One day is not enough,” Marc Kercsmar said.

In other business at the May 9 board meeting, school directors voted 9-0 to approve:

• A listing of NASD Summer Bridge lead teachers, teachers, guidance counselors and nurses and their reimbursements, effective June 13 through Aug. 4, with salaries paid through an ESSR 3 grant

• The 2022 summer school program offered through Colonial Virtual Program at $294 per course, paid for by the student

• Michael Rex, mathematics teacher, Northampton Area Middle School, effective Aug. 22, at $59,788, with benefits

• Jonathan Lynch, mathematics teacher, NAMS, effective Aug. 22, at $61,212, with benefits

• Rachel Laird, grade 1 teacher, Lehigh Elementary School, effective Aug. 22, at $57,766, with benefits

• Sydney Kuronya, grade 2 teacher, George Wolf Elementary School, effective Aug. 22, at $57,766, with benefits

• Ashley Dziedzic, special education teacher, Siegfried Elementary School, effective Aug. 22, at $69,988, with benefits

• Susan Holland, special education teacher, Siegfried Elementary, effective Aug. 22, at $72,922, with benefits

• Sarah Andrews, 1:1 special education instructional assistant, Siegfried Elementary, effective Aug. 22, at $17.63 per hour, with benefits

• Anne Gordon, guidance secretary, NAMS, retroactive to April 25, at $21.43 per hour, with benefits

• Resignation of Darlene Ferry, guidance secretary, effective April 8

• Extend long-term substitute music teacher assignment for Amy Wieller, George Wolf Elementary, through 2021-22 school year, at no change in salary

• Sandra Kulick, hall monitor, NAMS, retroactive to April 20, at $15.55 per hour

• Leigh Zakutansky to attend the PJAS State Competition with one student, May 15-17, State College, at a cost to the district of $560

COVID-19 dashboard

The NASD website COVID-19 data dashboard seven-day building totals, May 17-23, as of May 23, are NAHS, 10, up from 7; NAMS, 13, down from 24; Borough Elementary Schools, 7, up from 4; Moore Elementary School, 1, down from 6; Lehigh Elementary, 4, no change from 4; George Wolf, 0, down from 3; and district administration building, 0, down from 4.

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 in NASD for the 2021-22 school year to date is 1,287.

The board of education next meets 6:30 p.m. June 13 in the NAHS auditorium, 1619 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

The public information meeting on the Route 329 elementary school and administration building project will be held 6:30 p.m. June 16 in the NAHS auditorium.