The Saucon Valley School Board wasted no time in filling a vacancy, swiftly choosing between two applicants at its Aug. 9 meeting.

Dr. Laurel Erickson-Parsons, a St. Luke’s-affiliated pediatrician and mother of four children in the district, was approved unanimously to serve the remainder of Edward Andres’ term. Andres, a local attorney who officially resigned at the July 26 meeting, was also an appointee and would have been up for election in 2023.

Erickson-Parsons, whose practice is located on Bethlehem’s South sde and who serves as medical director for inpatient pediatrics with the network, joined remotely and said her primary focus will be on “academic and educational excellence.” The other applicant, retired longtime district teacher Vivian Demko, was absent from the meeting with prior notification.

In other business, Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty provided a fairly lengthy safety presentation. She outlined a variety of strategies and resources meant to provide for both a positive mental health environment for students and staff as well as to remain guarded against an active threat.

Vlasaty asked for cooperation from the community in regard to some changes that may be made to “norms” within the school to improve safety, which could cause some inconvenience to families and staff. She also asserted that the district would attempt to be more transparent about these measures under her leadership.

Finally, Vlasaty asked the board to support her two recommendations: first, to contract with a private, outside security firm to provide an on-campus presence. Instead of a School Resource Officer (SRO), which would be provided by a local police department, a security guard would be “100 percent of the time, only focused on safety,” rather than as a liaison between the department and the school populace.

Most school directors on the board seemed receptive to the idea and supported Vlasaty’s reasoning behind choosing such a service, rather than a more “climate- and culture-oriented” figure such as an SRO. In this case, she said, a private security force would perform remote surveillance via video technology rather than interact directly with students, which director Shawn Welch noted was likely to be more efficient in neutralizing a developing situation.

Second, Vlasaty asked that in addition to the private security, the Lower Saucon Township Police Department maintain their current level of involvement in the district, which she characterized as overwhelmingly positive. Additionally, she requested increased patrols on and around campus by both the Lower Saucon and Hellertown PDs.

While no official action from the board was necessary to authorize Vlasaty to begin looking for a private security firm – in fact, she acknowledged that “several” have already reached out to the district to express interest in providing services – she promised to update the board as she works through the process.