The Salisbury Township School Board held a regular board meeting following both a reorganization meeting and a work session meeting Dec. 7.

Among the topics discussed were the revision of meeting dates and times and revamping the approval policy for use of facilities.

The board was asked to approve a request for facilities use of the stadium by the Southern Lehigh boys and girls soccer teams for a tournament in November. This prompted board members to question if it is necessary to seek board approval after the fact.

Joseph Gnall, operations committee chair, suggested the policy of obtaining board approval for use of facilities could be changed if the board felt comfortable with allowing administrators to make these decisions going forward.

Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten agreed and will bring a revised policy before the board at a later date.

The board also approved two overnight extracurricular trips for the high school wrestling team to participate in wrestling tournaments in both Lancaster and Montgomery, Pa.

Carol Klinger, chair of the personnel committee, reported the resignation of Lynn Welliver, full-time school nurse as of Jan. 13, 2023, the hiring of Leanne Adamcik as a part-time instructional assistant and a request for leave of absence at the high school level. The board voted to approve.

Board member Laura McKelvey reported the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit payment for Salisbury will be lower than in the previous year and she also highlighted a presentation on the working transition programs at CLIU for middle and high school students with special needs. These programs help students gain valuable experience to help them succeed in a work environment after graduation.

Sam DeFrank, who sits on the board of trustees for Lehigh Carbon Community College, spoke about the skyrocketing number of dual enrollment students and summarized a presentation that brought to light some of the risks and established protocols that come with having minors on campus.

He also highlighted what is being done to support first year, nontraditional or first generation students to help them succeed in their college experience.

Sarah Nemitz announced Lehigh Career & Technical Institute has inducted 25 students into the National Technical Honor Society. Five of those students are from Salisbury School District and they include Amal Basyouni, health and medical science, Candice Bresnak, carpentry, Eric Kim, web design/web programming, Pablo Reyes, pre-engineering and engineering technology and William Sterner, electromechanical/mechatronics technology.

In her report on the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, board member Rebecca Glenister outlined information relating to charter school enrollment which showed students who left their home district to attend charter schools after the pandemic have remained in those charter schools. She also reports the Pennsylvania Department of Education revealed data asserting school districts educate 93.2% of special education students while charter schools educate 6.8%.

Other areas of concern are the increase in youth suicide rates which studies show is directly linked to mental health staff shortages.

Another worrying statistic is the number of new teachers entering the field has plummeted from an average 20,000 new teachers per year 10 years ago to only 6,000 in current years. This news foreshadows teacher shortages in the near future.

In her superintendent’s report, Fuini-Hetten encouraged families to fill out an application for the child nutrition program if they think they might qualify. On average the district serves breakfast to 20% of the student population and 49% receive lunch. These programs provide an important service to children who need them and they may also help the district qualify for new grant funding or increase existing grant funding.

She also wanted to thank the PTO who went above and beyond at the Salisbury Elementary School Holiday Shop. Volunteers not only organized the holiday shop, they decorated and even dressed up to make it a great experience for students, staff and the school community.

Fuini-Hetten also related how impressed she was with the festive atmosphere while attending the Salisbury High School Winter Concert. The students did a great job and the auditorium was nearly at capacity with many staff and support staff in attendance.

Current job openings in the district include a full-time certified school nurse, instructional assistants and substitutes as well as substitute teachers and nurses.

She also reminded the community school will be closed for winter break Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, 2023.

Under new business the board voted to approve the revised committee meeting dates for 2023.

The next regular school board meeting will be held 7 p.m. Jan. 18, 2023 at the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road.