During the Jan. 18 Salisbury Township School Board meeting, the board received an update from the business office concerning the annual audit and after a lengthy discussion approved the fund balance allocations.

Chief Financial Officer Dawn Nickischer reported the annual audit has been completed and is in the process of being finalized by auditors. She also informed the board the closing on the recently issued bond will take place Feb. 9 and the business office is currently working on the preliminary budget which was to be posted for public review Jan. 26.

During the operations committee portion of the meeting, the board of directors approved the Salisbury High School program of studies for the 2023-2024 school year, the renewal of district insurance coverage, an agreement with BerkOne to perform comparison Act 80 services on behalf of the district and an agreement with Mary E. Farris for services as acting coordinator of human resources.

Also approved was the district’s health and safety plan which included no significant changes.

The finance committee called upon the board to approve the allocation of the fund balance. Board member Joseph S. Kuzo questioned the short amount of time the board was given to look over the fund balance allocations to which Nickischer responded she had not received the information until Tuesday and she wanted to make sure the draft audit matched exactly since there were corrections that needed to be made.

He also asked if the vote could be tabled to allow more time for review. According to Nickischer it would be possible to push the vote to February but this would impede the auditing process as the auditing company would not issue audited financials until the board approves the fund balance.

Laura McKelvey expressed her concerns about the previous board’s proclivity for dipping into the fund balance in order to help pay for budget deficits. In this regard, she would like to see a change going forward. She also questioned who is in charge of deciding how future budgetary needs are spent and broached the possibility budgetary items could be “slipped in” without the board’s full knowledge.

Nickischer attempted to allay concerns over previous budgets by assuring the board some careful and purposeful restructuring has taken place over the last year in an effort to restore the budget to what it should have been. She also addressed the use of future budgetary needs by ensuring it will be at the board’s discretion and any changes in the allocation of funds must be brought to the board for a vote.

Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten pledged her commitment to full transparency if, in fact, the administration feels the need to make a recommendation concerning utilizing funds in the fund balance.

Director Joe Gnall, having served on the board for several years, remarked that anytime the fund balance was used to fill in the gap it was brought to the board’s attention and it was a mutual decision of the board and the administration.

Ultimately, a roll-call vote was taken and the motion to approve the fund balance was approved 7-1 with a no vote from McKelvey.

Carol Klinger, chair of the personnel committee, brought several resignations as well as recent hires to the board for approval. The board accepted the resignations of the following part-time instructional assistants: Cortney Woodruff, Salisbury Elementary School, Michele Miller, Salisbury High School, Alexandra Youse, Salisbury Middle School and Arelis Roman, SMS. Daniel Reichenbach and Michelle Reichenbach have tendered their resignations as assistant track coaches as well as No Place for Hate adviser Freya deConde.

New hires include Kimberly Lichtenwalner, part-time instructional assistant, Greg Laub, tennis coach, Alexander Hess, assistant track coach and Jonathan Bolich, volunteer varsity wrestling coach.

Gnall, chair of student activities, was happy to report on how well the cooperative partnership between the Salisbury and Allentown Central Catholic High School wrestling teams has been going. He remarked it is a testament to not only the wrestlers but also the coaching staff who have fostered this camaraderie between the two schools.

In her superintendent’s report, Fuini-Hetten thanked the school board members for their work as it is school board recognition month. She expressed her appreciation and recognized the value of what board members bring to the table in an effort to move the district forward.

Congratulations are in order for Laurans Trinh who will be the first student to represent Salisbury in the prestigious Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 10 Jazz Band. A jazz festival will be held at Bangor High School Feb. 3-4 and will culminate with a concert to be held 2 p.m. Feb. 4.

Events to take place in the spring include a May 2 Salisbury High School Spring Concert 7 p.m., the return of the K-12 art show slated for 5-7 p.m. May 9 and the Salisbury Middle School Spring Concert 7 p.m. May 18.

In other news, the Salisbury Education Foundation has awarded several mini grants to select teachers in the district. Among the recipients are James Hahn, SHS, Using Software to Learn Mathematics, Karen Orlemann, SMS, Sphero Bolt Coding Robot, Renzuilli Learning - Total Talent Development and Keva Planks, Chris Tripp and Lynne Welliver, SHS, CPR/AED First Aid Certification for Students and Angela Xander, SHS, Technology Integration in PreCalculus.

Art teacher Catherine Amorim was awarded a Crayola Art in Education Grant. The grant will be used for a fourth grade unit in art.

A special thanks to the Salisbury Youth Association for their donation to the district for AED devices.

Fuini-Hetten also encouraged parents to be mindful of the Pennsylvania System School Assessment /Keystone testing dates for students. If students opt out of testing or do not take the test for any reason this counts against the district and automatically gives a score of below basic.

Kindergarten registration is now open. Visit www.salisburysd.or/kindergarten for more details. Students must be 5 by Aug. 31.

In her closing remarks, Fuini-Hetten posted a list of current job openings within the district. The district is currently looking for a full-time school nurse, coordinator of human resources, instructional assistants/substitutes and substitute teachers and nurses.

The next school board meeting will be held Feb. 8 immediately following the curriculum and technology meeting. All meetings will take place in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road.