The Salisbury Township School Board convened Feb. 8 immediately following the curriculum and technology committee meeting.

Board members voted on the 2023-2024 preliminary budget, approved several new hires to the district and discussed noteworthy current events that may affect school district funding across the state.

In her financial report, Chief Financial Officer Dawn Nickischer spoke briefly about the recent court ruling which declared the state funding formula has been deemed unconstitutional. It is unclear how this will affect the appropriation of state funds as there will most likely be appeals filed against the ruling which could postpone any changes to funding for 5-10 years.

Director Laura McKelvey added the way the ruling was stated did not mean funding will increase but rather it would change the way funds are distributed among wealthier and poorer districts.

Director Rebecca Glenister also noted in the judge’s ruling there was no indicated deadline for making changes happen.

During the curriculum and technology portion of the meeting, the board voted to approve a special education settlement agreement and release as well as an overnight trip for Model U.N. students to Ithaca, N.Y.

East Stroudsburg University special education student teacher Dylan Wade Doran was also approved to work with second grade teacher Tracy Merrill Feb. 9 through May 18.

Operations Committee Chair Thomas Spinner made a motion to approve an interim business office services agreement for Kristine L. Stafford. McKelvey and Director Joseph Kuzo called for more defined parameters for her hours that include an end date and how many hours per week will be allotted for her services until the end of the school year.

McKelvey also questioned the need for Stafford’s services since the auditing process and the data system changeover have been completed.

Superintendent Lynn Fuini-Hetten explained the data system changeover is not complete and she further explained Stafford will be called on to mentor Nickischer through both negotiations with professional staff and the budgeting process as it is her first year doing this. She recommended a suitable end date for her services should be June 30 after the development and passing of the final budget.

While McKelvey called for a defined cap on the number of hours Stafford could work, Kuzo pressed the point by questioning “why we are paying a third party to do things we should be doing in-house?”

Nickischer, as well as several board members, recognized that due to the small size of the business office there is simply not an adequate number of personnel to do projects like data system changeovers which occur infrequently in addition to auditing, budgeting and negotiations.

In the end, the board voted to approve the motion by a vote of 7-2, with McKelvey and Kuzo casting dissenting votes.

During the finance committee portion of the meeting, Chair Christopher Freas began with a motion to approve an update to the school per capita tax which the board unanimously approved before moving on to the preliminary budget.

The preliminary budget reflected total expenditures of $4.5 million and required a real estate tax levy of 24.9622 mils. The budget was passed by a 7-1 vote with a no vote from Kuzo.

In personnel committee news, the board approved the hiring of Elaine Divers, full-time instructional assistant and Christopher Butynskyi, full-time long-term substitute special education teacher at Salisbury High School.

Increased hours for nursing assistant Michelle Peters, from part-time to full-time at SHS were also approved.

Newly hired coaches include Erin Bross, assistant SMS soccer coach and Annie Purtell, assistant middle school swim adviser.

Student activities committee chair Joseph Gnall proposed a new cooperative agreement which will allow Lehigh Christian Academy baseball players to play on the SHS baseball team. This agreement is similar to the successful cooperative pairings with Allentown Central Catholic High School in wrestling, field hockey and lacrosse. The board unanimously voted in favor of the agreement.

Board member Sarah Nemitz reported on the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute Skills USA competition which included 400 students who participated in 56 competitions from around the Lehigh Valley. She attended the event and commented how impressed she was with how the students performed.

The board also approved the LCTI 2023 budget. Salisbury Township School District’s portion of the budget equates to $1.2 million.

Glenister, who sits on the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Legislative Council reported there was much discussion about the recent questions raised by the state auditor general about the amount of money some school districts are holding in their savings accounts. This led to a closer look at cyber/charter schools and their savings coffers. Four schools were found to have savings that exceeded 50% of their expenditures.

In response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech highlighting youth mental health, the U.S. Department of Education will invest $240 million in grants to help schools tackle the mental health problem.

Glenister also pointed out if you are interested in running for the school board, petitions are open now and due by March 7.

In her superintendent’s report, Fuini-Hetten took the time to remind families how important it is students are present to take upcoming standardized tests to ensure the district meets its 95% participation threshold. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment/Keystone testing dates have been published to give families advanced notice.

She also pointed out a new addition to the online board meeting agenda content. Community members now have access to a variety of content including board minutes from Lehigh Carbon Community College, LCTI, Arts Academy Charter School and enrollment reports.

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

At the close of the meeting the board approved the nomination of McKelvey to serve a 3-year term on the board of the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit.

The next school board meeting will be held March 22 following the curriculum and technology meeting. All meetings are held in the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road.