Although the agenda for the July 25 Saucon Valley School Board meeting was not unusually packed, deliberations over several topics helped stretch its runtime to nearly two hours.

Before business began, however, board President Susan Baxter led the body in a moment of silence honoring longtime guidance counselor Grant Geiger, who unexpectedly passed away a few days prior. Education Association President Laura McCarthy also spoke about Geiger, a district employee of over two decades, and shared some words from his widow Maia about his love of his career.

Most of the following hour was dedicated to the first reading of policies related to the admission of nonresident students.

Business Manager David Bonenberger explained that if approved, changes to the current policies would include a tuition grace period for students who have enrolled but not yet established a permanent residence. It would also codify the ability for a student to remain enrolled without paying tuition if their legal guardian moves out of the district after a certain point in the academic year.

Directors were not shy about sharing their criticisms of the policies. Shawn Welch took issue with a passage that described services as free to some students, saying “Don’t use the word ‘free’ … there is nothing free. You either directly pay property taxes or if you’re renting, you’re paying property taxes by default.”

While most of the board was either in agreement with - or did not object to - Welch’s suggestions for alternative language, board Vice President Dr. Shamim Pakzad took umbrage with what he called “prohibitively expensive” tuition costs. Bonenberger said that the rate for nonresident students is approximately $17,000 annually.

Over a half-hour of discussion between Pakzad, Bonenberger, and other directors followed, attempting to find a compromise that would allow flexibility in adjusting tuition rates without being “too open-ended,” Baxter said.

With most of the nuanced discussion regarding prorating/forgiving tuition and other factors driven by Pakzad, the board agreed to table the first reading, allowing time for more research to further fine-tune the policy.

In other news, the board approved former Exeter Township Senior High Assistant Principal Julie Davis for the same role at Saucon Valley High School. She replaces Theresa Casimire, who was promoted to the school’s top spot at the June 27 meeting.