The Salisbury Township school board held a special meeting March 20 to interview two candidates to fill the seat recently vacated by Christopher Freas.

The term will run March 20 to Dec. 1, 2025.

Each candidate was allotted a 15-minute block of time to answer several questions posed by board members.

Candidates were given questions before the interviews were conducted affording them time to formulate their answers. Board members rated each candidate on a scale of 1 to 3 and the candidate with the highest rating was to be sworn in to serve the remainder of the term.

Candidates included Samantha Dorney Hlavinka who has a background in education and has worked as an educator in Allentown, Easton and Pocono Mountain school districts.

When asked about the strengths and weaknesses of the school district she emphasized the strong sense of pride in the school district and deep connections to the community. As a former student, coach and parent in the district she praised the faculty and staff members who genuinely care for students.

She acknowledged some of the challenges the district faces including charter school funding coupled with a limited tax base and how this affects the quality of academically rigorous coursework offered, specifically in the areas of STEM/STEAM, languages and technology education.

She cited the changing demographics and the challenges of meeting the needs of all students and their families, especially those with language barriers.

In her closing statement she remarked, “Salisbury has a lot of history for me. I really care about it and I want to help make it a better place.”

Christopher Hoffman, a lifelong resident of Salisbury Township with two children in the district, expressed his desire to be a part of the forward movement of the district since the closing of Western Elementary School.

He had high praise for the community, the teachers and staff and mentioned the impressive work being done by students throughout the district.

He acknowledged the districts’ financial concerns and noted this is not a problem unique to Salisbury as many districts face the same issues. “The trick is how do we do the best we can with what we have?” he said.

Communication and community engagement is a second area he feels needs addressing and he has some ideas to bring to the table in this regard.

When asked about his decision-making process he outlined a few guiding principles he uses – chief among them is “keep simple.”

As a former business owner, a commercial insurance agent and a parent, he stressed using common sense, communication, gathering information and making informed decisions.

He added not being afraid to admit when you are wrong and flexibility are also part of the process.

Following a brief discussion where the board recognized the strengths of both candidates, the ratings were tallied and Hoffman was chosen to serve on the board in part because of his strong business acumen.

Several board members remarked that given the building and finance concerns facing the board at this time, it will be helpful to have another board member with business insights.