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Northwestern Lehigh board approves personnel slate, funding agreements and contracts; policies advance
Summary
The Northwestern Lehigh School District Board of Directors approved a personnel slate, several annual funding agreements and contracts, and advanced policy revisions at its Jan. 22 meeting. The board also approved an updated Title IX compliance designation and accepted multiple consent items, including an Act 1 resolution on the tax index.
The Northwestern Lehigh School District Board of Directors approved a personnel slate, multiple funding agreements and contracts, and an update to Title IX compliance during its Jan. 22 meeting.
Superintendent Jen (identified in the meeting as "Jen") presented the personnel agenda, which included retirements, resignations, new employee appointments and two student teaching placements; the board moved and approved the personnel package as Item 2.01. The board also approved a second-reading policy update titled 4.02 that designates an individual as the district's Title IX/compliance officer following the resignation of Lou Anne Matika.
Why it matters: personnel actions and compliance designations determine who administers day-to-day operations and statutory responsibilities in the district. Federal and state funding agreements approved at the meeting provide recurring resources for special education services used across the district.
The board approved several agreements and contracts discussed at the workshop meeting and on the agenda: - An annual agreement with Elk Environmental Services for emergency spill services (Item 5.01) was approved. - A settlement agreement reviewed in executive session was approved as Item 6.01; the board took public action to adopt the settlement after private review. - Two Intermediate Unit (IU) pass-through IDEA grants were approved: IDEA 611 (referred to in the meeting as $402,000 for IDEA 611 pass-through funds) and IDEA 619 (referred to in the meeting as $780 for IDEA 619 pass-through funds). The superintendent explained these federal funds supplement special education and related services for school-aged students and incoming kindergarten students, respectively. - An Artist-in-Residence contract with ArtsQuest for programming at Northwestern Elementary, to be funded primarily by the district foundation ($5,000 covered by the foundation; the meeting record noted a remaining district contribution of $42.50), was approved.
The board took the following consent actions (Items 6.05–6.10), moved and approved together: adoption of an Act 1 resolution indicating the district’s proposed 2025–26 tax increase will be less than or equal to the 4% index as defined by statute; a tax collector compensation agreement; and several extracurricular and venue agreements, including Music Theatre International and the National Museum of Industrial History contracts referenced by the agenda. The business manager summarized bill runs for December and January; the board approved the bills as presented.
Votes at a glance - Motion to approve personnel agenda (Item 2.01): approved. - Motion to approve policy update 4.02 (Title IX compliance officer designation): approved. - Motion to approve Elk Environmental Services annual agreement (Item 5.01): approved. - Motion to approve settlement agreement reviewed in executive session (Item 6.01): approved. - Motion to approve IDEA pass-through agreements (Items 6.02–6.03): approved (IDEA 611: $402,000; IDEA 619: $780 as recorded in the meeting transcript). - Motion to approve Artist-in-Residence contract with ArtsQuest (Item 6.04): approved (foundation covers $5,000; district portion recorded as $42.50). - Motion to approve consent items (Items 6.05–6.10, including the Act 1 resolution and tax collector compensation agreement): approved. - Motion to approve bills (December and January runs): approved.
Discussion and context - The superintendent noted the Title IX policy update was required to designate a compliance officer after a personnel change; the district updated Title IX documentation and forms to reflect the new designee. - The superintendent and business manager said the IDEA funds are annual pass-throughs from the Intermediate Unit intended to supplement special education services; the board approved both fiscal-year pass-through agreements as routine annual authorizations. - The Artist-in-Residence contract was described as a repeat program for Northwestern Elementary supported largely by the Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation.
The board scheduled a workshop on Feb. 5 and a regular meeting on Feb. 19 and held an executive session for personnel matters after the Jan. 22 meeting.
Ending The meeting included routine committee reports, enrollment information and foundation event announcements; no additional substantive policy actions were taken beyond those listed above. The board adjourned following the posted agenda.
