Hanover Area SD board appoints assistant superintendent and district interpreter; public raises questions on coed soccer, Policy 248.1

HANOVER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT — The Hanover Area School District Board of Education approved several personnel recommendations at a special meeting June 17, 2025, including the appointment of Dr. Daphne Pugh as assistant to the superintendent and the hiring of Lisette Tapia as an on-call district interpreter. During public comment, a resident questioned the district’s use of a coed junior high soccer team and raised concerns about Policy 248.1, which the commenter said concerns transgender-student communications.

The actions came after an executive session held under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, the board president said, that covered employee relations, labor negotiations and threatened or actual litigation. The public meeting opened at 6 p.m.

Why it matters: The appointments affect central administration and student support services. Community members also used the public-comment period to press for clarification on athletics and district policy on transgender students, matters that relate to students, families and staff communication practices.

The board approved routine items by roll call before taking personnel actions. On a motion by the board president’s designee and with a second, the board approved items 1 through 5 under financial recommendations by unanimous roll call.

On personnel, the board accepted items 1, 3 and 5 on a motion by Haider and seconded by Stevens; the motion passed by roll call with board members recorded as voting yes. For personnel item 2, the board approved the superintendent’s recommendation to appoint Lisette Tapia as the district interpreter at a rate of $30 per hour, to be paid on an as-needed basis, effective July 9, 2025. The motion to approve Tapia was made by Miss Blich and seconded by Stevens and passed by roll call.

For personnel item 4, the superintendent recommended appointing Dr. Daphne Pugh as assistant to the superintendent at an annual salary of $118,000, effective Aug. 1, 2025. The motion, made by Orvick and seconded by McDermott, passed by roll call with all members voting yes.

Public comment: Tom Botskill of Canterbury Township asked during public comment, "I'd like to know since we have a boys soccer team and a girls soccer team, what is the need for a co ed?" A district staff member identified as Miss Prasco responded that at the junior high level, some schools in the valley play a combined coed schedule when they do not have separate boys and girls teams; larger schools field separate teams. Later in the same public-comment portion, a commenter raised Policy 248.1, saying it "directs personnel not to tell their parents" in certain situations; the board did not take formal action on the policy at the meeting.

No further public actions or referrals on athletics or Policy 248.1 were recorded in the meeting minutes presented at the session. The board announced its next work session and special meeting for Aug. 12, 2025, and adjourned following a motion and second.

Votes at a glance - General recommendations, item 1: approved (motion by Miss Blich; second Haider; all recorded yes on roll call). - Financial recommendations, items 1–5: approved (motion by McDermott; second McDermott; unanimous roll call yes). - Personnel: items 1, 3 and 5 accepted (motion Haider; second Stevens; roll call yes). - Personnel item 2: appointment of Lisette Tapia, district interpreter, $30/hour as needed, effective July 9, 2025 — approved (motion Miss Blich; second Stevens; roll call yes). - Personnel item 4: appointment of Dr. Daphne Pugh, assistant to the superintendent, $118,000/year, effective Aug. 1, 2025 — approved (motion Orvick; second McDermott; roll call yes).

Board process and context An executive session was held before the public meeting under the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act to discuss employee relations, labor negotiations and threatened or actual litigation; the executive session closed at about 5 p.m., and the public portion opened at 6 p.m. Comments about athletics and district policy occurred during the public-comment portion; the board did not vote on Policy 248.1 or on changing the junior high athletics structure at this meeting.

Speakers and roles mentioned in the public record included board members participating in roll-call votes, Superintendent Barrett (who presented personnel recommendations), Lisette Tapia (newly appointed district interpreter), Dr. Daphne Pugh (newly appointed assistant to the superintendent), and Tom Botskill (public commenter from Canterbury Township).

The board’s minutes and roll-call records attached to the meeting record show unanimous affirmative votes on the listed personnel and financial items; no abstentions or no votes were recorded in the segments reviewed.

Next steps The district will implement the approved hires with the effective dates the board recorded. The board did not direct staff to bring a proposal on the junior high athletics structure or Policy 248.1 at this meeting; any such referral would appear in a future agenda, the board president said.