About the School Board

  • The Northern Lehigh Board of School Directors (School Board) is a legislative group that is elected locally by the district’s citizens. School Board members serve as agents of the state legislature. Your School Board consists of nine members who serve four-year terms of office, without pay.

    Although locally elected, the School Board members are really state officials designated by law to administer the schools. Members are required to uphold all state laws and regulations.

    In addition to the nine member Board, the Board employs a lawyer to advise and administer school law, and a superintendent who serves as a non-voting member of the Board and, along with other administrators, acts as the professional resource for actions taken by the Board. The School Board appoints a secretary and a treasurer from its members.

    Your School Board sets policies and engages in planning within the guidelines of the Pennsylvania School Code. The Board’s responsibility to provide a free public education contains several major tasks:

    Planning – the Board is required to engage in long-range and strategic planning by regulations of the State Board of Education. Appropriate reports of the results of such planning are filed with the Department of Education. Planning activities include enrollment projections, staffing needs, building needs, and budget requirements

    Setting Policy – Governing the entire operation of the schools.

    Some required duties include:

    • Adopting courses of study.
    • Establishing the length of the school term.
    • Retaining minutes, reports and other documents.
    • Electing the superintendent and hiring necessary employees.
    • Entering into written contracts and adopting the annual budget.
    • Levying taxes.

    Each Board meeting follows a prescribed agenda that is available for each meeting. All residents are invited to attend School Board meetings. Decisions of the School Board affect our children and our community. Each year in December the School Board sets its meeting schedule.

    During past years the School Board has met on the first two Mondays of each month. Meetings are held in the Board Room located in Slatington Elementary School, unless otherwise noted.

    The School Board has committees that meet regularly. These committee meetings are also scheduled in December of each year. Public participation is welcome at committee meetings.  The present board standing committees are - Policy/Education, Community Relations/Volunteerism, Finance, and Technology/Buildings and Grounds - meet monthly to focus on specific areas of concern to the schools. Each of these committees is composed of board members, school administrators, teachers, and community members. This composition allows for diverse thinking and broad-ranging discussion. Although committee meetings are not decision-making sessions, recommendations made by the committees provide a basis for school board consideration and action.

    Occasionally, the School Board must meet in a closed setting called Executive Session. The requirements for this type of meeting must meet several legal standards.

    The Board recognizes the value of public comment at Board meetings and provides an opportunity to request participation at the beginning of the meeting for agenda items and at the end of formal business for non-agenda items.