On Monday evening, the Lehighton Area School Board voted unanimously to approve the school district's move to the Schuylkill League in all sports that are offered by both the league and Lehighton - beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

According to Athletic Director Kyle Spotts the move does not include football and field hockey."There has been a lot of work involved in this process by the school's administration and the athletic committee," said Spotts "Now that it's official, we're excited."I'd also like to thank Schuylkill League president Carl McBreen and the Schuylkill League schools for their 13-0 vote to approve us. They have been outstanding to work with through this process."As far as football is concerned, Lehighton has been extended an offer to join the Anthracite League a league that currently is comprised of nine schools that are also members of the Schuylkill League. Earlier this month, Blue Mountain also announced it was planning to join the Anthracite Football League. The AFL will be meeting in the near future and at that time is expected to officially accept both Lehighton and Blue Mountain.For field hockey, the school district is currently in negotiations with the Mountain Valley Conference for an associate membership in the league.In other business, the school board approved the following LASD athletic hires for the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year: Allen Graver, assistant baseball coach; Charlie Bachert and John Lopata, spring game managers; and Joe Ellis, spring weight trainer.For the 2012-2013 school year, the school board also approved the following LASD athletic hires: Jacob Marushak, cross country coach; Robbie Frey, Justin Fritz, and Brian Miller, assistant varsity football coaches; Rick Bennett, assistant middle school football coach; Brian McHale, assistant freshman football coach; Ashley Frey and Krysti Klotz, assistant varsity field hockey coaches; and Deb McKain and Jo Ann Schoenberger, assistant middle school field hockey coaches.