A popular after school mentoring program will again take flight in the Northern Lehigh School District.

Director Lori Geronikos informed the school board on Monday that the Northern Lehigh Educational Foundation has received a grant in the amount of $2,000 to fund the Bigs and Littles Program.The program matches up high school students with pupils from Peters Elementary in which the high school students serve as mentors to the pupils.Also on Monday, Superintendent Michael Michaels praised the district for last week's opening of school."In my 21 years, I have never been around such a wonderful opening," Michaels said. "They did a great job."Michaels also announced the district's third day enrollment report in which he said there were 1,865 students in the district.In an unrelated matter, the board welcomed new student representative Heather Heiney with a Ceremonial Oath.In other business, the board:• Accepted the resignation of Donna Lobach-Berger from her position as a Special Education Aide in the Slatington Elementary School Education, effective the end of the work day, Sept. 7, 2010.• Approved Stephen Shuey as Artistic Director for the Fall Play/Spring Musical for the NLHS Student Activities Account. The stipend for the Artistic Director will be $1,500, to be paid out of the High School Student Activities Account. The Artistic Director will be responsible for and overseeing all persons involved with set design and construction, costuming, lighting, sound, etc., as determined by the high school Principal and Production Director.• Approved the administrative transfer of Joan DeSousa from Slatington Elementary Special Education Aide to high school One-on-One Aide for student #1390034, at a salary of $11.47 per hour, 6 1/2 hours per day, five days a week, as per the 2008-12 Educational Support Staff Memorandum of Understanding), effective Aug. 30, 2010. The position will exist as long as the student resides in the district.• Appointed Kim Wagner as the Substitute Administrative Detention Supervisor in the middle school for the 2010-11 school year. Wagner will work from 2:20 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. on any Monday or Wednesday that warrants substitute detention coverage. Her salary will be $20 per hour worked.• Acknowledged the salary adjustments of the following teachers who have completed the requirements per the Collective Bargaining Agreement that would entitle them to a salary increase for the 2010-11 school year: Laruen Schuster, from Step 2B to Step 2B+24, Jennifer Butz, Step 4B to Step 4B+24, and Jillian Mlynek, Step 4B to Step 4B+24.• Approved the request of employee #345 to take a Family Medical Leave effective Sept. 15, 2010, for her own medical reasons. She will be using 11 accumulated sick days and possibly a week of vacation in conjunction with the Family Medical Leave. She plans to return to her current teaching position upon release from her physician on or about Oct. 29, 2010, barring any unforeseen circumstances.• Approved the request of employee #240 to take a Family Medical Leave beginning on or about Oct. 30, 2010, for the birth of her second child. She plans to return to her current teaching position upon exhaustion of her 12 week Family Medical Leave, which will be on or about Jan. 24, 2011.• Approved the request of Caitlin Flaherty, Slatington Elementary Special Eduation Aide, to take an unpaid leave of absence beginning on Sept. 7, 2010. Upon the exhaustion of 12 weeks of unpaid leave, she is requesting an additional 12 weeks in accordance to school board policy #539 Uncompensated Leave. Flaherty is requesting these leaves in order to complete her student teaching obligations and receive her degree in elementary education. She anticipates her student teaching assignment will end about Dec. 3, 2010.• Approved the request of the parents of a second grade student at Peters Elementary School, who are moving into Slatington Borough, to allow their student to begin the 2010-11 school year in the Northern Lehigh School Distirct in accordance with school board policy #202. Settlement on the house they will purchasing is scheduled for Sept. 13, 2010.•- Approved to designate and authorize the following administrators to sign summary offense notices for district students for the 2010-11 school year: Paul Rearden, Jr., Peters Elementary School Principal; Linda Marcincin, Slatington Elementary School Principal; Jill Chamberlain, Middle School Principal; Aileen Yadush, High School Principal; and Donald Allen, High School Assistant Principal.• Approved the following substitute teachers for the 2010-11 school year at the 2010-11 substitute teacher rates as approved on the Supplementary Personnel Salary Schedule: Andrea Eberhardt, Chemistry; Megan Heffelfinger, Elementary; Nathan Hunsicker, Elementary; Kristen Kentner, Elementary and English, 7-9; Michael Kistler, Business Education/Technology K-12; Erin Knecht, English; Robert Naugle, Math; Carly Nevill, Elementary and Math, 7-9; Nancy Ord, Elementary; Ashlynn Rumble, Elementary; Margaret Tully, Family and Consumer Science; and Annette Benedetto, Michael Dee, Jamie Farber, Jo Lynn Gazo, Earl Kunkel, Roderick Lowe, Seth McLaughlin, Theresa Oliveira, Patricia Passick, Dennis Pearson, Michael Roth, Daniel Shea, Patricia Sottolano, Keith Strohl, Alicia Trinkle, Asimo Tsilikoudis, and Randall Utsch as CLIU Guest Teachers. The hirings of Hunsicker, Kistler, Knecht, Nevill, and Rumble are all pending verification of missing documents.• Approved Diana Detweiler, Lisa Hydro, and Janice Wasilkowski as substitute secretaries/aides for the 2010-11 school year at the 2010-11 substitute rate as approved on the Supplementary Personnel Salary Schedule. The hirings of Detweiler and Wasilkowski is pending verification of missing documents.• Approved Detweiler, Hydro and Wasilkowski as substitute cafeteria workers for the 2010-11 school year at the 2010-11 substitut rate as approved on the Supplementary Personnel Salary Schedule. The hirings are pending verification of clearances.• Approved Travie Diehl, Jeffrey Hausman, and John Swiatkowski as substitute custodians for the 2010-11 school year at the 2010-11 substitute rate as approved on the Supplemtary Personnel Salary Schedule. The hiring of Swiatkowski is pending verification of clearances.• Granted permission to Heather Rehrig to attend the Association of School Psychologists of PA Fall 2010 Conference on Oct. 20-22, 2010, at State College, Pa. The cost for registration is $295, and lodging $167.50, for a total approximate cost of $462.50, to be funded from the School Psychologist Budget.• Granted permission to Karen Nicholas to attend the PASCD 60th Annual Conference, Learning is Forever, from Nov. 21-23, 2010, at Hershey, Pa. The cost for registration is $343, lodging, $293.04, travel, $70, and meals, $33, for a total approximate cost of $4739.04, to be funded through the Curriculum and Instruction Budget.• Granted permission for Gifted Support Students in grades 5-6 at Slatington Elementary to attend the PA Renaissance Faire, Cornwall, Pa, Oct. 8, 2010, with funding by the CLIU#21.• Approved the request of the senior high school to close the Class of 2010 account in accordance with the Student Activities Account guidelines. The account balance is $1,180.17, and the Class of 2010 is recommending that the funds be distributed into the After Graduation Party Account.• Approved the cocurricular appointments for the 2010-11 school year of Susan Bachman, Elementary Scholastic Scrimmage, $428.65; Elizabeth Ache, Freshman Class Advisor, $615.93; Patricia Ingles, Freshman Class Advisor, $615.93; and Eric Di Fulvio, Assistant Boys Soccer Coach, $2,720.55.• Approved, as cocurricular volunteers for the 2010-11 school year, Patrice Arnold, Dianna Hoch, and LeAnn Hoch as high school dance team advisers.• Approved abatement/ exoneration requests of per capita taxes, for the residents that fall within the guidelines.• Announced the Oct. 11 board meeting will be held at the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute.