Two members of the Panther Valley School board will be provided with legal service from the board's solicitor in a matter related to an incident that occurred earlier this year. In April, resident John Barna was asked to leave the board meeting after he made a threatening comment to the school board directors. Board president Jeff Markovich and board member David Hiles have now been cited with a summary charge related to a confrontation that occurred between Barna and Hiles in the hallway during the incident.

Directors voted 5-3 for the solicitor to provide legal service to Hiles and Markovich. Directors Mickey Angst, Irene Genther, and Bill Hunsicker voted against the motion.Angst also questioned why correspondence that had been received from the ACLU related to the district's recently enacted drug testing policy had not been presented to the public. Superintendent Rosemary Porembo explained that the matter could possibly develop into litigation and before that information can be made public, it needed to be reviewed by the solicitor. Board solicitor Robert Yurchak said that he did not think the correspondence should be made part of the public record, however, he would review it again.Panther Valley parent Molly Damian requested information on an investigation into threats that were allegedly made against her son. Citing a letter that was written to the principal of the Tamaqua Area high school, Damian quoted Porembo as writing that the incident was "in an investigative state." Porembo stated that she knew a police report had been filed, however, she did not know what was in the report. Damian said that she had contacted the principal at Tamaqua on her own, however, she had been told that nothing could be done by them because the incident had not happened on their property. Porembo declined to comment further on the situation, citing personnel matters.The board held a moment of silence in memory of long time district employee Marianne Mataysik, who lost her battle with cancer.In other business, the board accepted the resignation of Frank Damian as head boys and girls track and field coach, effective immediately. They also accepted the resignation of William Kellner, substitute cafeteria driver. Suzanne Lynn and Jennifer Wright were added to the list of substitute teachers. Angela Blasko and Elizabeth Esrang were removed from the district employee listing, effective immediately.Angst requested that two motions to pay Schneider Electric be tabled, asking that they be reviewed and reported on by the superintendent and the business manager. Business manager Kenneth Marx warned board members that the district could face a 10 percent late fee if they do not make the payments on time. Both of the motions to table the payments failed and the board ultimately approved the payments.The board approved the 2011 calendar for regular board meetings. The board will meet only once in January, February, March, and April.Cameron Harty was approved as an athletic intern effective from January, 2011 until May. Athletic director Kristin Black explained that he would be working as athletic director with her in a similar capacity as a student teacher.Student board representative John Owens announced that the student council will be holding a winter formal dance, the Snow Ball, to benefit a student who has cancer. Owens asked for donations of baked goods for the event. Director David Hiles made a motion that the school district contribute $100 to the event.Porembo announced that the district will hold three family literacy nights: March 2 at the elementary school, April 28th at the high school, and May 11th at the middle school. She provided an update on several of the initiatives that are underway in the district, including the alignment of the curriculum to a "Standards Aligned System" (SAS), the response to intervention program in the elementary school, and the PSSA prep work.The board will hold a budget and finance meeting to discuss the preliminary budget for the 2011-2012 school year on December 20th at 5:00pm.In the reorganization session held prior to the regular board meeting, Jeff Markovich held onto the president's seat after Bill Hunsicker was elected and turned down the position. Hunsicker will instead serve as the vice-president.The board also met in executive session to discuss legal matters.