A familiar face will soon return to the halls of Lehighton Area High School.

Earlier this week, the school board approved the recommendation to hire Craig Reichl as high school principal.Reichl had previously served as assistant principal in the district until Nov. 30, 2011 when he resigned to become assistant principal at Colonial Academy in Wind Gap.He will replace Tim Tkach who is currently serving as both high school principal and coordinator of curriculum, instruction, and grants for the school district. Reichl's first day will be in mid-to-late October. Tkach will continue in his other administrative position.The school board also approved the hiring of Adrienne Fedor as full-time art teacher assigned to Mahoning and Shull-David Elementary schools."I consider myself extremely fortunate to be a part of the Lehighton Area School District community," said Fedor. "I look forward to sharing my passion for art with both Shull-David and Mahoning Elementary students and staff alike.""Miss Fedor was selected from an impressive group of art educators through our interview process," said elementary principal Aaron Sebelin. "Her experiences at the elementary and middle school levels set her apart from other candidates."Her most impressive contribution to our students will be her willingness to work with other teachers to provide cross curricular lessons for the children. She'll be an asset to the Lehighton Area School District for many years to come," he added.Also, the board approved Michelle Blasiak as paraprofessional and Lisa Crum as part-time cleaner assigned to East Penn Elementary School.Shaun McElmoyle resigned as supervisor of special services.Concerning McElmoyle's resignation, board president Rocky Ahner said "it is truly a loss for our school district."Meggyn Hauck also resigned as long-term language arts substitute teacherThe board approved tenure for the following LASD teachers who were all hired in 2009: Felicia Amorim; Jennifer Boyle; Jessica Corliss; Pamela Firkel; Melissa Geiser; Jessica Grasso; James Gurka; Catherine Hontz; Michele Kirsch; Jacob Marushak; Jacob Molchany; JoAnn Schoenberger; Jessica Scholl; Marianne Slaby; Stephanie Smith; Melissa Volcskai; Jena Wank; and Amanda Yusella.Under his legislative report, director Dave Krause read an excerpt from the written testimony that the Pennsylvania School Boards Association submitted to chairman Brubaker, chairman Wozniak, and committee members regarding Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1400:"While PSBA understands the need to alleviate the burden of property tax on local taxpayers, to reach a comprehensive and lasting solution, action must be taken to examine and address the factors driving the cost of public education."The only way to ensure that a property tax reform plan has the intended impact on local property taxpayers and does not negatively impact the quality of education in the school district is to address those factors that continue to drive up the cost of education."Eliminating property taxes without addressing cost containment and state funding fails to address the elephant in the room."Delegates to the PSBA Legislative Policy Council will meet in Hershey on Thursday, Oct. 18 to adopt an official platform for the association.In other business, the school board approved the Junior-Senior Prom at Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville on Friday, May 10, 2013 and the Senior Outing at Split Rock Lodge in Lake Harmony on Friday, May 17, 2013.The next meeting of Lehighton Area School Board is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at the LASD Administration Building, Conference Room A.