Strategies remain in the works to improve safety and security remain under way in the Northern Lehigh School District.

To further that initiative, Greg Derr, director of support services and transportation, gave an update to the school board on Monday on the district's School Safety Team.Derr ran through a substantial list of projects that have been completed in the district since 2008.He then discussed a potential Community Awareness Project, in which he said an LED scoreboard could replace the sign currently at Northern Lehigh Middle School.Derr said there is no cost estimate for the scoreboard at this time."Our focus is more on safety then it is on the sign," Derr said. "The sign is just something we're looking at."Of the sign, Superintendent Michael Michaels said, "I think it's important that we're on the cutting edge in keeping our community informed."Michaels said, "That mentality that it can never happen here" no longer applies to the district, or any other district, in this day and age."Our children are our greatest natural resource we have," Michaels said. "It's our job to keep them safe."Before the start of the meeting, board President Edward Hartman noted that it was Veterans Day, and that the people who serve, and have served, deserved to be recognized."This is a day they should be honored by all of us," Hartman said. "They put their lives on the line."Hartman then asked for "a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us."In other business, the board, on an 8-0 vote, with Director Natalie Green absent:• Approved the 2013-14 Northern Lehigh School District Salary Schedule.• Approved Diana Beltran to act as a Spanish interpreter on an as-needed basis for the district. Beltran will receive $30 per hour for this service, and will receive a minimum of one hour of compensation per session.• Approved Anette Benedetto, Jo Lynn Gazo; Ines Heuser; Seth McLaughlin, Roobhenn Smith; Patricia Sottolano; and Randy Utsch, as substitute CLIU Guest Teachers for the 2013-14 school year at the 2013-14 substitute rates as approved on the Supplementary Personnel Salary Schedule, pending verification of missing personnel file items.• Granted permission for Allison Chruscial to attend the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association 58th Annual Conference, School Counselors: Collaborating for Student Success, from Dec. 5-7, 2013, at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center, in Lancaster, with a registration fee of $335, and lodging, $127, for a total cost of $462, to be funded from the high school guidance budget.• Granted permission for Sheila Lanshe to attend the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association 58th Annual Conference, School Counselors: Collaborating for Student Success, from Dec. 5-7, 2013, at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center, in Lancaster, with a registration fee of $335, lodging, $127, and travel, $48, for a total approximate cost of $510, to be funded from the high school guidance budget.• Granted permission to Karen Nicholas to attend the 2013 SAS Institute: Resources for Improving School Effectiveness, from Dec. 8-10, at the Hershey Lodge, in Hershey, with a registration fee of $100, lodging, $278, meals, $25, and travel, $79, for a total approximate cost of $482, to be funded from the curriculum and instruction budget.