While many people will spend their weekend prepping for Sunday's Super Bowl extravaganza, one local school director will spend his in our nation's capitol.

Lehighton Area School Board director Rocky Ahner left today to participate in the National School Boards Advocacy Institute, scheduled Feb. 2-4 in Washington, D.C. The Institute will advance federal issues, as well as state issues of significance.Ahner, who was appointed to the National School Boards Association Federal Relations Network, said his main focus is Bill 3663, introduced by Congresswoman Kristi Noem of South Dakota."Being appointed as a delegate gives a local voice at a national level," Ahner said. "I want to thank our school cafeteria workers, staff, student and parents' input of concerns and issues in our local students' lunch program, (as well as) their making it easy for me to be a voice in Washington."In December, Noem introduced the new school nutrition bill that reduces federal mandates on school lunch standards, which have been a point of contention since their implementation at the beginning of the 2012 school year.The Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act has been endorsed by the National School Boards Association, the School Superintendents Association and the Council of the Great City Schools.Essentially, the bill would make the USDA's temporary easing of the meat and grain requirements permanent, allowing schools more flexibility in serving meats and grains while still staying within calorie maximums; and give administrators flexibility on some of the rules that have increased costs for school districts.The National School Boards Association Federal Relations Network, a national grassroots advocacy network that is comprised of local school board members from across the country, has been active for 40 years as thousands of school board members have advocated for the priority federal legislative issues that are established by NSBA's Delegate Assembly every year.Members have a significant responsibility as they commit to developing a rapport with their U.S. Representatives and Senators and communicate the impact that federal legislation may have on their local schools as a proposal is moving through the legislative process.Members also help "paint the picture" for federal legislators by providing local impact data and anecdotal evidence, when responding to calls to action from the National School Boards Association, and are also encouraged to invite their members of Congress to participate in a tour of their schools so that members can see the public education system in action.Founded in 1940, NSBA is a not-for-profit organization representing state associations of school boards and their more than 90,000 local school board members throughout the U.S.