Jim Thorpe Area School District's board of education has taken on a new member focused on imparting a wealth of wisdom while saving taxpayers money.

Wilmer Redline joined the board last month, taking the seat of Randall Smith, who passed away in April."It's something I always wanted to try, and I thought, you know, it's an eight-month term to fill in for Mr. Smith - I'll never fill his seat, as Randy had so much knowledge being on the school board. But, it's just something where I wanted to get my feet wet, do a little community service, to say I did it, and if I like it, maybe I'll decide to run," Redline said.Redline has an extensive knowledge of the field of welding, with decades of experience. After graduating from vocational technical school, he took a job at the New Jersey Zinc Company. He put in 27 years at Bethlehem Steel, leaving as a shop steward when the company shut down, and also worked with Air Products for 12 years.Welding is such a part of Redline's life, that even in retirement he still strives to keep his passion going by educating the youth. Even though the field is more difficult to break into than in his day, he encourages the kids to shine in order to succeed."I'm officially retired, but I work part time at the vocational technical school teaching welding. I'm trying to share the knowledge I have, and I love doing it," he said. "I keep trying to tell the kids I work with at vo-tech how important it is to do something to stand out, like the SkillsUSA competition. You have to separate yourself."As part of his work on the board, Redline will be serving as the CCTI authority member representing Jim Thorpe until January 2020.The core of Redline's mission as a board member is cutting taxes while maintaining a high standard of education."You have to look at the big picture here," he said. "We have to give the students the best education we can, at the best price we can. I don't want to raise everybody's taxes. The bottom line is, I know a lot of retired people who are worse off than I am, and I want to save them money."Though he only has about a month on the job, Redline is enjoying every minute, and looking forward to contributing to the success of the Jim Thorpe Area School District."I love it. I haven't missed anything. There was a Boy Scout who received his Eagle Scout award, and I went to it, because the board was invited. I am doing everything a board member can do. I just want the whole picture of the whole thing," he said.