Lehighton Area School District will soon be in the market for a new business administrator.

Brian Feick, who has been in the position since May 2014, was hired for the same role Monday night by Schuylkill Valley School District, where he will start in March.

Contacted Thursday morning, Feick said the decision did not come easy.

“I felt it was an honor to serve the Lehighton community,” he said. “They welcomed me like I was family, and I will miss them.”

The decision, he added, came down to the commute.

Feick, a Berks County resident, said during November’s snowstorm, it took him 6.5 hours to get home from Lehighton. His commute will drop from 63 miles one way to 22 miles.

“During that snowstorm, I was sitting in traffic for an hour and a half in front of Schuylkill Valley District offices and looked at their website,” Feick said. “Low and behold the position was open.”

Schuylkill Valley hired Feick at a salary of $120,000. According to his most recent contract extension at Lehighton, he was set to make $121,100 in 2019-20.

At Lehighton’s meeting on Monday, Feick said he would be recommending a 2019-20 budget without a property tax increase. It would be the fifth straight year Lehighton did not have a tax increase.

Before coming to Lehighton, Feick served as chief business administrator at Chester Upland School District.

In addition, he has also served as vice president/CFO/COO at Datastrip, as well as finance director for the borough of Pottstown.