Palmerton Area School District student-athletes on Tuesday became the latest group around the area to get the green light to get back to work.

The board unanimously passed a resocialization plan that sets guidelines and allows for voluntary summer workouts to begin.

“I think we’ve got some real teeth in the document now,” board President Kathy Fallow said of the plan.

The board tabled the plan last week, saying it needed some revisions for enhanced clarity to limit any liability to the district.

Earlier on Tuesday, interim Superintendent Dr. Alan Lonoconus issued a letter to parents and the community applauding the board’s due diligence in the matter.

“They are making sure our student-athletes specifically will be safe during the summer voluntary workouts,” he said in the letter. “I applaud their efforts and restraint in not just rubber-stamping a document of such importance.”

The purpose of the plan, Porembo said last week, is to lay a foundation on how the district proceeds with the summer workouts.

“This document will only become more refined as we go forward,” he said in last Tuesday’s meeting. “This is the initial step in bringing athletes back on campus.”

The plan was created in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health agencies.

Director Brandon Mazepa said he was “very impressed” with the updated version.

“It was a pleasure working with Mr. (Kyle) Porembo and Mrs. (Paula) Husar,” he said.

Fallow cautioned everyone that the plan is not an approval for the fall sports season to begin.

“It never was,” she said. “This plan covers only a voluntary return to conditioning and allows the students to see their teammates again. We will plan for the fall season once the PIAA releases additional guidelines for that.”

The resocialization plan will be posted on the district’s website.

“I encourage everyone concerned about our athletes to read it,” Fallow said.

Also on Tuesday, Palmerton approved an agreement of cooperation with its athletic coaches calling for the pay to be adjusted if COVID-19 impacts a sports season.

“I want to thank our coaches for agreeing to our request to prorate stipends should the virus cause us to cancel all or any part of any sports season,” Fallow said. “I’m sure our taxpayers appreciate the action to save money, while allowing students to get back on field.”

With the agreement in place, Palmerton has scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. Sunday to hire winter and spring coaches. Fall sports coaches had already been approved earlier this year.

Lonoconus said the district’s next phase includes looking at how to restart some of the nonathletic extracurricular activities.

“We’ve had some great suggestions from some of the advisers and in a lot of cases, we are going to have to look at those activities on an individual basis to see how the virus would impact them,” Lonoconus said. “Our utmost concern is the safety and welfare of our students.”