Palmerton Area School District and its support staff union entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday outlining temporary additional work responsibilities for district maintenance employee Trahn Thompson.

Under the temporary assignment, Thompson has agreed to perform several additional duties in addition to his current job description. These include “ensuring completion of work orders via the district’s online workflow system” and “creating and overseeing the cleaning schedule and cleaning assignments for staff as well as grounds and maintenance staff.”

In July, Palmerton tabled a motion to approve Thompson as substitute “Director of District Facilities” at an annual salary of $90,000 prorated effective July 16 not to exceed one-half school term. They also tabled a motion to give him a leave of absence from his current maintenance position effective July 16 not to exceed one-half school term.

Thompson, per the MOU, will receive “a monthly stipend of $850 for each month he performs the temporary assignment.”

According to the MOU, Thompson will remain in his current position within the bargaining unit. His “base salary, benefits, and seniority shall remain unchanged.” Thompson’s current salary is $67,686.

“The motion we approved tonight moves Trahn in that position without moving him out of the support staff,” Board President Earl Paules said on Tuesday. “He will remain in the support staff, and he’ll do limited things that we need him to do without moving him to the $90,000. It’s going to be $850 a month, which is a good deal for the district. This is definitely the right way to go.”

Thompson will also be responsible for “conducting building visitations to ensure staff productivity and cleanliness standards are met,” “advising administration on necessary purchases related to departmental needs,” and “acting as the primary point-of-contact for outside contractors and vendors.”

The MOU states that Thompson will attend meetings “related to ongoing and upcoming projects, including, but not limited to, the district’s building project.”

He will also serve as “the point-of-contact for building checks, including responding to facility concerns as needed.”

The MOU will be in effect from Aug. 6 through Dec. 31, 2025, “unless mutually amended in writing by both parties.”