The Lehighton Area School District board of directors approved several personnel moves during its regular meeting Monday night.

The board accepted the retirement of middle school social studies teacher Mark Maholick, effective Aug. 21. Maholick served the district for more than 20 years.

“It’s very sad to see Mr. Maholick go,” Superintendent Jason Moser said. “In my short time here, I’ve had a couple of conversations with him. He’s very student-centered, has a great approach to teaching, and his retirement is certainly a great loss to the middle school and the district at large.”

Additional resignations included Beverly Gillis, paraprofessional at the elementary center, effective Aug. 12, and Allane Kistler, part-time cleaner at the elementary center, effective Aug. 9.

Hires

The board hired Maria D’Alessandro as an elementary music teacher. She will begin at Bachelor’s Step 1 with a prorated salary of $53,035, effective Aug. 21, pending documentation.

Nora Oswald was hired as a high school math teacher. She will start at Master’s +45 Step 19 with a prorated salary of $89,485. Her start date is set for Oct. 20 or earlier, depending on her release from her current employer.

The board also approved the hiring of Jennifer Farkas as a middle school lunch aide at $12.52 per hour, effective Aug. 26.

Other appointments

Other appointments included Laurel Zimmerman as elementary science department head with a $1,500 stipend, and Stephanie Kulpa as mentor for D’Alessandro, 16 hours at $37 per hour.

The substitute list for the 2025-26 school year was expanded with the addition of Joseph Lynn as a guest teacher and Jo Ann Schoenberge as a substitute teacher.

Professional development opportunities were also approved, including training for up to 10 elementary and middle school teachers and administrators on text-dependent analysis at the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit. The training, scheduled for Sept. 30, Nov. 18 and Jan. 28, will cost no more than $1,750 and be paid from the professional development budget.