The Tamaqua Area School Board moved through a short agenda on Tuesday night. They acted on the following items:

Reports

• The board approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and TransPerfect Remote Interpreting for written translation services and telephone interpretation services.

The written services will be through an AI-based portal for kindergarten to 12th grade English as a Second Language students at fee of $500. The telephone services are for non-English speaking parents at a fee of $120 at rate not to exceed 95-cents a minute.

• The board also approved the tax report, tax exemptions, tax refunds and payment of bills totaling $697,469, and interim bills of $1,606,176.

• The district approved changes to Policy 202, Eligibility of Nonresident Students, which will allow teachers to enroll their children in Tamaqua Area schools. The move may help with the teacher shortage, Kinder said.

Two other policies regarding Academic Standards, which adds verbiage such Science, Technology, Engineering and Marth, or STEM, and Curriculum to include civics based observances, such as Constitution Day, were approved on first reading.

Personnel

The board approved these personnel moves:

• Resignation of Karla Keller as the middle school language arts department chair.

• Rose Charlien of Tamaqua as a part-time paraprofessional at a rate of $13.50 an hour.

• Delaney Renn of Quakake as a substitute guest teacher.

• A salary adjustment for Heather Bleiler, occupational therapist, to a prorate $65,000, along with mutual dissolution for her current contract and inclusion in the Act 93 plan.

• Hired Mackenzie Habel, who serves as a speech therapist, as an access billing coordinator at an additional rate to be determined.

• Ratification of Dana Ayers as yearbook adviser.