A deadlocked Palmerton Area School District board appointment Tuesday left a vacant seat unfilled — capping a contentious meeting that also saw another director resign.

The board voted 4-4 on two candidates, Kris Schaible and Rob Moyzan, failing to achieve the majority needed to fill the vacancy.

Voting for Schaible were Earl Paules, Danielle Paules, Brandon Mazepa and Sherry Haas. Erin Snyder, MaryJo King, Stacey Connell and Alyson Krawchuk-Boschen voted for Moyzan.

Schaible was elected to the board in 2023 and served nearly two years before resigning in June 2025. She said her resignation was “to pursue professional and academic endeavors.”

Moyzan was appointed in July 2025 to fill Schaible’s vacancy. A former district employee, Moyzan won the appointment by a 6-1 vote after public interviews with seven candidates. He served through the board’s reorganization meeting in December 2025.

District solicitor David Conn warned that community members can petition the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas to fill the seat if the board doesn’t act within 30 days of Magin Gursky’s resignation, which was effective Jan. 18.

“I think it is likely that there will be at least one petition filed on day 31 in this case,” Conn said.

Gursky, who was elected in November, said her resignation was due to work commitments.

“Due to a recent change in my professional commitments, I am no longer able to devote the time necessary to fulfill my responsibilities to the board and the community,” she wrote in her letter to the board. While the board can vote again at its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 17, Conn said that meeting represents the board’s last opportunity to maintain control over the appointment.

“If the board actually does think that they can come together to fill the vacancy with a majority vote, your next meeting is probably the last time to do that,” he said.

The board retains the power to fill the vacancy beyond the 30-day deadline, but only if no community petition has been filed with the court.

District officials said Tuesday that five people submitted letters of interest for the position.

Krawchuk-Boschen resigns

Later in Tuesday’s meeting, Krawchuk-Boschen announced her resignation, citing exhaustion with what she described as unprofessional behavior and harassment on the board.

Krawchuk-Boschen, who serves as an associate dean at Northampton Community College, said she joined the board in 2017 to give back to the community where her family has lived for more than 100 years.

“I watched a group of adults publicly humiliate one another, and I thought, I’m a communication major. I teach communication and leadership. Maybe I can help,” she said.

She described witnessing yelling, personal attacks and harassment in executive sessions, particularly directed at women. One board member, she added, told her she was “too professional” and should observe rather than speak because she was new.

“Professionalism is the consistent demonstration of competence, integrity, accountability and respect,” she said. “It’s how you speak when you disagree. It’s how you behave when no one is watching. It’s how you treat people when you hold power over them.”

The director referenced a Title IX investigation involving a board member that she said reached the national level. An independent Title IX investigation issued in December found former board President and current director Earl Paules “responsible” for 16 of 19 allegations, and “partially responsible” for two others, of sexual harassment and professional misconduct toward Superintendent Dr. Angela Friebolin. The report concluded his conduct was “severe, pervasive and objectively offensive” and denied Friebolin equal access to the district’s education program.

“The investigation revealed exactly how he thinks of us,” Krawchuk-Boschen said, citing derogatory name-calling.

“The evidence was clear. The report was clear, the findings were clear.”

She said the experience took a toll on her health and personal life.

“I’m tired, tired of losing sleep before meetings, tired of headaches and knots in my stomach, tired of choosing between my students because I leave work early for every meeting,” she said.

The director apologized to students, faculty, staff and fellow board members who “understood what is right.”

Krawchuk-Boschen announced her resignation effective immediately, though the board did not vote on it Tuesday.

“I will not allow my name, my reputation and my integrity to be collateral damage,” she said.