Palmerton Area School District won’t be allowing district employees to hand diplomas to their own children at Thursday’s graduation. The board, however, left the door open to making it happen in future years after a workshop Tuesday night.

The decision came two days before commencement and capped a two-week scramble that began as an offhand conversation on the way out of a previous board meeting. The idea, that district employees who are also parents of graduating seniors should share the diploma-presenting privilege currently reserved for board members, spread through the community and left Principal Paula Husar fielding questions she couldn’t answer.

“By the end of the day, this has turned into a nightmare,” Husar told the board.

At issue was not just the proposal itself, but how it got out.

“What happened today — by the end of the day, I was answering emails from all parents about coming and handing out diplomas,” she said. “We’re not handing out candy, we’re handing out diplomas.”

Husar made clear her objection was not to the idea itself, but to how it unfolded without her knowledge. She said she was seated in the room Tuesday night while board members debated the proposal without acknowledging her presence.

“I’m sitting there, and we’re talking like I’m not even in the room,” Husar said. “At least have a conversation with me ahead of time, because it does take a lot as a high school, as a team, to organize graduation. I have to come in. It went back door, whispered down the lane.”

Despite her frustration, Husar was direct that she was not looking for a fight.

“If you guys want to do this, let’s do it,” she said. “All I ask is that I be included.”

Director Dr. Stacey Connell, who championed the idea and said she had spoken about it with a handful of district parents at a baccalaureate service, stood by the concept even as she apologized for the confusion it caused.

“I personally feel very strongly about this,” Connell said. “Other school districts touching our borders do this — they allow for that. I think that if there are parents who work for our district, whether it be a teacher, cafeteria worker, bus monitor, whoever is working for our district and getting paid by our district — to have that honor, to be such an important, impactful part of a memory like that, is amazing.”

Connell said she estimated perhaps up to five district employees might want to participate if the board approved the change. She added the proposal had always been limited to district employees, not the general public.

“There was never any mention of military recruiters or whatever else may have come down the pike,” Connell said. “It was for our district employees, and I think we should treat all our district employees equally.”

Board President Sherry Haas opened Tuesday’s discussion with an apology, saying research afterward revealed that under Pennsylvania law, it is the local board of directors that holds legal authority to award and present high school diplomas.

“I do want to take a moment to sincerely apologize if I overstepped by bringing up the discussion about possibly allowing administrators to hand out diplomas,” Haas said. “It was never my intention to micromanage anyone.”

District solicitor David Conn clarified the law does not prohibit someone other than a board member from physically presenting a diploma; that question is left to the district’s discretion.

Director Kris Schaible questioned whether the board was capable of doing the issue justice in 48 hours, noting the district had spent months being criticized for bypassing administration.

“We have spent the last however many months being accused, rightfully so, of not including administration, micromanaging, fighting,” Schaible said. “I have deep reservations about doing it for two days from now. I would support it every year moving forward, if it’s feasible, if it’s something our administration wants to explore.”

Five board members including Earl Paules, Schaible, Danielle Paules, Brandon Mazepa and Sherry Haas said they were not in favor of making a change for Thursday night, effectively ending Tuesday’s conversation.

Husar said she was grateful the door remained open but restated the terms under which she’d walk through it.

“If you say as a board, ‘Hey, Paula, can we consider this? What do you think?’ — I’m happy to entertain that. I really, truly am. I am not unreasonable. Come to me anytime. We’ll talk it through. We’ll set up a plan.”

Connell said she intended to keep pushing for the change in future years.

“If I feel very passionate about something, I am not going to let it go,” she said.