Palmerton Area School District’s board of directors voted Tuesday night to extend Superintendent Angela Friebolin’s paid administrative leave through Dec. 31, continuing an arrangement that has kept the district’s top administrator off the job since early April without further public explanation.

As with prior agenda items addressing Friebolin’s status, Tuesday’s motion did not name her, listing the action only as a vote to extend “the paid administrative leave for employee #735 through December 31, 2026.”

A roll call vote showed no opposition, with Kris Schaible, Stacey Connell, Erin Snyder, Danielle Paules, Brandon Mazepa, MaryJo King, Earl Paules and Sherry Haas all recorded in favor.

Friebolin was placed on paid administrative leave effective April 2, an arrangement board solicitor David Conn described at the time as a mutual decision rather than a disciplinary measure.

The leave was “in no way disciplinary and does not reflect any judgment by the board” regarding Friebolin’s performance, Conn said, adding that the move was meant to give both the district and the superintendent room to work out next steps. He said district operations would continue without interruption under assistant superintendents Daniel Heaney and Ryan Kish, along with the district’s building principals.

Friebolin’s current three-year contract, signed Oct. 15, 2024, set her starting salary at $135,000 for the 2024-25 school year, with 3.5% raises for both the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years. The latest raise will kick in on July 1. The agreement runs from Dec. 2, 2024, through June 30, 2027.

Friebolin was hired in October 2024 on a 7-2 vote, coming to Palmerton from Whitehall-Coplay School District, where she had served as director of personnel. Earl Paules and his wife, board member Danielle Paules, cast the two dissenting votes at the time.