A debate Monday night on witchcraft and where a public school should draw the line on community events ended with Lehighton Area School District’s board of directors voting 5-4 to allow a parent teacher organization to run shuttles from the middle school parking lot to a downtown Witches’ Market as a fundraiser.

A shuttle fundraiser request for the event, scheduled this year for Oct. 24, has come before the board before, and not without controversy. Lehighton’s board turned it down last year after allowing it one time previously.

When the district did allow use of the parking lot, director Jeremy Glaush said he did not hear of any issues.

“The borough police actually agreed to patrol the parking lots that night, and from what they reported to me during that time, there was absolutely nothing,” Glaush, who was board president at the time, said. “I still find no problem with it.”

The board ultimately approved the shuttle request by a 5-4 vote. Board members Denise Hartley, William Howland, Glaush, Timothy Tkach and board President Alex Matika voted in favor. Board members Heather Neff, Joy Beers, David Bradley and Lori Frey voted against.

Neff raised concerns about what the event itself represents and who it might draw to the school campus.

“We don’t know what they’re bringing to our district, on our campus where our kids are,” Neff said. “I am looking out for the best interests of our kids. I feel that there are better fundraising opportunities, and year after year they try this.”

Neff also noted that the PTO’s written request had been careful about how it described the event — not mentioning the Witches’ Market by name — but that she and at least one colleague recognized it immediately.

Hartley pointed out that the board had just voted, moments earlier, to approve a separate request from a group called “Voters for Christian” to use the middle school auditorium for a town hall on property tax reform.

“We just voted to approve a political event,” Hartley said. “Republican, Democrat — it doesn’t matter. It’s a political event. It’s different people with different opinions. So how can we say that political event we’re going to allow, but we don’t like witches?”

Hartley pressed the consistency point further, arguing the board was setting a precedent it might not be able to sustain.

“You’re either going to be inclusive and invite everybody, or you’re going to be exclusive and not allow certain people,” he said. “When you start doing that, you’re on a very dangerous slope.”

Beers countered that the school should not serve as an entry point for large outside gatherings regardless of their nature.

“I don’t think our school should be the doorway where folks from outside our community come into our community right next to our schools,” Beers said.

Superintendent Jason Moser noted that under existing district policy, any group approved to use school facilities is required to cover the cost of any security the district provides — the district arranges and pays its own staff, and the group reimburses those costs.

Glaush reported that PTO organizer Anika Frey, who was watching the meeting remotely, had indicated she was prepared to arrange security again.

“She did state that she didn’t want to set up the security until the event was cleared, so she is more than willing to do that yet again,” Glaush said.