Lehighton Area School District is in full compliance with a state law requiring districts to do certain reporting when teachers with certification are involved in suspected criminal activity, according to its solicitor.

William Schwab said the comment made at Monday night's Lehighton School Board meeting wasn't specific to any situation within the district.Taxpayer David Bradley, however, didn't hesitate to get specific when he asked district officials about Matthew Fisher, 32, a former teacher and golf coach in the district.Fisher was charged in August with a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors after admitting to sending sexually oriented text messages to a 16-year-old boy."Has his position been filled?" Bradley asked.The answer is yes, according to Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver, who said the district is "fully staffed for all professional positions."The district accepted Fisher's resignation from the business education department at Lehighton High School at its Aug. 25 board meeting. The resignation was retroactive to Aug. 18.Monday night, the board approved the hiring of Kevin Kotch as a business education teacher at the high school, effective Sept. 30, at a prorated salary of $38,310.Police said Fisher was teaching in the district when he developed a friendship with the boy. Two of the texts involved Fisher asking the boy to engage in a sexual contest with him and then text him with the results.Pressing on, Bradley asked Cleaver if he notified all nine school board members when he found out about the state police investigation into Fisher's conduct."You're asking me to comment on a personnel issue, and I can't do that," Cleaver responded."It's also a safety issue," Bradley said.Legislators passed a string of new abuse reporting laws in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Included in the sweeping reform were changes to the Educator Discipline Act.Districts are required to report any educator who has been arrested or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime, or against whom there are allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse or exploitation involving a student or child. The report must be made within 15 days of the district having knowledge of the situation.