A former Lehighton Area School District board member took its current board president to task last week over property taxes which were not paid on time.

During the public comment portion of a Feb. 22 board meeting, Larry Stern said he was disappointed with President Hal Resh’s “negligence.”“I don’t think it’s appropriate for the leader of a taxing authority to be negligent on their taxes,” Stern told Resh in front of a packed Lehighton board room. “I’d like to see you get that situation taken care of.”On July 7, 2015, Lehighton Area School District, through its collection agency Portnoff Law Associates, filed a lien for nonpayment of 2014 real estate taxes against Resh and Nancy Wilk, who both have a Pinewood Road mailing address.The lien included three different properties:• 748 Pinewood Road in East Penn Township: $3,211.69.• A Lizard Creek Road property in East Penn Township: $533.33.• 850 W. Bowmans Road in East Penn Township: $2,472.09.“When my father was put into the nursing home I had to buy the property,” Wilk said in an email Monday.“Mr. Resh was kind enough to co-sign so I could keep the property. In this case his name was added to the property. My name should be the first name on all the taxes. I am responsible for the taxes and I failed to let Mr. Resh know that I was waiting for my income tax to pay the taxes. That is the reason he had no response to Mr. Stern’s question.”Wilk is listed first on the Lizard Creek Road and West Bowmans Road properties, and second on the Pinewood Road property.“I felt it would not be fair for Mr. Resh to take the blame and harassment for my mistake,” Wilk said.Also at the Feb. 22 meeting, Stern also accused Resh of not meeting with leadership from the teachers union in Lehighton.“I think it’s important for you to have regular meetings with them to talk about their concerns,” Stern said.In her email, Wilk said she felt Stern was “using bullying tactics to push his way back into the board.”Voted out in the 2015 primary election, Stern is a candidate for a vacant seat on the school board created when William Hill passed away on Jan. 1.The issue is currently before Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic, who scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Friday.