Lehighton Area School District’s board leadership will largely remain the same for 2023 with only a change in vice-president following Monday’s reorganization meeting.

Joy Beers was unanimously re-elected board president and she will be joined by Kerry Sittler as vice-president. Sittler was unanimously elected to replace Richard Beltz, who was not interested in the post this year due to a time commitment.

“Rusty made it clear he didn’t want to carry on in the position,” Beers said. “He was feeling lot of pressure with work responsibilities and was unable to lead meetings when I’ve been absent.”

Many of last year’s appointments were carried over to 2023. Jeremy Glaush will remain the district’s representative to the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit board and Nathan Foeller will keep his seat on the Carbon Career and Technical Institute’s joint operating committee.

The longest discussion of the night centered on David Krause’s eventual reappointment to the Lehigh Carbon Community College board of trustees. Krause has served as a trustee since 2015 and is currently its chairperson, but he is not a sitting LASD director, which troubled Beers.

“We told Gail Maholick she could not serve as the district liaison to the Lehighton Area Memorial Library board because she was not a school board member,” Beers said. “To be consistent, I think this is the same scenario. Our attorney advised us that we should not have someone who isn’t on our board representing us on the board of an institution we have a financial relationship with.”

Krause said around half of the LCCC board of trustees is made up of representatives who do not sit on their local school boards.

“I’ve never heard of this legal interpretation before and I would find it hard to believe that half of the LCCC board would be serving illegally,” he said. “I’ve been the LCCC chair for six months with a year-and-a-half to go. I just think making a change now would put undue stress on the board.”

Lehighton director Nathan Foeller, who Beers suggested take over the role, said he did not have a problem with Krause continuing to serve on the LCCC board.

“I think with Mr. Krause being their chair right now, it would throw a wrench into their situation to make a change this quickly,” Foeller said. “The less bouncing back and forth from one person to another, the better we can serve our students.”

While Barbara Bowes acknowledged the legal opinion LASD received on the matter, she said Krause puts a large amount of time as a trustee, something no other Lehighton director may be able to do.

“To under represent the district,” she said, “would probably be worse than not having a board member do it.”