Northern Lehigh School District has chosen not to reappoint its head varsity softball coach after a plea by a parent who said her daughter was discriminated against.

By an 8-0 vote, the school board on Monday agreed to amend a motion to remove the name of Dan Caruso from the school board meeting agenda. Director Chad Christman was absent.

Caruso was listed on the meeting agenda for reappointment under co-curricular appointments for the 2024-25 school year at a salary of $5,664.

Dr. Jennifer Wentz of Walnutport said she has been in the district her whole life and had a daughter who attends 11th grade at the high school.

Wentz told the board she had concerns about Caruso being listed on its meeting agenda as a potential rehire as head varsity softball coach.

“I have brought my concerns to the coach, I have brought my concerns to the athletic director, I have also brought my concerns to (high school principal) Dr. (Lori) Bali,” Wentz said. “My concerns are with his, I want to say, his blatant discrimination against my daughter during this last season.”

Wentz added that she brought to a meeting with district athletic director Bryan Geist a list of 10 things that she was concerned about with regard to her daughter’s lack of play.

“I’m not suggesting at all that my daughter deserves to have a starring role,” Wentz said. “She is a developing player like many of the others that are on there, yet she is the only girl who did not field at all during the season, even though she came to practice every day, never missed a practice, never missed a game.

“That did not just extend to games, it also extended to practices, where she was not even fielded to practice, which I thought that’s what practice was about. There were times where the coach said, ‘I’m going to play all of the nonstarters’; he played everybody but my daughter.”

Wentz added that “there were times where the only time she got to bat was at the assistance of the assistant coach, and the last time she got to bat was a doubleheader Senior Night, and that was only because her teammates stepped aside and demanded that she at least get to bat once.

“I’m not saying my daughter is the strongest player, but I do think that she deserved a little bit more in regards to having an opportunity to develop and prove that she could play that game, and instead, she was not,” Wentz said. “If she was not coachable, and if she was not a strong player, than the coach should have stepped up and dismissed her from the team or not suited her at all. Instead, she gave a lot of time and effort, and a lot of tears and a lot of blood and a lot of sweat to try and do her best to prove that she could play that game.”

Wentz said, “I cannot speak for anybody else, but I am also aware that there were other issues with this coach that were brought forward as well.

Wentz told the board she would gladly speak to anybody at length with regards to her concerns.

Afterward, Director Gary Fedorcha said he wanted to make an exception and remove a name from the list of appointments. The board approved the motion.

The softball team finished last season with a regular season record of 12 wins and 8 losses.