Three months after voting to make it an administrative position, Pleasant Valley School District’s board of directors narrowly filled the director of athletics and activities job opening Thursday night.

By a 5-4 vote, the district hired Jason Mattern at a salary of $90,000 with a start date to be determined. Mattern has been the athletic director at Penn Manor School District in Lancaster County for the past year. Prior to that, he spent 12 years in the same role at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland. He was not present at Thursday’s meeting.

Directors Donna Yozwiak, Len Peeters, Laura Jecker and Delbert Zacharias voted against Mattern’s hiring.

The same four directors in March voted against changing the position to an administrative role, which ended Jake Percey’s 14-year tenure as Pleasant Valley’s athletic director.

Before the vote Thursday, Keith Haverstock, vice president of the Pleasant Valley Education Association, said, “any board hirings that would eliminate a bargaining unit member and/or a bargaining unit member’s position from the PVEA, and/or is done under false pretenses will result in the filing of grievances and charges of unfair labor practices.”

Pleasant Valley Superintendent David Piperato asked Haverstock if he found any evidence of false pretenses.

“I said and/or,” Haverstock responded.

In March, Piperato said the new position would include taking over as department chair of the gifted education department, health, physical education and drivers education department, music department, speech and language department and STREAM education department.

In addition, Piperato said that Percey frequently worked throughout the summer months and that the position often required dealing with issues related to other employees, items better suited to a full-time administrator.

The board, in May, approved a change of assignment for Percey from athletic director to a science teacher.