NAZARETH, Pa. — Two new Nazareth Area School Board members are proposing a new or beefed-up safety, security and policing committee.
The board welcomed the three new members Tuesday, including two who had been endorsed by the Northampton County Moms for Liberty chapter in the November election.
Republicans Melinda Gladstone, Elmo Frey Jr. and Christopher Miller won election last month. Gladstone and Frey were supported by local Moms for Liberty members. All were sworn in Tuesday.
Director Linda Stubits was voted president of the board and Wayne Simpson as vice president.
Board members Kenneth Butz Jr., Joseph Vasko and Adam McGlynn opted not to seek re-election.
Candidates on Democratic slates swept some of the most contentious November school board races in the Lehigh Valley. In the East Penn, Parkland and Southern Lehigh districts, bipartisan slates of Democrats and Republicans joined forces to oppose more conservative slates, including some Moms for Liberty candidates, and succeeded with the Democratic ticket.
But Moms for Liberty candidates saw success in Nazareth Area School District.
Books are an issue
Issues in the Nazareth race included challenges to books by Moms for Liberty Northampton members. Those bids so far have caused the school district to incur costs up to at least $16,000 to review four books as the organization has worked to remove books from the district’s libraries.
One now-former school board member said the group’s demands could cost the district more than $100,000 to review additional books members want pulled from shelves.
In October, the prior school board delayed a vote on whether the novel “Push,” about an abused Black teenager from Harlem, should remain on the high school shelves.
It had only been checked out only a handful of times in 13 years. It’s likely the issue of book bans will surface again next year.
Frey said Tuesday he wanted to make a motion to form a safety, security and policing committee after watching FBI Director Chris Wray on television testifying before Congress.
Wray on Tuesday called for the reauthorization of the collection of communication of targeted foreigners outside the United States. The program is scheduled to expire unless Congress renews it.
Miller, who is a law enforcement officer in Easton, said he supported Frey’s proposal.
Discussing safety measures
Nazareth Area Schools Superintendent Richard Kaskey said the risk of discussing safety and security was to publicize what the district was doing to combat security threats.
"Once you talk about things like that in public, it actually compromises our own safety and security.”<br/>Nazareth Area Board President Linda Stubits
Former board president and now treasurer Greg Leh said the district went from three police officers to six currently, one in each building.
“If the board desires, we can provide an overview,” Stubits said. “A general overview of our safety and security structure without compromising our, I'll call it for lack of a better word, our infrastructure when it comes to safety and security.
“As Dr. Kaskey said, there's a reason why we don't put forth our floor plans out, for example, things of that nature. Once you talk about things like that in public, it actually compromises our own safety and security.”
Board members said there may also be a similar committee already established within the district, whether on a permanent or as an ad-hoc basis.
During the meeting, board members also received a preliminary budget overview for the next budget cycle.
