NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — Northampton Area School Board’s newest member is a 20-year-old college student who wants to be a consensus builder on the often-divided board.
Parker Flamisch, a 2023 district graduate, was selected by the school board to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of former school Director Kim Bretzik in March.
He will serve out the remainder of Bretzik's term, which ends Dec. 1.
“I see myself as a voice of moderation."Parker Flamisch, recently appointed to Northampton Area School Board
Flamisch said he wants to continue on the school board after December, though.
He already cross-filed in the May primary election. If successful, he will compete for a four-year seat on the board in the November general election.
In the meantime, Flamisch will get to see what it’s like to be a school director over the next seven months.
He will represent the district’s Region 3, which consists of Bath and Chapman boroughs as well as Moore Township, where Flamisch resides.
“I see myself as a voice of moderation,” Flamisch told LehighValleyNews.com Wednesday after his appointment. “I think that I can work with a lot of the board members who have had spats with each other in the past.”
“I think that in the future during my term on the board we’ll be able to get along and find common-sense solutions.”
Bringing 'normality' to the board
School directors voted 6-2 for Flamisch to fill the vacant seat, with Board President Kristin Soldridge and school Director Brian McCulloch voting against the appointment.
“I think he brings a little bit of normality to the board and a youthful look at things.”John Becker, Northampton Area School Director
“I’m glad to see Parker will be serving with us,” school Director John Becker said after the vote. “I think he brings a little bit of normality to the board and a youthful look at things.”
Flamisch is a junior at East Stroudsburg University, where he studies political science with a concentration in American government.
Over the past year, he has been a regular attendee of school board meetings, where he often made public comments.
Flamisch said he wants to give back to the district because it helped him grow.
Having graduated in the past couple of years, Flamisch has a recent reference for what the life of a Northampton Area student looks like, he said.
“I think it’s really beneficial for the board to have somebody on it who has that lived experience and understands what students go through on a daily basis, " he said.
Flamisch's interview
During his Wednesday interview, Flamisch answered more than a dozen questions from the board on everything from school budgets to the authority of the constitution.
On a question about funding for the local library, Flamisch said he supports the school district contributing money to the library’s budget as it has since the library’s opening in the mid-1960s.
The board will vote next month on whether to continue the funding arrangement.
Some school directors want to keep the $270,000 the district would normally use to fund the library as a way to create savings.
Others think the district owes it to taxpayers to fund the local library, which gets more than half of its budget from the school district.
Flamisch's vote will have an impact on the outcome for the library and the school district's budget.
When it comes to areas for improvement, Flamisch said the school district should do a better job of planning financially for building maintenance, combatting student bullying and supporting students who are struggling with their schoolwork and mental health after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Book bands, free speech
On book bans, Flamisch said he generally opposes the practice, but if ordered to remove certain books by the Supreme Court, he would support the district complying with such a legal ruling.
“I believe that people should be able to say what they want."Parker Flamisch, recently appointed to Northampton Area School Board
Another question posed to Flamisch was about board policy 903 and free speech.
That policy lets the school board terminate individuals' public comments if they deem them “abusive, irrelevant, offensive or otherwise inappropriate,” according to school Director Michael Baird, who moderated the public interviews.
Baird said the policy was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2022 and another Pennsylvania school district was successfully sued over it.
When asked about policy 903 and if he supports silencing dissent, Flamisch said he believes in the First Amendment.
“I believe that people should be able to say what they want,” he said.
Threats, however, should not be allowed at school board meetings, Flamisch added.
“You can have free speech, but that does not mean you're free from consequences,” he said.
Lawsuit causes tension
Policy 903 is top of mind for school directors because it is mentioned in an ongoing lawsuit against Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik, some board members and others.
Gerald Bretzik, husband of the former school Director Kim Bretzik, filed the suit.
He alleges policy 903 was implemented in 2022 to exclude him from school board meetings after he was accused of disruptive and threatening behavior.
He is seeking $1,971,000 in damages for how the district handled the situation. A settlement meeting is scheduled for June 10 at the federal courthouse in Allentown.
Gerald Bretzik was also one of the applicants interviewed for the open school board seat created by his wife’s resignation — it is unclear why she resigned.
Gerald Bretzik’s interview became tense at times Wednesday, such as when school Director Doug Vaughn questioned whether he should be considered for the position at all given the ongoing lawsuit.
That prompted a brief heated exchange between Gerald Bretzik and Vaughn.
"At this point, the lawsuit has nothing to do with him putting his name in for the position," board President Soldridge said. "He can still be a valuable member of the community."
The board ultimately considered Gerald Bretzik for the role.
Other applicants
Gerald Bretzik, 56, is the owner of a property maintenance business. He’s also a U.S. Marine veteran and district parent.
The other applicants interviewed Wednesday were David Gogel and Jamie Shankweiler Marchiano.
Both Gogel and Shankweiler Marchiano are also competing in the May primary election against Flamisch in the hopes of winning the November general election to represent Region 3 for a four-year term. They both cross-filed.
Gogel, 73, served on the board from 2003 to 2023.
He’s a retiree who previously sold auto parts for nearly five decades. His children and grandchildren graduated from the school district.
Gogel is among those listed as a defendant in Gerald Bretzik’s lawsuit.
Shankweiler Marchiano, 47, is a self-employed health insurance advisor and mother. She graduated from Northampton Area in 1996.
