The Dec. 3 East Penn School District meeting was a conventional meeting with an unconventional twist that may speak to the ever widening door of technological capabilities, and not least for East Penn School District's interest in keeping abreast of new trends.

Charles Ballard was elected president of the East Penn Board of School Directors at the board's annual reorganization meeting. Alan Earnshaw was elected vice president.

Ballard and Earnshaw set no precedents by reelection; this will lead each into the third year of his respective position on the board. In a first for the district, a vote was cast and won by text message.

Earnshaw was obliged to be absent for the meeting, said Board Secretary Cecilia Birdsell, and asked if there were some way he could still participate. The vice president was able to participate via Skype from Tokyo. It has happened before that board members have listened in on meetings over the telephone, but this is probably the first time the district has used Skype, Birdsell said.

The meeting was brief. In only 25 minutes, two nominations for president were put forth, for Earnshaw and Ballard, and two nominations were made for vice president, for Earnshaw and Lynn Donches.

Meetings, as before, will be held 7:30 p.m. every second and fourth Monday in the East Penn School District board room at Emmaus High School, unless otherwise advertised.