School board meetings for the coming year will be different following the Dec. 5 directors' meeting.

Much of the work will be done in committees with no action taken. There will be only regular meeting a month, Superintendent Mary Anne Wright said.

The committee meetings, as well as the regular meetings, will be open to the public, with the exception of any item that needs to be discussed in executive session.

Public comment will be heard at the beginning and end of each committee meeting, though the comment should apply to the subject of the committee being visited.

Wright said there is some significant discussion in the committees, so public comment is appropriate.

The finance committee is expected to have much to discuss but only a small portion of that will come to the regular board meeting rather than all the details previously brought.

The one meeting a month will be 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday. The policy committee will meet 5 p.m. on first Monday; and operations, finance and personnel will meet the first Wednesday at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and at 7 p.m., respectively.

Current committee members will remain with the same group to work with.

Darryl Schafer continues as board president and LeRoy Sorensen is vice president.

In personnel issues, Rebecca Johnson, a technology support technician, is being transferred from the high school to the district office. Johnson said she is excited about the change. Adam Dietrich, a Lehigh Career and Technical Institute student studying diesel mechanics, is working in the school garage as a mechanic's helper.

Leann Stitzel, director of curriculum and Mark Scott, director of student services, have been reviewing the reasons a charter was denied for the Circle of Seasons charter school.

Wright said in her review most of the items the board objected to have been resolved.

The school will return to the board after the review is complete. The attorneys are drawing up a charter.

Wright no longer thinks the different calendars the schools, Northwestern and Circle of Seasons, will be using will make much financial difference.

The school has to transport the charter students but will be using a van.

Board member Bill Dellicker said an indirect cost will be the administration's time for oversight.

He asked if someone from the community could be on the charter board.

The person cannot be a Northwestern board member.

Wright said oversight becomes the responsibility of the district in which the charter school is located.

"We'll check the legalities," she said about the possibility of someone on the board who would report to the Northwestern board.

Schafer said no more cyber charter schools are being licensed in the state.

Operations director Bob Kripplebauer said the van he received approval to buy at the last board meeting was found to have enough defects that it was not purchased.

He located another in Allentown, and has approval to buy the best available for $18,500 or less.

Board member Joe Reiter suggested the district look into purchasing using state contracts.

The tax millage will be changed due to the county assessment change.

The rate may be increased up to 2 percent and remain within the index rate below which voters do not need to give approval.