During public comment at a July 21 Bethlehem Area School District board meeting, a parent of a softball player at Liberty HS spoke out against recent changes to the Liberty softball program.

The parent's main concern was the effect of not having Coach Rich Giering running the program. The parent said her daughter and the other girls love their coaches and are reconsidering if they want to play.

Giering has not been rehired to coach for the 2015 season as coaching contracts are awarded for one-year terms and a new coach is being sought, said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy in an email.

Giering also took the podium during public comment offering to talk about the situation privately with Board President Michael Facinetto, as he had already talked with Director Eugene McKeon.

Facinetto told him that the meeting was not an appropriate time to discuss the matter and that it was being investigated by the administration.

In other news, Nitschmann MS construction plans are right on schedule and moving forward. The concept design phase has been completed and the schematic design phase will begin soon. The PlanCon moratorium has ended and the district will continue to submit the proper documents to Harrisburg for construction reimbursment as they had been doing. Now the district has a good chance of receiving money from Harrisburg for the project.

Right now Facilities Director Mark Stein is looking at how to design traffic flows during construction so families don't have to re-learn new patterns.

One of the greatest concerns is parking, Stein said. Workers will use the area west of the Rose Garden to park legally on the road. School staff will park on the east side of Eighth Street. A swipe card area will be added to encourage staff to use the area, according to Stein.

Construction is expected to wrap up in 2018.