After stringent interviews Oct. 10, the East Penn School District Board of Directors voted on and swore in a new member, the Rev. Waldemar Vinovskis.

Vinovskis was accepted by a 5-3 vote in the third round of voting after school directors interviewed him and three other candidates – Ellen Lewis, Thomas Ruhf and Naomi Winch. The position was available due to the vacancy left by France Fuller’s recent resignation after many years of dedicated service.

The final vote was Charles Ballard, Ken Bacher, Alan Earnshaw, Ziad Munson and Chris Donatelli in favor of Vinovskis, with Rebecca Heid, Carol Allen and Paul Champagne in favor of Lewis.

Vinovskis, of Macungie, ran for school board in 2011 and 2015. He was appointed to fill a board vacancy in 2013 when Julian Stolz resigned.

When asked about the biggest challenges school districts and their boards surmount, Vinovskis cited school funding, specifically district contributions to the Public School Employees Retirement System, charter school reform, as well as standardized testing and the amount of time and effort spent on testing in schools and the curriculum.

All of his four children have attended East Penn schools, with his youngest still attending high school at Emmaus. Vinovskis is a longtime volunteer for the district, including as a field trip chaperone, library volunteer and on planning committees.

“Public education is the foundation of our democracy,” Vinovskis recounted. He credited his fifth-grade teacher in Nebraska with being an influence in his life and stated his own children have been similarly impacted by the East Penn School District.

Prior to the questioning of candidates, Emmaus resident John Donches declared the district should have offered more information to the public on each of the applicants before Monday’s session, claiming the board was lacking transparency. Donches asked the board to “bring in fresh, new thinking” and said members “should not choose Vinovskis because voters rejected him twice in years past.” Earnshaw thanked all applicants and encouraged them to run in future school board elections.

A report by the technology committee was presented by Kristen Campbell, assistant superintendent, Michael Mohn, director of technology, Heather Moser, technology integration specialist, Michael Kelly, principal, Eyer Middle School and Heather Slatoff, science teacher, Lower Macungie Middle School.

The committee presented a goal to augment the district technology program by offering a computer for every student. The “1 to 1” goal is presented to be implemented in three “stages” but gave no specific timetable for the events.

The technology committee was formed a year ago with over 20 faculty and 10 students. The presented model would give students 24/7 access to technology in an effort to “extend learning beyond the traditional brick and mortar schools...preparing students for a career in the 21st century workplace.”

The presentation cited school districts who offer a 1:1 ratio of computers to students out- perform those who are not.

The program would cost over $3.5 million in total, with a large portion of the expense for improving the infrastructure and physical network of the school district to accommodate the needed bandwidth for the number of students with modern devices.

The committee would also like to see students given the ability to take devices home to help the students work on their coursework at home.

The committee noted this would be especially advantageous to students who do not have a computer at home, but cited several details would need to be ironed out to consider such a possibility as a reality.

Ballard asked the committee why the proposed computers would be running Chrome or IOS but not Windows which most businesses and industries use. The school is retaining the Windows-based computers it currently has; however, they are only available in selected labs.

Champaigne cautioned that closing achievement gaps consisted of more than technology and to not underestimate ongoing costs of such a infrastructure upgrade.

The board approved the expenditure of $31,758 from the capital reserve fund to pay for security cameras at Eyer and LMMS. The item was motioned by Ballard, seconded by Bacher and accepted by eight ayes, with Vinovskis abstaining.

The board also approved the voluntary deductions for its employees to the EPSD Education Foundation. The Education Foundation allows teachers to pool their resources financially and then apply for funding for supplies, training or other related items they would not be able to afford on their own. The measure was motioned by Ballard, seconded by Bacher and accepted by a vote of seven ayes, with Donatelli voting against and Vinovski abstaining.

The board granted permission for Patricia Bostick Dance Center to rent the auditorium and locker rooms at LMMS May 10, 19 and 20, 2017 for dance rehearsals and a recital.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Schilder announced the Rotary Teacher Exchange program, a 14-day study working with teachers and students in Zambia. Under the program, two teachers from the district would visit Zambia for two weeks and then two teachers from Zambia would visit and work with the district to share knowledge and observations.

A fundraiser by the Pediatric Cancer Club working with Freedom High School raised over $10,000.

The board appointed Donatelli to the LCTI Joint Operating Committee to fulfill Fuller’s unexpired term through December.

The board also appointed Allen as the new CLIU board member to represent the district to fulfill Fuller’s unexpired term through June 30, 2017. The candidates name will be placed on the CLIU board annual election ballot in the spring of 2017, to fulfill the term from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.

Ballard reported there is not much legislative action this month, as just 10 legislative session days are scheduled between now and Nov. 30. Ballard urged citizens to contact their local state representative and ask them to vote against House Bill 530 which concerns charter school reform and would increase the ability to create more charter schools. Ballard cautioned more charter schools could cost school districts money they could otherwise use for its regular schools, citing additional evidence charter schools do not use standardized tests and thus do not contribute to district test scores.

The next board meeting is 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24.