During the Whitehall-Coplay School Board meeting April 27, several staff retirements were accepted, including Janice Hurlbutt of Gockley Elementary School, Stephen Piston of Whitehall-Coplay Middle School, Robert Panny of Whitehall High School, Lori Girardi of Gockley Elementary and Christine Hahn, a speech therapist at WCMS, all effective June 10.

The board also accepted the resignation of Brittany Rabe, a school counselor at Zephyr Elementary School, effective June 30.

Additional resignations included April Hall, a paraprofessional at Zephyr Elementary, effective April 10; Lutfiye Dayi, a cafeteria worker, effective March 27; and Janelle Taylor, a paraprofessional at WCMS, effective April 15.

The board approved several summer maintenance hires at an hourly rate of $15.38, including Brielle Schrey, Derek Berg, Emma Bonshak and Heather Adams.

Coaching updates for the 2025-26 school year included George Cowitch, boys volleyball, at a corrected amount of $5,843 and Michael MacLaughlin, track and field, at $3,655, updated from a volunteer position.

For the 2026-027 school year, approved coaches included Jeffrey Jones, boys basketball at $10,206; James Middleton, girls basketball at $10,206; Timothy Cunningham, wrestling at $8,293; Emma Billings, swimming at $7,655; and Alexis Freedman, cheerleading at $5,741.

The board also approved staffing for summer programs. The STEM program includes Rachel Sculley, Kristine George, Stephanie Steinberg, Nicholas Holmes, Frank Piff, Abigail Koch and Michelle Gantz.

Extended school year staff includes teachers and paraprofessionals such as Heather Mastropieri, Marianne Wied, Amber Berg, Mark Fatzinger, Nicole Sivonda, Jessica Betancourt, Sharon Gumhold, Mary Baza, Angelica Abrantes, Victoria Swank, Kayla Endy, Cindy Saez, Adrienne Simcox, Samantha Stahl, Shirley Chanitz, Aysha Quinones, Ashley Szoke, Hannah Sommer, Massiel Grullon, Chris Roman, Stephen Berg, Karen Wallitsch, Heather Holmes, Kendra Saunders, Christina Louka, Michele Due, Lea Rossanese, Kim Mayo, Cassidy Legath, Rebecca Bond, Sarah DeLeo, Jacqueline Colon, Michele Scalleat, Feebie Snow, Dianna Kutos Kochan, Danielle Hacker, Lea Bruen and Tammi Ruggeri.

Support staff includes speech specialists Mary Kate Heyer and Olivia Rosati and nurse Cathy Mindler. The LEGO summer program includes Antonio Pangaio and Emily Lepore.

In other business, the board authorized the district solicitor to enter into an agreement for the property located at 2814 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, setting the assessed value at $2,300,000 for the 2026 tax year and beyond unless changed under applicable law.

The district also accepted a $3,054.16 donation from Giant Food Store in Whitehall as part of its Feeding School Kids initiative. The funds will support the district’s Snack Pack Pals program.

Several student field trips were approved, including travel to Penn State Altoona for the Pennsylvania Science Olympiad State Competition April 25, University of Scranton for the Integration Bee April 28 and then Harrisburg for a state academic competition May 1. WCMS students were expected to visit the Pennsylvania Capitol for Tru Advocacy Day May 5, and high school students are scheduled to travel to New York City June 5 at a cost of $299 per student.

The board also acknowledged additional trips, including visits to Lehigh University’s Zoellner Arts Center, Lost River Caverns, the Envirothon in Allentown, IronPigs Stadium, Quiet Valley, Hydromania, Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, Hugh Moore Park, St. Luke’s Bethlehem Campus, Doylestown Tile Works, iHeartRadio and Dorney Park for Music in the Parks, among others.

The district held committee meetings May 11. The regular school board meeting is set for 7 p.m. May 18. District officials said more updates on the budget and potential staffing changes are expected as discussion topics.