During the Sept. 8 Catasauqua Area School District Board of Education meeting, school directors unanimously voted Victoria Mankos to fill the vacant seat. Mankos will also serve on the buildings and grounds committee.

Mankos is filling the seat recently vacated by Christy Cooper after she moved out of the district. The term will run through Dec. 7, 2027.

Mankos said she has been a resident of Catasauqua for years. She noted her children previously attended Catholic school, but she moved them into the district schools about five years ago. According to Mankos, she previously served on the Catholic school board.

She said she is excited to get started and wants to help make things great for the students.

In other business, Michelle Mozingo, of Alloy5, and John Carson, of Pelorus Group, provided an update on the Sheckler Elementary School addition project. They noted things went smoothly with the construction and the start of the school year. It was noted the foundation work is approximately 75% completed.

Carson reported the recent rains and rocky ground slowed things down a bit, but they are not behind schedule.

Mozingo also spoke about the feasibility study Alloy5 is doing on the former YMCA property on Walnut Street. She provided information about the state of the building, including the walls, roof, windows, doors and entrances, technology, floors, ceilings, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sidewalks, parking, roadway, playground and its Americans With Disability Act code compliance.

She also provided the board with potential priorities for the site moving forward and asked the board to consider what the district would be using the building and site for in the future. These decisions will allow for recommendations and planning moving forward.

The board was given four items to consider for approval regarding the site. They were asked to potentially approve a wetlands evaluation, water regulation work, a boundary survey and a topographical survey. There was discussion about if the timing is right for all four of these items, with budgetary concerns weighing in.

The district administration recommended approving the boundary and topographical surveys at this time at a cost of about $8,400. There was continued discussion about whether both of these surveys are needed now or if the topographical survey could wait. It was noted the more information they have now in the study phase will help moving forward into the design or construction phases.

After much back and forth, the board voted to approve both the boundary and topographical surveys at this time, with board President Dale Hein as the sole opposing vote.

The board and administration also recognized Catasauqua High School art teacher CJ Matz and the three recent CHS graduates who were featured in the statewide America 250 art initiative. Matz, president of the Pennsylvania Art Educators Association, noted the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and PAEA received more than 180 pieces of art from students around the state, and a student from Moravian University selected the pieces to incorporate into the celebratory collage.

The three 2026 Catasauqua alums who had artwork chosen are Juliana Burgos, Avery Cicero and Oli Ramirez.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christina Lutz-Doemling commended Matz for bringing so much back to the district through his work with PAEA, which benefit the students and their curricular experiences.

Changes in employment status were approved. Cindy Kuntzman is moving from substitute teacher to short-term substitute at Catasauqua Middle School; Charlotte Britto from daily building substitute to substitute teacher at CHS; Kaitlyn Bird from substitute teacher to short-term substitute at Sheckler; and Karla Calderon, Nixalys Castellano and Loreni Sanchez from non-CDL substitutes to non-CDL drivers.

Alex Ho, of Moravian University, was approved as a student teacher to work with Matz in the art department.

Leslie Estrada was approved to serve as the CHS Digital Media Club adviser with a stipend of $632.

The resignation of Todd Troxell, a noncertified instructional aide at CHS, was approved.

The board approved additions to the substitute employment list, including Silvana Sterner, guest teacher; Kelly Parks, substitute teacher; Kim Seko, CDL substitute driver; and David Penchishen, Glenn David Mackes and Victor Tavarez, non-CDL substitute drivers.

The board approved the administration to utilize remote or virtual learning days when circumstances such as a disease epidemic, hazardous weather, law enforcement emergency, damage to a school building, equipment malfunction necessary to school operation or other issue renders the school building unfit or unsafe for students.

A memorandum of understanding with Valley Youth House was approved for evidence- based programs within the district, funded by Lehigh County Department of Drug and Alcohol.

The board approved a $10,000 donation from Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church to support the CMS career exploration initiatives and the district’s partnership with Da Vinci Science Center, including career connection days and career pathway programs. Holy Trinity and Pastor Brian Riedy were thanked by the board and administration for their generosity. It was also noted the church is a great community partner in the borough.

The board took time to elect the Pennsylvania School Boards Association officers.

Additional board approvals included overnight student trips for a number of sports teams, the job description for the operations administrative assistant, the CASD organizational chart, the establishment of the Class of 2030 student activity account and the solicitor, superintendent and business manager to serve as representatives of the district for the purposes of collective bargaining with Catasauqua Area Education Association for teachers and related professionals.

The board of education next meets 7 p.m. Oct. 13 in the administration board room, 201 N. 14th St.