During Whitehall-Coplay School Board\u2019s Oct. 27 meeting, Bruce Charles, a district resident, spoke regarding district spending and the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m wasting my time \u2014 the outlandish spending continues and is approved by this board. It\u2019s not acceptable. Why? Because the Whitehall-Coplay School District doesn\u2019t have the money,\u201d Charles said.<\/p>\n
Charles argued the electronic boards outside the high school were an unnecessary purchase.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese boards were not needed, and it appears common sense is completely lacking in these kinds of financial decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He went on to criticize what he described as wasteful spending of taxpayer money on color-changing lights used during football games, as well as electronic boards in the gyms and stadiums, calling the purchases \u201cfoolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone voted for those expenditures, and I suppose this is only the tip of the iceberg. If I can see and recognize this, why can\u2019t you?\u201d Charles concluded.<\/p>\n
He said he feels it\u2019s time for voters to elect a new board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we get to our committee meetings and begin our budget discussions, the items you mentioned will be addressed and reviewed. Thank you for your time,\u201d board President William Fonzone said.<\/p>\n
Parent LoriAnn Fehnel opened the public comment portion of the meeting, addressing what she referred to as educational matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo letter will silence me,\u201d Fehnel said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to be silenced. My son is a special-education student, and he\u2019s been facing barriers in this district for many years. It\u2019s always a tug-of-war with the district regarding the services my son needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fehnel claimed some teachers in the district do not review quizzes or tests with students after they are administered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a lack of services here,\u201d she continued. \u201cSome of our children are stuck at a certain level in their learning \u2014 and they\u2019re just stuck, with no improvement. Why is there no progress in their education within this district?\u201d<\/p>\n
In other news, the board welcomed Amie Tracy, the new special education facilitator for the high school. Tracy joins the district from Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 20, bringing many years of experience, a supervisor certificate and a background working at the high school level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for this opportunity. I\u2019m very excited,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cI\u2019ve lived in this district for 10 years, and I\u2019m thrilled to now be part of it in my professional career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current employee Jenna Notareschi, previously an MDS-B special education teacher at Gockley Elementary School, will be moving into the position of special services consultant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to say thank you so much for approving the position and my transfer. I am very passionate about special education and the work that I do,\u201d Notareschi said.<\/p>\n
Cindy Zayas will be joining Steckel Elementary School, replacing Lea Rossanese, who will be transitioning to a new role in the Life Skills classroom. Zayas will serve as the school\u2019s new emotional support teacher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really look forward to being a part of your school district. It seems really lovely,\u201d Zayas said.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Stancombe will serve as the new assistant director of special education. She previously worked as a special education facilitator within the district.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited for my next step in the district,\u201d Stancombe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to having you here and being highly successful educators,\u201d Fonzone said.<\/p>\n
Board members also received an update from Student Council. Three members of the student body were recognized as Merit Scholars, with Habib Leyos and Tristan Quach named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.<\/p>\n
The high school recently hosted a pep rally to celebrate Homecoming week, featuring performances by the band, the choir\u2019s rendition of the national anthem and a cheerleading routine among other activities. The Homecoming dance, themed \u201cA Night Under the Stars,\u201d was reportedly a success across all grade levels. It was noted PSATs were administered Oct. 22, and the first quarter officially ended Oct. 30.<\/p>\n
For Homecoming, the high school football team faced Emmaus and won 38-31. It was also announced this year\u2019s high school musical will be \u201cThe Wedding Singer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meeting continued with a musical performance from the middle school. Students offered a preview of their upcoming production, \u201cHigh School Musical Jr.,\u201d performing the song \u201cWhat I\u2019ve Been Looking For.\u201d<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO BY HANNA O\u2019REILLYStudents from Whitehall-Coplay Middle School perform a number from their upcoming production of \u201cHigh School Musical Jr.\u201d during the Oct. 27 Whitehall-Coplay School District School Board meeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During Whitehall-Coplay School Board\u2019s Oct. 27 meeting, Bruce Charles, a district resident, spoke regarding district spending and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-32058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}