The Tamaqua Area School Board, on a 5-3 vote last night, voted to retain a noted Philadelphia lawyer to represent the board in an effort to overturn the contract the board claims was made under duress.

Directors Rich Miller, Larry Neff, Gary Steigerwalt, board President Kathy Kunkel and Ron Dietrich voted to hire Stephen J. Cabot of Harvey, Pennington, Herting and Renneisen Ltd., to represent them in an effort to reject the court-imposed settlement that granted teachers raises averaging about $2,500 per year.

Voting against the hiring were Bob Gill, Bob Betz and Jackie Shafer. Director Dan Miorelli abstained from the voting.