A debate over the events leading to the departure of Lehighton Area High School’s former superintendent continued to play out publicly last week during the board of directors’ July 12 meeting.

Dr. Christina Fish’s last day in the district was May 31 after the school board approved a separation agreement earlier that month calling for her to be paid nearly $115,000 to leave the position.

The separation agreement passed 6-3 and one of the dissenting directors, Barbara Bowes, later said she was not informed of initial superintendent contract buyout discussions because other board members felt “she couldn’t be trusted.”

When the topic came up again last week, Bowes reiterated that she was not part of the early discussions.

“On the 17th of April, Jeremy (Glaush) and Heather (Neff) had a meeting with the superintendent when, I assume, they told her six members of the board were interested in buying out her contract,” Bowes said.

Bowes said she did participate in an executive session later in April and the public meeting in May where the separation agreement was put up for a vote.

Glaush, who is Lehighton’s board president, said last week that before the April 17 discussion with Fish, “a majority of the board came to him and asked him to approach the superintendent” about the buyout.

“We knew what the reactions of three board members were going to be because I had spoken to two of them a week prior and they had actually expressed their pleasure with Dr. Fish,” Glaush said. “Those three members were contacted, maybe not that week, and maybe not told what action was going to be taken, but they were contacted.”

Director Sean Gleaves encouraged the district to prepare a statement in conjunction with the solicitor to attempt to put an end to the debate on the process that led to Fish’s departure.

“We owe people an explanation but we need to do it properly,” Gleaves said. “This isn’t going to go away until people understand what truly happened. I’m biting my tongue right now because I don’t want to screw this up.”

Glaush said he did prepare a statement but Lehighton’s solicitor would not sign off on it.

Though she was present at the April 29 executive session where the separation agreement was discussed, Bowes said the matter had already been decided.

“The executive session was 12 days after the superintendent was approached,” she said. “I think a decision, especially one that important, should have been discussed in executive session first so we could hear everyone’s opinion on it. Had that happened, even if I disagreed with it, I would have respected the majority’s decision because it would have been discussed in executive session first.”

Director Joy Beers, however, said Glaush and Neff, as president and vice-president, had the right to meet with the superintendent.

“They can have any meeting with the superintendent that they wish,” Beers said. “When you vote for them as president and vice-president, they do business and do these types of things. They gathered information and then later had an executive session where all information is shared with the entire board and then decisions are made.”