Hamburg Area School Directors agreed on Aug. 24 to hire Jolee Keifer as a school psychologist at a salary of $85,500 effective upon her release from the Schuylkill Valley School District.
“I’ve done this (job) for 25 years and I’m looking forward to coming here,” Keifer said. “I knew good things about the district.”
Keifer lives in the borough and is a member of the Hamburg Area Education Foundation and the Our Town Foundation.
Keifer has worked the previous six and one-half years as a school psychologist in the Schuylkill Valley School District. Prior to that she worked 18 years in the same position for the Danville Area School District.
Keifer replaces Dalcinea Stanton who moved to another school district.
In other news, school directors approved a laptop service option with IntegraONE, Allentown, for the district’s one-to-one laptop program at a cost of $52,762 for one year.
“This acts as an insurance that helps with the warranty,” said Than Wright, technology coordinator. “It’s all about damage. What would not be covered by the warranty. It’s covered if a kid drops it or a car runs over it.”
The cost averages out to about $62 per laptop for the district’s 850 laptops.
“We’ve used this same option for the past two years,” said Michele Zimmerman, business manager. “It’s an increase of about $3 per laptop from the previous year.”
The district provides laptops to students in grades nine through 12.
Students have two choices: for a $50 yearly fee, which helps cover repairs, students have 24/7 access to the laptops or if the fee option is not chosen students must turn in their laptops at the end of each school day.
The fee for students who receive free or reduced lunches is $25.
The next meeting of school directors is Monday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the James A. Gilmartin Community Room.
