Palmerton principal fills Northern Lehigh board seat

A Palmerton Area School District administrator has been tabbed to fill an open seat on Northern Lehigh School Board.

By a 7-0 margin, the school board on Monday selected Bob Kern to fill the vacancy. Director Robert Keegan Jr. was absent.

Kern, of Washington Township, and Colleen Knight, of Walnutport, were the only two candidates to apply for the vacant seat.

Both were interviewed by the board at the onset of Monday’s meeting before Kern was officially chosen for the post.

Appointed in June as acting principal at Palmerton Area High School, Kern told the board he has a “wealth of experience.”

A recently retired Nazareth Middle School principal, under Kern’s leadership, the Nazareth Area Middle School earned a National Green Ribbon Award, a National Blue Ribbon Award and the Governor’s Award for Academic Excellence. Kern also was named the Terrance H. Bell, National Principal of the Year in 2015 by the United States Department of Education.

Kern also has a long and storied history at Northern Lehigh, where he is a former teacher, principal and wrestling coach.

“I’ve had a very stellar career,” Kern said. “This is a different way to help kids.”

The board agreed last month to readvertise for the open seat after no candidates emerged to fill the vacancy left by Kristie Wilk, who resigned in January. Wilk, who served as board secretary, resigned for work reasons.

Kern will serve until December, and then has the option to run in the municipal election.