LEWISTOWN — The Mifflin County School Board reorganized Thursday night, electing Zeb Harshbarger as president and Brent Erb as vice president for the coming year, while also approving the 2026 meeting calendar and creating two new committees aimed at improving athletics and technology operations.

The meeting, held at the district’s administration building in Highland Park, opened with the administration of the oath of office for re-elected members Mark Baker. Jessica Baumgardner, Cody Wian and Erb. Each will serve through 2029, while Dr. R. Brian Ketchem’s term runs to 2027.

Following nominations, Harshbarger was approved unanimously as president. Erb was then chosen as vice president by an 8-0 vote. Both will serve one-year terms guiding the nine-member board as it begins a new cycle of work that will include contract negotiations, committee restructuring and filling a vacant board seat.

The board also approved its 2026 schedule, continuing the familiar format of holding Committee of the Whole sessions on the third Thursday of each month, followed by regular voting meetings on the fourth Thursday. November and December will each have one meeting because of the holidays. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the administration building.

A proposal for two special voting meetings — one in May for budget approval and another in August for personnel actions — to prevent long gaps in the summer schedule was brought up. The board accepted those adjustments.

During the discussion, Baker raised a request that committee meetings be held in the evening to better accommodate board members with full-time jobs. Harshbarger agreed, saying administrators would try to make that possible. “If a meeting needs to be held in the evening, that’s something we can work with,” he said. “We’ll make sure the administrators help set up those times.”

In addition to routine organizational items — such as re-adopting procedures and rules of governance and confirming Wian as the Pennsylvania School Boards Association liaison — the board filled seats on its ad hoc committees for buildings and grounds, curriculum and professional development, and policy.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee will include Erb, Baker, Wian and Terry Styers. The Curriculum and Professional Development Committee will consist of Ketchem, Wian, Baumgardner and Paula Dixon. The Policy Committee includes Styers, Ketchem and Baumgardner, with a fourth member to be added when the vacant seat is filled later this month.

Superintendent Vance Varner announced that applications for the open board position will be available on the district’s website beginning Friday morning. Interested residents may apply through 9 a.m. Dec. 16, with interviews scheduled for Dec. 18. “If someone is approved that night, they’ll take their seat and be able to vote immediately,” Varner said.

Varner also told the board that contract negotiations will soon begin for the district’s support staff — including custodians, maintenance and cafeteria employees — whose current contract expires June 30, 2026. Ketchem volunteered to serve as one of two board representatives on the negotiating team, with the second member to be named after the vacant board seat is filled.

In one of the evening’s most notable actions, the board approved the creation of two new committees: one for athletics and another for technology. The proposals, introduced by Erb, passed 7-1 each, with Styers opposed.

The Athletics Committee will focus on policy and oversight for the district’s sports programs, including issues related to facilities, eligibility, and Title IX compliance. “We’ve received a lot of public feedback about our facilities,” he said. “It’ll be helpful to have a group that can discuss those things and bring recommendations to the board.”

The Technology Committee will look for ways to improve efficiency through better use of digital systems and communication tools. Both groups will operate like other ad hoc committees with up to four members each and report back to the board.

Harshbarger said the new committees would be integrated into the board’s structure immediately, with administrators Doug Cunningham and Clint White serving as contacts for technology, and athletic director Tish McClay working with the athletics group. “We want these committees to be productive, not redundant,” he said.

The next meeting of the Mifflin County School Board is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the administration building.