Manheim Central school board has accepted the resignation of a member elected last November in a five-candidate write-in campaign engineered by Manheim Central Taxpayers Alliance.

In a resignation letter to the board, which met Aug. 26, Justin Barbush cited the demands of career and family as the reason for his departure.

Personnel items included seven new teacher hires as well as the resignations of special education head Lisa Conrad and technology director Chris Gantz.

Conrad will be employed in York County. Gantz, who was instrumental in making the district's new middle school a model of teaching technology and connectivity, will become head of technology for Hempfield School District.

After rehiring George Ioannidis as business manager in June, the board reinstalled him as board secretary beginning Sept. 15.

The board also considered a recent increase in first grade enrollment in the district and gave administrators permission to add instructional aides in those classes. The move will be voted on at September's regular meeting.

In the 2007-08 school year, there were 202 kindergartners in the district. That class is now 217 first graders, which puts four class sections above the district guidelines for classroom size of 18 to 22.

One section at H.C. Burgard Elementary School is at 23 students, while three others are at 22. At Doe Run, two classes are at 23 and one is at 24.

In board governance business, two of the three board committees — planning and program development and finance — will meet monthly at the district office on Hazel Street beginning Sept. 2.

The old board meeting room there will allow members to converse more comfortably, board member Anne Phillips said.

The performance committee will continue to meet at the new middle school, convening next on Sept. 23.