K-12 News

Bethlehem Area School District's board approved $47.6 million in contracts Monday to build the new Fountain Hill Elementary School — coming in nearly $3 million under budget.

In his latest budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro wants to allocate nearly $500 million to chronically underfunded school districts — and that includes several districts in the Lehigh Valley. But lawmakers have concerns around the fairness of the funding distribution.

H.B. 827 was proposed by State Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton. The bill aims to establish a tutoring program in which high school students could receive academic credit for being tutors

Northampton Area School Board is discussing how it will balance its budget this year and in coming years. Solutions include tax increases and the postponement of the Moore Elementary project.

The free expo is now in its seventh year and will occur from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Penn State Lehigh Valley.

Southern Lehigh Superintendent Michael Mahon remains on administrative leave after the school board president publicly criticized his performance.

Northampton Area Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik will no longer retire at the end of this school year like he planned. The superintendent said it's not the right time for him to leave the district.

Allentown School Director Lisa Conover first joined the board in late 2017 and was re-elected in 2021. She will not run for re-election in the 2025 cycle.

After a maintenance issue closed Harrison-Morton Middle School for repairs in mid-February, students and staff learned virtually for eight days. Last week, they returned to in-person learning at temporary sites throughout Allentown.

Formed in 2008, local weekend event in May features separate day of beer and wine tastings, followed by a for-kids-only day of art and science fun.

Commonwealth Charter Academy, a large, public, cyber charter school for all school-age children, plans to convert a nearly 47,000-square-foot, one-story building into office space for teachers and staff at 2200 W. Broad St.

Critics of the hiring process argued for a superintendent search instead of a direct appointment. Others said Karen Trinkle had more than proven herself ready to lead, and a search would be lengthy and costly.

Planned to open to students for the 2027-28 school year, the roughly $59 million project will go up on the same land as its predecessor facility, which dated back to the 1930s.

School directors voted 5-2 to approve Ethan Ake-Little’s resignation and settlement agreement. His resignation takes effect Aug. 31.

Southern Lehigh school directors appointed Karen Trinkle as chief of schools. They also approved a settlement agreement with Ethan Ake-Little, the HR director who filed discrimination and retaliation complaints against the former superintendent.

Ethan Ake-Little has been suspended with pay since June while the district investigated allegations about his job performance. Ake-Little previously filed discrimination, retaliation and fraud complaints against the former superintendent.

Additional cleaning and air quality testing remain underway at Sheridan and Ritter elementary schools, Allentown School District said in an update Sunday.

School directors are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to promote Assistant Superintendent Karen Trinkle to chief of schools. The proposed five-year contract comes a month after school directors voted to part ways with the previous superintendent.

Northampton Area School District’s inaugural Summer Career Mentorship Program exposed 50 high schoolers to careers in manufacturing, interior design, healthcare and more.

In an email, Allentown School District said mold spores were found in several elementary school classrooms. Remedial action has been taken, the district said in a release, and the classrooms will be tested ahead of the first day of school.

They will serve in districtwide administrative roles and as school building leaders.

Allentown school directors voted 7-0 Thursday to approve the project justification and design development for the school that will sit on the grounds of the former Allentown State Hospital property.