NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — Northampton Area School District will close Moore Elementary School after the 2025-26 school year, but will keep the building and surrounding property with the intention of later reopening the school.
That’s the decision school directors made Monday after renewed discussions over the past year about the elementary school’s fate.
School directors also voted unanimously Monday to close and sell three district buildings: the current administration building, the Washington technology center and the Franklin building, which has served as a kindergarten center at the Northampton Borough Elementary campus.
Northampton Borough kindergarten students will be moved into the school’s Siegfried building, which has housed first through fifth grades.
Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik said there are multiple options the district can pursue to sell the buildings, as laid out by the state Education Department.
Kovalchik said he anticipates NASD will decide how to move forward on the sales by late fall.
Directors disagree on Moore's fate
School directors weren’t all in agreement on the decision to temporarily close Moore Elementary, at 2835 Mountain View Drive in Bath.
Board Vice President Nathan Lichtenwalner, along with school directors Michael Baird, John Becker, Parker Flamisch, Ross Makary and Doug Vaughn voted for the temporary closure.
But board President Kristin Soldridge, along with school directors Joshua Harris and Brian McCulloch, voted against it.
“It does sadden me that on this issue I personally don’t believe that Moore will ever open again."Brian McCulloch, Northampton Area school director
“It does sadden me that on this issue I personally don’t believe that Moore will ever open again,” McCulloch said.
School directors opposed to Moore’s temporary closure have long argued the district should immediately renovate or rebuild the elementary school to avoid the possibility it never reopens.
In January, school directors approved a $51 million complete renovation of Moore slated for next summer to have it ready for students by the 2028-29 academic year, but they changed course because of budgetary concerns.
As of March, the district administration anticipated a $17.5 million deficit by the 2028-29 budget cycle if the district doesn't raise taxes.
Budgetary concerns main driver
When school directors approved the 2025-26 budget last month, the district faced a deficit of more than $3 million for the current fiscal year.
It combatted that by hiking school property taxes 4% and drawing from its savings.
The board hasn't yet determined a date to reopen Moore.
“I truly believe this district will need five elementary schools."Joseph Kovalchik, Northampton Area Superintendent
Superintendent Kovalchik said he believes the district will need to reopen it the school in the future because Northampton Area’s enrollment will likely increase over the next five to 10 years with new housing developments being built.
“I truly believe this district will need five elementary schools,” Kovalchik said.
Currently, the district is building a new East Allen Elementary School at Route 329 and Seemsville Road. It's on schedule to open by the 2026-27 school year.
A new administration building is being built at the site, too.
In addition to East Allen, the district's other open elementary schools in 2026-27 will be George Wolf, Lehigh and Northampton Borough.
Director McCulloch said the cost of the Route 329 project is what “sealed Moore’s fate.”
The project has a $72.8 million price tag, and with interest will cost the district nearly $76 million.
Director Flamisch said given the district’s current financial situation, there was no way to keep Moore open at present without the district taking on massive debt.
“I agree that we will need five elementary schools in the future, and Moore Elementary will be one of them,” he said.
Director Becker said keeping Moore open and operating five elementary schools would have added $4 million to the district’s deficit.
Facilities plans
Kovalchik said keeping the Moore Elementary property — even without children using the building — will cost the district money in 2026-27 to keep it operational.
The district’s facilities committee will begin discussing options for how to use the building starting next month and make a decision by the end of the year, Kovalchik said.
“What I don’t want to happen in this school district is for parents and students to lose the 25-26 school year."Northampton Area Schools Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik
Reopening Moore — which likely would require rebuilding or renovating it — is the district’s “No. 1 big ticket item” in terms of cost for the coming years, Kovalchik said.
He also noted the district has $2 million set aside to update Moore and likely will have millions of dollars coming into NASD once it sells the administration building, Washington technology center and Franklin building.
In the meantime, the district is working to cut costs by deciding which furniture and equipment from the current administration building can be brought to the new one at Route 329 instead of purchasing new items, the superintendent said.
He repeated that his administration still is working on finalizing redistricting plans for Northampton Area’s elementary schools for 2026-27, as well as new bus routes.
Every elementary school will be impacted with either students being transferred in or out to another NASD elementary school.
Parents will be notified which elementary school their students will attend in 2026-27 by October.
Though upcoming redistricting is a big and important change, Kovalchik doesn’t want the district community to get ahead of itself.
“What I don’t want to happen in this school district is for parents and students to lose the 25-26 school year,” he said.
