BETHLEHEM, Pa. — As Fountain Hill Elementary School students kicked off the school year Monday at a temporary facility, work continues on a new home for the Tigers at 1330 Church St.
Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Jack Silva on Monday said the project is “on target” as crews handle demolition and preliminary site work for the incoming three-story, 86,000-square-foot upgrade.
Planned to open to students for the 2027-28 school year, the $59 million project will go up on the same land as its predecessor facility, which dated to the 1930s.
“If you were to go to the site, you would see about half of the school has been taken down. They’re probably going to keep working on it through August and September. The hope is to have the site clear and flat by the time wintertime rolls around.”Bethlehem Area School District Superintendent Jack Silva
“If you were to go to the site, you would see about half of the school has been taken down,” Silva told LehighValleyNews.com after the Bethlehem Area School Board meeting at East Hills Middle School.
“They’re probably going to keep working on it through August and September.
“The hope is to have the site clear and flat by the time wintertime rolls around.”
Silva said it was a smooth first day for FHE students otherwise.
Under a lease agreement, effective from June 1, 2025, to Aug. 21, 2027, BASD will send Fountain Hill’s 500 students for their classes at the former home of Lehigh Valley Academy on Center Valley Parkway in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
The students are eligible for daily transportation to the facility, located about six miles from the former FHE campus.
Soil testing required
The topic of the brand-new school was before the school board on Monday regarding about 23,000 cubic yards of soil to be removed from the Church Street site.
Since the facility receiving the soils requires special testing and analysis, the project's general contractor has identified “the logistics necessary to remove, stockpile and legally dispose of the existing site soils classified as Residual Waste,” according to board documents.
With potentially more than 20 of the tests needed for the site — $4,395 for every 1,000 cubic yards of soil removed — officials approved upping the ‘not-to-exceed” amount for geotechnical services by $100,000, to $350,000.
Earth Engineering Inc. of Emmaus will facilitate the work and arrange for testing.