School News

Parkland School District is set to receive a large boost in funding in Pennsylvania’s new budget — $2.4 million to be exact.

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Daysell Ramirez, who was elected last November, submitted her plans to resign from the Allentown School Board earlier this week. The board will have to vote to accept her resignation at its next meeting July 25.

Albeit late, lawmakers passed a $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started July 1, with much focus on education this year.

The Wilson Area School Board appointed a familiar face as the district's next acting superintendent. High school Principal John Martuscelli is set to take over in a dual role at the end of this month.

School directors said there's still time to keep the discussion going on how Saucon Valley School District and two other local districts will fund the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School for the next 30 years.

A proposed contract was presented to the East Penn school teachers union in late June and was rejected 367-11 by voting members.

Saucon Valley School Board members have objected to the proposed funding formula for a $52 million expansion of the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.

State education officials on on Monday visited Bethlehem Area Public Library’s South Side branch, 400 Webster St., to raise awareness about the Summer Food Service Program. Free, nutritious meals are available to those aged 18 and younger — no questions asked.

Throughout June, Allentown School Board members grappled with ethical concerns over what constitutes a conflict of interest. The discussion came about because some school directors work for organizations that partner with the school district.

Parkland School Board plans to vote Monday to join a court battle to decide whether a 501,000-square-foot warehouse will take shape in North Whitehall Township.

Allentown School District held a kickoff event Thursday at South Mountain to tell students and families about the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program that gives each student an iPad for the school year.

Parkland High School teachers reported suspected misconduct by ex-performing arts administrator Frank Anonia more than a decade before his arrest on charges of secretly recording a student in a dressing room, a former teacher testified. Anonia is due in court for a criminal trial this week.

The Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School in Allentown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its $16.8 million school for fourth-to-eighth graders on Friday morning.

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.

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.