School 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.

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.

The Northampton Area School Board approved Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik's retirement last November. The board, however, will consider rescinding his retirement during its Monday night meeting.

Southern Lehigh Superintendent Michael Mahon remains on administrative leave following public criticism of his performance from the school board president last week.

At least one pipe burst in mid-February, causing extensive flooding that moved learning out of the middle school. Learning first moved online before students were assigned to temporary sites throughout Allentown for in-person learning.

The local mascot is currently facing off against a canine mascot from a Midwestern high school in the Sports Illustrated contest.

An existing one-story annex building, which is set to come down, will provide a footprint for the new facility and more space for recreation and classrooms at the high school campus at 3417 Church Road.

Bethlehem Area school directors want to ban cell phone use at the district's middle schools and limit access to the handheld devices at the high schools.

Hundreds of students attending the event aimed to give students a chance to connect with ArtsQuest’s employees in the music programming, production, and other arts nonprofit sectors.

A five-person panel examined Lehigh Valley programs for people who are incarcerated to access education. They also discussed workforce development opportunities for people after they are released.

The high school students competing at the FIRST Mid-Atlantic District Robotics Championships at Lehigh University this weekend are not merely building robots. They're building character.

The high school will transition into its theme-based status starting next fall when it will offer computer science courses. Future theme-based courses will focus on artificial intelligence and allied health careers.

Jason Moorehead was awarded $131,500 for damages after he brought a lawsuit against the school district and its officials for violating his First Amendment rights.

Brandon Horlick will replace Harrison Bailey III, who resigned in February to fill a superintendent role in Wilson School District.

The Bethlehem Area School District says Principal Erin Hines is on leave until further notice "as a result of an incident that transpired this weekend.”

Easton Area School District is on the cusp of launching a new program to bring credit-deficit students up to date, and ultimately prevent dropouts.