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.

Superintendent Carol Birks said the district is working with its attorneys to determine responses to President Donald Trump's recent immigration changes.

The school district will know more about what its state funding looks like next month. Gov. Josh Shapiro will deliver his budget address the first week of February.

Northampton Community College announced agreements Thursday for three Pa. universities to accept NCC coursework toward four-year degrees.

Lehigh Valley Health Network and the Easton Area Community Center’s St. Anthony’s Youth Center received state grants to support violence prevention and out-of-school programs. The $1.1 million in funding will enhance community efforts to reduce violence and grow youth development initiatives.

Shapiro highlighted his administration's historic investments in K-12 public education in the last two years before his budget address in the first week of February.

Francis Anonia, a former Parkland High School performing arts teacher, was arraigned in Lehigh County Court on Friday morning on charges he used his cell phone multiple times to secretly record a male student in a school changing room in 2022. If found guilty of all 19 charges, he could face up to 88 years in prison.

Robert “Bob” Smith Jr., 63, and Robert “Nick” Nicholoff, 29, will both seek spots on the Allentown School Board this election cycle. Both have board experience.

At the request of the Northampton Area School Board, the district administration provided options for where the district could save money as budget discussions for the 2025-26 fiscal year got underway.

School directors had to choose from seven options for updating Moore Elementary, ranging in cost from $15.5 million to $70 million.

There's an ongoing investigation into a sixth-grade assignment that asked students prompts about slavery, according to the school district superintendent.

Custodial and maintenance workers in Allentown School District voted Thursday to join Teamsters Local Union #773. They hope the Teamsters can help them negotiate a better contract.

Custodial and maintenance workers think the Teamsters could help them get a stronger contract when their current one expires in June. Allentown School District is recommending workers vote for no union representation.