School News

The Parkland School Board on Tuesday accepted district Director of Performing Arts Frank Anonia’s resignation, effective Friday, June 21. Anonia recently was the subject of an internal investigation.

Superintendent Jack Silva said the spending plan “maintains all of our academic programming, asks for some additional revenue from our local taxpayers and manages our fund balance at the policy level of where it should be.”

Parkland School Board on Tuesday will vote on whether to accept district Director of Performing Arts Frank Anonia’s resignation, effective June 21, according to the meeting’s agenda.

The free summer learning program runs Tuesdays through Thursdays for six weeks starting June 25. Registration is required and is open for a limited time.

Just about everything appears to be in order in regard to an agreement between Easton officials and the school district to revamp Vanderveer Park.

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill last week that would overhaul the state’s education funding system, sending millions to Lehigh Valley schools over the next seven years. But it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Over the past 14 weeks, about a dozen Lehigh Valley teens participated in the pre-apprenticeship program at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 375 in Allentown.

The mural, by artist Mercedes Salazar, is a collaboration with Lehigh Valley Arts & Cultural Alliance, Community Action of Development of Allentown, The Chamber Foundation and Allentown Mural Arts.

The grant program would allow schools to recruit students, paraprofessionals and other community members to pursue a career in education. It passed the House with bipartisan support last year but has been stuck in committee in the Senate since then.

Opposing forces came to a head during a discussion about public use of Easton Area School District's Cottingham Stadium, with talks of potential costs, liability, and a connection to the public dominating the conversation.

The lawsuit, which the parties first filed in 2014, argues Pennsylvania's funding of K-12 education is inadequate to the point that it violates the state’s constitution.

Districts across the Lehigh Valley continue to feel the pandemic pinch over products like chicken patties and chips — and they're not expecting a change anytime soon.

Jarrett Coleman initially planned to stay on as a Parkland School Board member while simultaneously serving in the state Senate. He changed course last month. Good government advocates say such an arrangement creates the potential for conflicts of interest.

Holiday gatherings threaten to increase the number of COVID cases in the community. A St. Luke's doctor weighs in on what he thinks that will mean for masking in schools after winter break.

Three South Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board members cannot attend meetings in the coming months, so the board appointed a hearing officer. It will allow the board to legally meet a required quorum.

Longtime former board member Robert Bold served as board president five times and vice president three times. He would fill the vacancy created by state Sen. Jarrett Coleman's resignation.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced awards totaling $1.2 million in competitive grants to 33 career and technical centers and two school districts. The funds are to purchase new equipment to train students in “high-demand occupations.” Locally, career and technical schools in Lackawanna, Columbia, Montour, Susquehanna, Monroe, Northumberland and Lehigh counties, plus the Wallenpaupack Area School District in Pike County received money.

Twenty-three projects across the district won grants from the Allentown School District Foundation this year.

Psychologist Georgia Bomgardner on how timeless breathing and observation techniques can help kids during a period that some are calling a mental health crisis.

A retired Northampton County judge is conducting an investigation for an undisclosed incident. The school board hired him at $495 an hour.

The Parkland School Board stopped short of committing to advertising to fill the vacant seat of Jarrett Coleman, who was elected to the state Senate.

District officials said the program is making it difficult to hire staffers because of certain requirements. They hope the move gives more latitude and actually leads to enrollment of more children in the district's child care program.