Northwestern Lehigh School District board members met for the first time in 2020 on Jan. 15.

Before the meeting began, the school directors gathered for a photo with the Tiger mascot to celebrate the first meeting of new board member Rachael Scheffler, as well as the return of Secretary John Casciano, Joseph Fatzinger and Todd Leiser for four-year terms.

One major topic of discussion for the night was elementary school reconfiguration.

Superintendent Jennifer Holman noted there was inadequate space for students at Northwestern Elementary while Weisenberg Elementary has a surplus of space, an issue mentioned by architects during an April 2019 workshop.

“Northwestern Elementary really has all of their rooms being utilized for one sense or another,” Holman said. “Weisenberg does have 16 or 17 extra classrooms, and when I say extra that means available to be used as a full classroom.”

She said Northwestern Elementary students have spent much more time working in nonclassroom spaces such as hallways or closets, especially for small-group or individual work.

Through a summary presentation, Holman covered different enrollment projections, boundary studies, parent and staff surveys, and other research information which shaped possible elementary reconfiguration strategies.

Some possible options include realigning kindergarten through third grade to attend Weisenberg, while fourth and fifth graders attend Northwestern Elementary, or redrawing the district’s boundary lines to increase Weisenberg’s catchment area.

Based on the findings, Holman said the recommended approach would be to continue operating two kindergarten through fifth grade schools without boundary changes, and to monitor housing developments and incoming kindergarten enrollments.

The recommendation also stated that at some predetermined time or development level, the district could choose to redirect new students solely to Weisenberg Elementary.

Holman said the reconfiguration’s ultimate goal was to ensure students at both schools have equitable access to opportunities and ways to “enhance the educational experience.”

Board President Willard Dellicker noted that, while he approved of the recommendation, he believed it was not a permanent solution and would require the board to address the issue again in the near future.

“The better solution I feel is to realign the schools, kindergarten through grade three and fourth and fifth grade, because that would be a permanent solution,” Dellicker said. “To me, with the educational benefits that I’ve seen, listening to the conversation, task force and advisory council that we have, my opinion would be that this would be the better solution.”

Other members discussed changing levels of overcrowding at Northwestern Elementary, construction and reorganization costs, community opinions regarding reconfiguration, and potentially increasing instructional inequality.

The board agreed to keep the discussion, information and recommendation under consideration before the reconfiguration proposal comes up for a vote of action at the Feb. 19 meeting.

Additionally, members also voted on a bid for the Northwestern Lehigh Middle School renovation project, which combined site maintenance, interior finish, door repairs and auditorium renovations, among other refurbishments, with an ESCO energy savings project to replace the school’s HVAC in a single proposal bid.

The board rejected the proposal in a 7-1 vote, with one abstention.

Fatzinger, echoing the concerns of other board members, said the projects escalating costs were problematic when compared to the district’s revenue.

He suggested the project be postponed for a year to allow for additional study.

“I want to make sure that we’re not in a trend and starting to trend downward,” Fatzinger said. “Our escalating costs with staff, salaries and benefits, I just think outweigh a project of this magnitude.

“I’m not opposed to anything that has a security standpoint behind it … but as of right now I can’t put a yes vote together for any of this.”

Leiser agreed, noting that the district was running a $1.3 million per year deficit over the last five years.

“There’s bigger conversations that need to be had here; can we continue to support the level of cost increases we continue to see?” he asked.

Dellicker said voting down the proposal would not have a significant impact on the school or its students.

“As we adjust to this new revenue input that we have, I don’t see a real bad downside of delaying this another year,” he said.

“This gives us year to discuss this, to look at it, to see where our revenues are coming in and reevaluate.”

A request by Casciano to bring back a trimmed-down version of the renovation plan, addressing critical maintenance, security and safety measures, for the February workshop and meeting was accepted.

Also denied were a Guaranteed Energy Savings project, as well as, designer and construction manager contracts, all associated with the proposed renovation. The contracts will be revisited in February.

For district finances, board members unanimously approved the 2020-21 preliminary budget of $48,468,049, which includes the option to increase property taxes to the full Act 1 index amount of $713,000 in addition to special education exceptions.

The applications for 2020-21 Act 1 Exceptions, with an anticipated amount of $559,000, were also approved.

LeAnn Stitzel, director of curriculum and technology, reported the Northwestern Lehigh Education Foundation allocated more than $138,000 to the district at the December meeting, including more than $100,000 in EITC funding and about $30,000 in unrestricted funds.

Stitzel also said the district had submitted a letter of support for a joint application filed by local intermediate units for a PAsmart Advancing Grant.

The funding would provide resources for students to enhance problem-solving, and collaboration skills through real-life service projects.

Board members accepted two donations during the meeting. One was a book donation for the high school library.

The other was a donation of five mass casualty kits for the district from Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Northwestern Elementary Principal Maria Pulli reported Weisenberg Elementary first graders will present their Singing in the Snow performance Jan. 29, and chorus groups from both elementary schools will perform at the Lehigh Valley Phantoms game on Valentine’s Day.

Finally, Police Chief Jonathan Nederostek announced the formation of a law enforcement club for 10th through 12th grade students interested in police work or a law enforcement career.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the administration building.