At a nearly 4-hour work session meeting Feb. 2, the board discussed many important issues the district is facing. Future capital improvement projects, the district Health and Safety Plan, the preliminary 2022-2023 budget and the results of midyear assessments in the elementary building were among the topics presented.

Interim Chief Financial Officer Christine Stafford reported on the current budget process. The preliminary 2022-2023 budget will be presented to the board Feb. 9. The budget should be ready for public review by May 26 and final adoption should occur June 15.

Bill Brackett, director of facilities for the school district, provided a detailed overview of the mechanical health of the district’s facilities. The middle school is of particular concern due to the expense of maintaining an aging HVAC system, a leaking roof and an inadequate electrical system which was designed for 1970s electronics and does not efficiently support the technology necessary to implement today’s curriculum.

Replacing the HVAC system alone comes with a $9 million price tag. Salisbury Elementary School is dealing with a water infiltration issue and the same electrical system flaws as in the middle school.

The high school which was renovated in 2010 has money set aside through an existing bond fund to replace a broken hot water heater in the gymnasium. On the bright side, the roof is in good shape and under warranty until 2034.

Brackett urged the board to begin the difficult discussion concerning moving forward with regard to capital improvement projects. He asked if the district is planning on building a new building or renovating the existing buildings. As the systems within the infrastructure age, Brackett needs to know what the plan is.

Brackett prepared a planning/building/design timeline for the board to consider. Board President Sarah Nemitz suggested operations committee co-chairmen Joseph Gnall and Christopher Freas meet with specialists and stakeholders to clarify the details of the plan.

The Health and Safety Plan was again discussed in detail mainly to clarify movement from one level of masking to the next on the revised tiered mitigation strategy. It was said at the meeting case counts in Lehigh County have decreased significantly which, in turn, affects decisions concerning the degree to which students and staff mask in schools.

The plan will be implemented as follows: In order to move from the most restrictive Tier 3 to the less restrictive Tiers 1 and 2, all four criteria must be met in the less restrictive tier. Once the district moves to Tiers 1 and 2, if any metric moves to the Tier 3 level, the district will revert to the more restrictive mask policy.

Assistant Superintendent Kelly Pauling and Salisbury Elementary School Principal Zachary Brem gave a detailed update on academic progress made at SES. Midyear assessments have been completed and it appears a majority of students are on track to meet end-of-year benchmarks. The new math program shows promising results and interventions are being put in place for students who may need intensive help to meet benchmarks as well as those who need enrichment. In reading and language arts, teachers are implementing two research based programs, Fundations and Haggerty, to close phonemic awareness gaps for struggling readers.

Salisbury Middle School Assistant Principal Brian Muschlitz presented an overview of the work being done in the area of social/emotional learning. In addition to the work the district’s guidance counselors do to meet students’ needs, the district has partnered with Valley Youth House and the Center for Humanistic Change to provide programs to reach as many students as possible.

The next school board meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 and the next work session meeting will be held 7 p.m. March 2 at the administration building, 1140 Salisbury Road, Allentown.