The March 22 Saucon Valley School Board meeting was (mostly) all about money – specifically, 2022-23 budget presentations from both Dr. Mark Erickson from Northampton Community College and Adam Lazarchak from the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.

Saucon Valley is one of Northampton’s eight sponsoring local school districts. Board Vice President Susan Baxter also independently serves on its Board of Trustees.

Baxter and Board President Dr. Shamim Pakzad kicked off the first presentation by thanking Erickson for his support and partnership over the past decade. Erickson will be stepping down as NCC president after a 10-year stint at the end of the summer.

Tuition for in-county students is about $5,000 per 18 credit semester, Erickson said, and approximately 90% of Northampton’s students remain in the Lehigh Valley upon graduation.

As of fall 2021, 173 current NCC students received their high school education in Saucon Valley, with about 16 percent of Saucon’s 2021 graduates choosing to continue their education at the Bethlehem Township institute.

Erickson noted that despite a dip in enrollment and other challenges presented over the past two years by the COVID-19 pandemic - students were negatively affected by not just the virus itself, he said, but also due to job loss, technological challenges and more - the college is “rebounding with our numbers in the spring.”

With the temporary drop in enrollment came budgetary issues, Erickson continued. NCC has “put together an aggressive two-year plan” to reduce costs, he said. Approximately $5 million will be cut from the upcoming year’s budget, with several areas affected.

That said, Erickson stressed that the budget deductions are meant to be temporary, with enrollment expected to bounce back to pre-COVID levels shortly.

Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School Executive Director Adam Lazarchak joined the meeting next. Echoing Erickson’s sentiments, Lazarchak also noted the “difficult time for education over the last two years.”

He noted that many of the school’s programs have begun to ramp back up. The Vo-Tech’s student body, of which Saucon pupils comprise approximately six percent of total enrollment, often competes in skills and employment-related competitions and other events.

Saucon Valley’s obligation to the school’s overall budget will increase by a little under three percent for the upcoming year, Lazarchak said. The funding formula is largely - but not totally - determined based on each sending district’s number of students who attend the Vo-Tech.

He further explained that, especially since the 2015-16 school year, total enrollment in the school has remained relatively steady. However, smaller districts like Saucon have seen significant jumps, while larger ones such as Bethlehem Area now account for several hundred fewer pupils.