Northampton Area School District may save $563,000 to $1.1 million in a bond refunding.

The NASD Board of Education voted 7-0, with two directors absent, at the April 11 meeting to authorize the administration to work with PFM Financial Advisors LLC in conjunction with the issuance of General Obligation Bonds, Series of 2022, the proceeds of which will be used to refund all or a portion of outstanding 2014A bonds with a minimum net savings target of $563,000.

“Interest rates are moving up and down,” Chris Bamber, CFA, senior managing consultant, told board members.

PFM is the NASD financial consultant.

“We can still look at a savings of $1.1 million over the life of the issuance,” Bamber added. “The savings will be spread over five years.”

Approximately $28.5 million will be refinanced, according to NASD Business Administrator Matthew Sawarynski.

“We’ll be working to price the bonds in June, settle in July and call the bonds in October,” said Bamber, adding the refinancing could save NASD at least $563,000 and possibly $1.1 million.

“We would not recommend it unless you can achieve the 2-percent savings,” Bamber said, referring to the benchmark that would yield the minimum $563,000 net savings. “We want to have the flexibility to enter the market when it’s most advantageous.

“Tonight is an authorization to proceed,” Bamber said before the vote, noting a parameters resolution for PFM is expected to be on the agenda of the next school board meeting, 6:30 p.m. May 9 in the Northampton Area High School auditorium, 1619 Laubach Ave.

In other business, board Director John Becker presented a report on NASD’s Route 329 Elementary School and Education Center Leadership Team meetings March 17 and 30, with a third meeting planned for 4-6 p.m. April 13.

Becker said the team, in addition to himself, includes Directors Robert Mentzell, Chuck Frantz and Ross Makary, NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik and representatives of KCBA architects and D’Huy Engineering.

The topics are all preliminary,” Becker said.

The proposed elementary school building would be 600 feet from Seemsville Road and 600 feet from the power line on the property, according to Becker.

“At present, there is geological testing at the site,” Becker said.

Drawings of the building were viewed by the team.

“It’s a two-story building, similar to the new Lehigh Elementary School,” Becker said. “It will be built on a slope.”

KCBA was the architecture firm for Lehigh Elementary School. Lehigh Elementary School teachers will be surveyed to determine “what we did in Lehigh Elementary that we can do better in the new building,” Becker said.

A baseball field and playground area are planned.

Cost of the building project is estimated at $70,363,000, according to Becker.

During the comment portion of the meeting, Mentzell was critical of an April 5 social media post by school Director Kim Bretzik, who referred to an NASD Community Council meeting and requested information sessions for Moore, Chapman and Bath residents on the Route 329 new school project.

“If Moore Elementary is closed, per the capital plan recommendation, these residents will be most affected,” Kim Bretzik stated.

“No decision has been made about Moore,” Mentzell said.

“I want to do my duty to keep [constituents] informed,” Bretzik said of the social media post.

The public comment on agenda items began with a contentious exchange between audience member Jerry Bretzik and school board President James Chuss.

Jerry Bretzik began talking about a gender issue he said had taken place in a school district in the Midwest. When Chuss told him the topic was not on the meeting agenda, Jerry Bretzik yelled at Chuss, reportedly calling him an expletive for a part of a woman’s anatomy. Jerry Bretzik repeated the expletive, plus two other anatomical words.

Chuss ordered Jerry Bretzik to be removed. Jerry Brezik walked up the aisle and was escorted out by a security guard.

Jerry Bretzik has been ejected from previous school board meetings. He is the husband of school board Director Kim Bretzik.

“There’s no need for that kind of comment,” Becker said.

Toward the conclusion of the meeting, Makary said, “What happened here tonight cannot be defended. I think we need to hold people responsible.”

During the public announcement portion, Kovalchik said an executive session was held to discuss candidates for open positions and district employees.

The school board voted 7-0 to approve an employment agreement between NASD and Lori Kuhns, fifth-grade teacher, Siegfried Elementary School, effective Aug. 22, at a salary of $100,387.

Kuhns was named acting principal at Northampton Area Middle School, at the school board’s Dec. 16, 2019, meeting. Kuhns has served in several capacities in NASD, including assistant director of curriculum, 2018-19; principal, Lehigh Elementary School, 2012-18; and principal, Siegfried Elementary School, 2008-12.

The school board also voted 7-0 to approve an employment agreement between NASD and Cassandra Herr, first-grade teacher, Siegfried Elementary School, beginning Aug. 22, at a salary of $96,287.

Herr was named principal, Lehigh Elementary School, at the school board’s April 23, 2018, meeting. Herr taught at George Wolf Elementary and Moore Elementary, 2007-15.

“The positions were posted and we started the interviewing process for the middle school principal,” Kovalchik said regarding the NAMS and Lehigh Elementary principal positions. “The interview process for Lehigh will begin when we return from spring break.”

NASD spring break is April 14-18.

The school board voted 7-0 to approve Tara Mrazik, Neali Feimster, Matthew Greenplate and Ryan Brobst to attend the DECA International Career Development Conference, April 23-27 with 28 DECA students, in Atlanta, Ga. The cost to NASD is $3,337, included in the board- approved 2021-22 budget.

NASD students received four gold medals in the state contest. Kovalchik said DECA students raised $24,800 to attend the conference.

During his report to the board, Kovalchik lauded NAMS students for winning the Outstanding Cool category in the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? student video contest April 5. The ninth annual contest had 28 middle school entries from Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe counties.

Kovalchik reported there is still no tax hike in the 2022-23 NASD budget, which can be viewed on the NASD website. A vote on the proposed budget is expected to be on the May 9 school board agenda.

The NASD website COVID-19 data dashboard seven-day building totals, April 4-11, as of April 11, are NAHS, 2; NAMS, 2; Borough Elementary Schools, 0; Moore Elementary, 3; Lehigh Elementary, 0; George Wolf Elementary, 0; and district administration, 0.

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 in NASD for the 2021-22 school year to date is 1,146.