Northampton Area School District will renovate Moore Elementary School. The vote to approve renovation of Moore Elementary took place Jan. 13 at the NASD Board of Education meeting in the Northampton Area High School auditorium.

The fate of Moore has been under discussion, debate and argument for more than a year by school officials and the public. Options for Moore were presented on a near-monthly basis in 2024 at school board and facilities committee meetings.

The Jan. 13 vote to renovate Moore happened on the fourth try and after about one hour of discussion.

“I’m really happy about the board tonight, that we were able to come to a decision for Moore and the community,” NASD school board President Kristin Soldridge said.

“I’d like to thank the board for its decision,” Moore Elementary School Principal Curt Dimmick said. “A lot of parents were asking me if there’s a decision, and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ And now I know.”

“2025 is off to a good start,” NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said at the conclusion of the meeting.

Moore renovations, to take two years and cost $51 million, are to begin in summer 2026, before the fall 2026 opening of East Allen Elementary School for the 2026-27 school year.

Moore students, with enrollment at 380, would be transferred to East Allen. Moore would reopen in fall 2028 for the 2028-29 school year.

Moore, constructed in 1957 with additions and renovations in 1966, 1973 and 2001, is on 17.75 acres at 2835 Mountain View Drive (Route 946), Moore Township, in the northeast section of the 97.3-square-mile school district. Moore is a mostly one-story building with a two-story classroom wing for a total 97,600 square feet.

Talks to keep Moore open reached a crescendo at a town hall meeting April 4, 2024, attended by an estimated 200.

Moore was to have closed as part of the Route 329 elementary school and education center project, now known as East Allen Elementary School. Construction of the $75.8 million project at Route 329 and Seemsville Road in East Allen Township began in November 2023.

Christopher W. Haller, CHA Consulting Inc. project manager, gave an update on the project at the Jan. 13 board meeting. CHA Consulting, which acquired D’Huy Engineering in February 2024, serves as district consulting engineers.

“There’s five tractor-trailers with steel ready to be installed,” said Haller, who narrated the photos shown on the video screens.

One of seven options for Moore on the agenda at the Jan. 13 NASD board meeting include the following.

• Option 1: minimal scope — $24,468,550

• Option 2: minimal scope — $20,684,800

• Option 3: minimal scope, provide unit ventilators and built-up roof — $15,469,090

• Option 4: minimal scope with four-pipe VAV system, EPDM roof, sewer plant, domestic water and playground equipment — $21,701,950

• Option 5: minimal scope with four-pipe VAV system and built-up roof — $28,992,310

• Option 6: complete building renovation at an estimated cost of $51 million

• Option 7: demolition and rebuild of a new Moore Elementary School at an estimated cost of $70 million

Also on the agenda was consideration of when the renovation or new construction work would begin. That question was resolved with the vote and timetable discussed for Option 6.

It took four motions and three votes at the Jan. 13 meeting for the board to choose the option to renovate Moore.

The first attempt to vote for Option 6 was made by Director Doug Vaughn. No one seconded the motion.

The second attempt was to vote for Option 4 on a motion by Director Joshua Harris and seconded by Director Brian McCulloch.

“I can’t vote on any of these. I want to see a plan,” Director Dr. Michael Baird said.

Soldridge asked Kovalchik for his input.

“What I’m hearing more and more for the last six or so months is that they want to save Moore. You could wait for the ’28-29 school year. That gives you the next year to design the project,” Kovalchik said.

Option 4 failed by a vote of 5-4. Voting against Option 4 were Vice President Nathan Lichtenwalner and Directors Ross Makary, John Becker, Vaughn and Baird. Voting for Option 4 were Directors Kim Bretzik, Harris, McCulloch and Soldridge.

The third attempt was to vote for Option 7 on a motion by Vaughn and seconded by Becker.

“I’d like to see a new school, too. Where are we going to get the money to pay for it?” Harris asked.

Option 7 failed by a vote of 5-4. Voting against Option 7 were Bretzik, Harris, Baird, McCulloch and Soldridge. Voting for Option 7 were Lichtenwalner, Makary, Vaughn and Becker.

The fourth attempt was to vote for Option 6 on a motion by Soldridge and seconded by Vaughn.

“The board is at an impasse,” Vaughn said.

“I know it’s not generally favored for the board president to make a motion, but in an attempt to break the impasse, I will,” Soldridge said.

Haller was asked about the practicality of the timetable proposed by Kovalchik. Haller said design work could be completed in one year. Bids could be awarded by December. Renovation could begin in summer 2026.

“There’s inflation built into the $51 million figure,” Haller noted.

Exits and entrances at Moore would be unchanged, Haller said.

“JJ, are you going to be able to keep the school going?” Harris asked NASD Director of Operations Jonathan Jenny.

“I think we can get through until the East Allen project is completed,” Jenny said.

Option 6 passed by a vote of 7-2. Voting for Option 6 were Lichtenwalner, Makary, McCulloch, Vaughn, Baird, Becker and Soldridge. Voting against Option 6 were Bretzik and Harris.

In other business at the Jan. 13 meeting, NASD school directors voted 9-0 to back the purchase of a Southside Bethlehem building for use as a satellite campus for Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.

NASD is backing Bethlehem Area School District’s purchase of The Factory, as the building is known, at a cost of approximately $8 million. Renovations would bring the cost to $20-$22 million.

Soldridge said the cost of the building and renovations is half of the $46 million cost of renovation and expansion of buildings on the BAVTS main campus.

The cost to NASD for the purchase of The Factory is $700,000, according to NASD Business Administrator Craig Neiman.

It’s uncertain if Saucon Valley School District will help fund the purchase of The Factory. BAVTS is funded by NASD, BASD and SVSD.

SVSD is considering ending its agreement to continue funding BAVTS. The agreement for the three districts to fund and run BAVTS is expected to be up for a vote on the agenda of the 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10 NASD school board meeting.

School directors voted 9-0 to approve the George Wolf Elementary School HVAC renovation bids — general, $1,474,000.00, Uhrig Construction; HVAC — $3,589,200.00, ASL Refrigeration Inc.; and electrical — $708,538.00, Albarell Electric Inc. The total is $5,771,738.00.

Neiman presented the NASD 2025-26 preliminary budget with 46 slides projected on a big screen above the stage and on video monitors in the auditorium. The presentation was posted Jan. 14 on the NASD website, nasdschools.org.

The preliminary budget lists expenditures of $142.8 million, with revenues of $136.6 million and a deficit of $6.2 million.

School directors voted 9-0 to approve a resolution to not raise the tax rate more than the state-mandated 2025-26 Act 1 Index of 4.8%.

The budget presentation includes one page of tax options of combinations of tax increases and fund balance use. The presentation also includes potential district expenditure, program, personnel and capital reductions totaling $18,825,000.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is scheduled to present his budget address Feb. 4, which could propose increased public school funding.

Neiman said NASD budget updates and discussions are to continue at school board meetings. The proposed final budget vote is scheduled for the May 12 school board meeting. The final budget vote is set for the June 16 school board meeting.