Schools
District's Contribution to CIU 20 Budget Won't Increase
Renovations to the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School's annex buidling could require increased contributions beyond next year, however.
The Saucon Valley School Board heard budget presentations from Dr. Charlene Brennan, Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 executive director; Dr. Arthur Scott, Northampton Community College president; and Brian Williams, Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School director, at its March 8 meeting.
Brennan said despite Governor Tom Corbett’s recently proposed cuts to education funding, the CIU 20’s proposed general operating budget for the 2011-12 school year will not require an increased contribution from the Saucon Valley School District. The district’s portion of the budget will remain at about $21,000.
Again, although there have been proposed cuts for higher education, Scott told the board that the CIU 20's proposed budget for next year will actually be slightly smaller--about 0.6 percent smaller--than its budget for 2010-11.
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Williams said there would also be no increase in Saucon Valley's contribution for the 2011-12 school year. The calculated contribution from the district represents a slight decrease of .27 percent in cost when compared with the contribution for the 2010-11 school year.
Although Williams proposed a slight decrease for next year, he explained that there could be an increase in the future (possibly in the 2012-2013 school year) if Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School's member districts support a plan to renovate the annex building on the Vo-Tech campus in Bethlehem Township.
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Williams said the annex building has not been renovated since it was built in 1976. He said the building does not meet the Department of Education's standards and is too small.
D’Huy Engineering has looked at many different options for upgrading the building, with estimates ranging from $3 to $18 million. The lower estimates would cover fixing the air conditioning and electrical systems, but would not address space issues. The highest estimate would pay for completely renovating the building.
Williams told the board that significant state reimbursements and money from the sale of the vo-tech’s Northampton campus would help cover the cost of the project.
For this building to be fixed, Bethlehem, Northampton and Saucon Valley school districts would all have to approve the project.
