School District to Keep $10 Per Capita Tax

A vote on abolishing the Saucon Valley School District's per capita tax failed 5-3.

A vote on abolishing the Saucon Valley School District's $10 annual per capita tax failed 5-3 at the board's Sept. 11 meeting, the Express-Times reported last week. School board member Ralph Puerta had previously encouraged the board to consider abolishing the tax, which he said is comparitively costly for the district to collect. The Express-Times reported that board member Charles Bartolet said the district needs the revenue generated by the tax--less than $100,000--and was concerned about the fact that the tax could not be reinstated in the future if it were abolished. Bartolet, Lanita Lum, Sharon Stack, Sandra Miller and Michael Karabin opposed abolishing the tax, while Puerta, Susan Baxter and Bryan Eichfeld supported the move, …

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Jeanne

6:44 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Your comment is an inaccurate generalization. There were 20 taxpayers at that meeting and several spoke in favor of maintaining that source of funding. No one spoke in favor of abolishing it. If you believe that the board is not representing you, then perhaps you should attend a meeting and make your opinion known.   more ›

Local School Board Candidates Issue Final Statements

Six candidates are vying for five seats on the Saucon Valley School Board Nov. 8. Here are statements from three of the candidates.

Editor's Note: Via email, Patch offered the six candidates currently seeking a seat on the Saucon Valley School Board the opportunity to submit a 250-word-or-less statement about why they are seeking election or re-election. The following statements--which are listed in alphabetical order according to last name--were received from candidates who responded to the request. The six candidates for Saucon Valley School Board on Nov. 8, 2011 are incumbents Susan Baxter, Sharon Stack, Michael Karabin and Charles Bartolet, and challengers Bryan Eichfeld and Jeanne Reilly. BRYAN EICHFELD Bryan Eichfeld is the clear choice for taxpayers in Saucon Valley School District. The taxpayers of the Saucon Valley School District have been very generous over …

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Reilly, Eichfeld Advance to Fall School Board Election

Saucon Valley voters went to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots for school board members, council members and to vote on an important Northampton County referendum related to Gracedale.

In spite of wet weather, Saucon Valley voters went to the polls Tuesday, cast ballots for school board and council candidates, and voted "yes" or "no" on a county-wide referendum that would prevent the sale of the Northampton County-owned home for the aged--Gracedale--for five years. With approximately 98 percent of county precincts reporting their unofficial totals, voters had overwhelmingly opposed the sale of Gracedale, voting approximately 73 percent to 27 percent to keep the facility county-owned in the near future. In the race for five at-large seats on the Saucon Valley School Board, the familiar names of four incumbent candidates dominated the top spots on both the Republican and Democratic sides of the ticket, but two newcomers …

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Seven Candidates Vying for Five School Board Seats

Cross-filing means the winners of the Saucon Valley School Board primary will most likely serve for the next four years.

Three challengers and four incumbent Saucon Valley School Board members are running for five, four-year at-large school director positions up for election in Tuesday's primary election. Hellertown-Lower Saucon Patch asked each candidate to provide local voters with some vital statistics and a brief statement summing up their views. They appear below, in no particular order. Candidates' answers are in regular type, our questions (and an occasional addition for clarification) are in italics, and candidates' statements are in bold.   Age: 60 Neighborhood of residence and number of years here: Wassergass (Lower Saucon Township), 37 years Do you have children in the district or relatives who work for the district?: No Political affiliation: …

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Nancy Echenberg

12:40 pm on Monday, May 16, 2011

Ahh...a voice a reason..thank you, Ron...for saying it so well!   more ›

The Katz Meow

The Good Fairy and Our Schools

The policy views of some current Saucon Valley School Board candidates are not likely to produce a fairy tale ending for the district.

Editor's Note: Arthur Joel Katz is a former Saucon Valley School Board member (2000-2005). We are only a few days away from Election Day for Saucon Valley School Board candidates. Six of the seven candidates (the exception is Jeanne Reilly) state that their policy, if elected, would be to hold school taxes at their present level and deal with state and federal cuts in educational support--nevermind the inevitable cost increases--by somehow not only freezing salaries and benefits to teachers, administrators and other school employees, but getting this group to give back some of the benefits they have already obtained. There must be something in the tea that these candidates are drinking; probably Good Fairy Juice. That might indicate that …

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Saucon Valley Board Approves Lehigh Valley Academy Charter

Charter extends through December 2016.

Just a few weeks after voting to reject an agreement to renew the charter for Lehigh Valley Academy, the Saucon Valley School Board voted to approve the charter at its April 12 meeting. The agreement extends the charter through Dec. 31, 2016. After a motion was made by Edward Inghrim, board members Charles Bartolet, Inghrim, Lachlan Peeke, Ralph Puerta and Sharon Stack voted in favor of renewing the charter. Lanita Lum and Sandra Miller voted against the renewal while Susan Baxter and Michael Karabin abstained from voting due to their connections with the school. Stack originally voted against the charter at the March 22 school board meeting, but changed her vote April 12, providing the fifth vote needed for the charter to pass. “My …

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School Board Votes Not to Renew Charter School Agreement

A 4-3 vote in favor of approving a 5-year renewal of Lehigh Valley Academy's charter failed to pass muster. Two board members abstained from voting because of connections to the school.

The fate of a local charter school, Lehigh Valley Academy, appeared less certain March 22, after the Saucon Valley School Board rejected an agreement that would have extended its charter through the end of 2016. Four board members--Charles Bartolet, Edward Inghrim, Lachlan Peeke and Ralph Puerta--voted in favor of renewing the charter. Lanita Lum, Sandra Miller and Sharon Stack voted against the renewal, and Susan Baxter and Michael Karabin abstained from voting because of connections to the school. Immediately after the roll call vote was taken, District Business Administrator David Bohnenberger said the vote had failed because five votes to approve had not been registered. Karabin, who identified himself as a founder of the charter …

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Local Candidates Seeking Office

A number of candidates are running for Hellertown Borough Council, Lower Saucon Township Council and the Saucon Valley School Board.

Pennyslvania's primary election is less than two months away, so expect to see campaign signs and literature appearing in short order. And if you live in the Saucon Valley, expect to see the names of some of the individuals listed below prominently featured. These major party candidates for local office recently filed nominating petitions with the Northampton County Election Office, in order to be placed on the May 17 primary election ballot: Hellertown Borough Council - Four Year Term (Vote for Three) Lower Saucon Township Council - Four Year Term (Vote for Three) Saucon Valley School Board  - Four Year Term (Vote for Five) At-Large Candidates:

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