Two parts of the state's lengthy approval process for large construction project reimbursement could be ready for a January vote in Lehighton Area School District.

Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said Monday the votes would be for PlanCon part D and E related to middle and high school renovations in the district.The projects feature heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system replacements and minor layout changes in both schools.Board members took a head-nod vote Monday indicating they want to see traditional water source heat pumps used at both schools as opposed to geothermal water source heat pumps."One of the reasons we had to make a decision on that tonight is because the part of the state reimbursement process we are in includes sending a tentative project budget," Cleaver said.While a geothermal system is more energy efficient, Cleaver said, it would result in increased cost to the projects, especially at the middle school."Looking at where the geothermal wells would go at the middle school, we would have to tear up and replace the south parking lot, costing between $550,000 to $600,000," Cleaver said. "Even though we are going to save money through a more efficient energy source, I don't know we can recoup that money in 20 years."Should they have picked geothermal, Lehighton also would have additional stormwater management costs at the middle school, and the project would likely have been delayed.Currently, the district is looking at a two-year timeline to complete upgrades to the schools.The last figures released by the district project the cost of renovations at $10.7 million for the middle school and $9.3 million for the high school.Along with project accounting, the construction planning documents up for vote in January will include requirements for public hearings on the projects, an estimate of state reimbursement.Jeff Crist, of the Gatter and Diehl engineering firm, said while a geothermal system may not have been the best choice at the existing schools, it may be optimal for the $32.5 million elementary center Lehighton is proposing to house its K-5 students.Several board members were concerned with the idea, however, and tabled a decision on test bores at the site, to the north of the high school, until January."Why are we pushing geothermal when we don't have a shovel in the ground for that project," William Hill Jr. said. "Let's deal with the middle and high schools and then worry about that."Cleaver said the majority of board members have not directed him to stop working on the elementary center."I just need to see more about geothermal before we start drilling," board member Rocky Ahner said. "It hasn't been proven. I want to determine what the benefits would be."Tamaqua Area School District replaced an aging electric heating system with a geothermal system at West Penn and Tamaqua elementary schools several years ago."Let's check and see how it went with our neighbors," board member Andrew Yenser said.Andrew Blaydon, of the EI Associates architectural firm, said a report would be presented after a geophysical investigation at the proposed school site earlier this month."Looking at the preliminary results, there is nothing to say we can't use a geothermal field down there," Cleaver said.