Lehighton Area School District board members passed three funding mechanisms Monday night expected to cover renovations to its middle and high schools.

Approved, each by a 9-0 vote, were authorizations to issue $8.45 million in Qualified Zone Academy Bonds, close on a $10 million bank loan and issue up to $5 million in bank bonds.Lehighton received a portion of $26.89 million made available by the U.S. Department of Treasury for the most recent round of QZAB funding.According to Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver, the money comes with a low interest rate as the QZAB program provides the bondholder with a federal tax credit in lieu of cash interest payment.The other votes allow Public Financial Management, the district's financial advisers, to approve a $10 million bank qualified financing loan from TD Bank at a 10-year fixed rate of 2.16 percent, and an additional $5 million bond that will likely have a longer term."We were negotiating with TD Bank to get that rate down to 2.06, but it was not approved by their underwriting committee," said Zach Williard of PFM. "Interest rates have been going in the upward direction, and that could have something to do with it."Middle school renovations are currently projected to cost $10.7 million with the high school project coming in at $9.3 million.Cleaver also announced Monday that the district received Alternative and Clean Energy Program grants for both projects."We received $1.45 million for the middle school and $1.065 million for the high school," he said.ACE grants are awarded for the utilization, development and construction of alternative and clean energy projects in the state.Board members also approved the payment of schematic design bills from architect EI Associates. The bills included $32,925 for the high school project, $37,425 for the middle school project and $238,650 for a proposed $32.5 million elementary center that would house all K-5 students in the district.Despite voting to pay the bills, board member William Hill Jr. had reservations."I understand protocol and procedure, and I'm not saying to take things off the table, but we need to focus on the middle and high school right now," Hill said. "These numbers are staggering."Board member Rocky Ahner said he would like to see a storm water runoff plan for the elementary center before anything else progresses with the project.The district is still discussing several possible locations on ground it already owns to build the proposed school."We need to have a schematic design first because that will impact your wastewater management," Cleaver said. "You can't look at where your water is going before you know what you're doing. That is why the process is in this order."Earlier in the meeting, board members sat through a public comment session during which several residents targeted their job performance."I recommend you resign and escape the burden you are going to put on people with these votes," said David Bradley, regarding the financing for the middle and high school projects.Wilmer Everetts shared similar sentiments."We presented an unbiased survey with over 900 signatures of taxpayers who are opposed to a new elementary center," Everetts said. "Because you refuse to listen to taxpayers of the district, we ask all of you to resign as soon as possible due to lack of communication among yourselves and not being honest to taxpayers. Let's start a clean slate."Board members did not react to the comments. Gloria Bowman, board president, did later warn that any personal attacks would not be tolerated during the remaining public comments.Lehighton next meets for a construction workshop on Nov. 10 and a regular board meeting on Nov. 17.