Jim Thorpe school board members are excited about a summer reading program that has become popular with students at one of its elementary schools.

At the board's regular meeting Monday night, Randy Engle, assistant principal from the Penn-Kidder campus, gave the board a presentation about the merits of the school's summer reading program, and requested that the board consider dedicating some funds to it."This year, 70 kids attended. We would like to do more, but we don't have the funds," he said.Since it was started in 2013, Penn-Kidder's summer reading program has seen enrollment grow from about a dozen students.The program runs two days each week from late June through late July. During those times, elementary students can come to the school's library twice a week for a read along, arts and crafts, and presentations from local artists, chemists from Air Products and naturalists from the Carbon County Environmental Education Center.Run by a group of aides who volunteer their time, the program is funded entirely through donations. As a result, coordinators have had to make some tough choices with their limited resources."We have to keep doing dress down days to keep the program going. And it is a great program," Engle said.After the presentation, school board President Michael Principe directed the board's finance committee to look into the request at their next meeting. Principe said personally, he was thrilled about the program and couldn't believe the teachers had volunteered their time."I don't think they should volunteer. This is an important program that is so valuable for our kids," he said.Other board members asked if a similar program is available at the L.B. Morris school, which is located within borough limits. Penn-Kidder Principal David McAndrew Jr. said that the summer reading program was initially introduced at L.B. Morris, but it didn't have the same success, because of the popularity of Jim Thorpe Borough's summer park program.School board member Randall Smith said that he runs that program, and would be happy to work on adding a reading program with the help of school administrators.The teachers in charge of the program said they were excited about the enthusiasm shown by Principe and the other board members. Second-grade teacher Sarah Mass thanked them, but said her priority was creating funding for the program, rather than the teachers."I'm not here looking to be paid, I'm looking for the opportunity to have financial stability and bring in presenters for our kids," she said.The board also had an update on how much education funding the district has received from the state, as the state's budget stalemate enters its eighth month.Superintendent Brian Gasper said that the state has distributed some basic education funding. The district is using the funding formula from 2015, rather than a much-anticipated new basic education funding formula that is favored by many districts.District business manager Lauren Kovac said that the district has received about 60 percent of what it would normally get from the state at this point in the school year. The district's total basic education funding is about $6 million per year, she said.