A proposed renovation project in Lehighton Area School District got slightly cheaper last week.

Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver announced the district has been awarded an $8,499,000 interest-free bond through the federal Qualified Zone Academy Bond program."It's great because we can save the money we would have paid on interest over the life of a bond," Cleaver said. "We can only use the funds for our middle school renovation."Lehighton is currently discussing different ways to finance three building projects including a $10.7 million middle school renovation, $9.3 million high school renovation and a $32.5 million new elementary center to house all K-5 students."The bond can't be used for new construction and we didn't qualify for any QZAB money at the high school because our percentage of students who receive free and reduced lunch was not high enough," Cleaver said.In order to qualify, at least 35 percent of a school's students must be enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program.At Lehighton Area Middle School, 44 percent of students are enrolled, while only 32.7 percent are enrolled at Lehighton Area High School."We fell just 16 students short at the high school," Feick said.Applications are made through the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The U.S. Department of Treasury made $26.89 million available for the most recent QZAB allocation.The program provides the bondholder with a federal tax credit in place of an interest payment.Four districts in Pennsylvania received a QZAB bond.Lehighton applied for just over $12 million and its business manager, Brian Feick, said he was hoping the district would receive at least $5 million."We're very pleased at the percentage we received," Cleaver said."It's a credit to our business office and our maintenance and curriculum teams, who put this application together."The school board still needs to accept the bond at its Sept. 29 board meeting, Cleaver said.