It's one down and one to go in terms of asbestos abatement decisions in Lehighton Area School District.

The nine-member school board unanimously approved the $262,900 base bid of Sargent Enterprises, of Jim Thorpe, to remove asbestos at Lehighton Area Middle School in advance of a larger renovation project.While that has been determined, what remains to be seen is what the board decides to do in the building's auditorium, widely regarded as one of the most acoustically friendly rooms in the county.Asbestos removal in the auditorium would cost the district $95,000."That would involve scraping the asbestos away and leaving what they call a brown coat," said Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver.Another option would be to cut the ceiling remove the asbestos.If Lehighton chooses the scrape, which was the option recommended by administration, it would need to decide whether to apply SonaKrete, an acoustical finish over the base coat.That would cost $189,000."If we put the finish over the area that has been scraped, it would look as if nothing was ever touched up there," Cleaver said. "A lot of people like the look of the auditorium as it is now."The decision could hinge on what Lehighton chooses to do during a proposed overhaul of its heating and air conditioning system at the school. That work is part of an estimated $10.7 million renovation project."We are working with Trane Comprehensive Solutions and our architect, EI Associates, on what type of heating and ventilation systems, and lighting, will be in there," Cleaver said. "It is also going to depend on how many penetrations we need to put in the roof."Heating system removalRemoval of the old heating system could also play a factor."They may have to cut a hole in the system and remove it or they may lift it up out of roof," Cleaver said.Board member William Hill Jr. said he wants Trane to come to the district's Nov. 10 building workshop to explain what they'll be doing with the HVAC system."I want them to justify why we need to go in our pockets for $95,000 so they can do what they have to do," Hill said. "They can tell us what they think best suits the middle school."Cleaver said almost any system will require penetrations through the roof."I get that," Hill said, "but I want Trane to come here and tell us what they are going to do if we tear that ceiling out."A study by JMSI Environmental Corporation revealed several types of materials containing asbestos in the school."A large amount is the floor tiles, which are original to the building," said Jeff Miller, of JMSI. "Other asbestos is in the thermal system installation fittings. This is where a pipe would make a bend or a connection."Miller said any abatement would be done over holiday breaks or extended weekends when children and staff are out of the building for at least three days at a time.Schedule for workAccording to a proposed timeline, work would start over the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 26-Dec. 1, and finish on June 30, slightly less than a month after Lehighton's scheduled last day of class in 2015.The Nov. 26-Dec. 1 work includes mostly TSI fittings and chalkboard mastic.Chalk and tack board mastic will be sampled during the first phase of abatement.Delaying a decision on the auditorium isn't expected to impact the project schedule, Cleaver noted, as work on that part of the building won't occur until a later phase.Lehighton taxpayer David Bradley questioned the school board on multiple occasions about the potential dangers of doing the abatement during the school year.Miller said no asbestos fibers will be acceptable."We're going to have tests that are sent to outside labs and we also test right there on site," he said. "We're not only going to be testing in the area where we are doing the work, we'll also be testing in neighboring sections of the building."Boxes are lined up at the entrance to the school, waiting for teachers to fill them when their rooms are scheduled for abatement.Cleaver said there is an excitement in the building for the abatement and the renovation."In fact, teachers are using the asbestos project as an instructional opportunity," he said."Our math teachers had students measuring classrooms and the staff has been explaining about abatement and why it's important. I think it's great that this isn't just a project the district is doing, it's a teaching moment."