Panther Valley school board will pay $160,000 to a Northumberland County construction company to settle out of court a lawsuit over a dispute with the district's architect over concrete and an $87,986 unpaid bill.

The board by a 7-1 vote, with Irene Genther opposed, agreed Thursday to pay Zartman Construction to settle the suit, filed on May 24, 2010, in Carbon County court.The school district hired the company for $11,589,000 on Dec. 28, 2005, to oversee construction of a middle school.The building is behind the high school along Route 209 between Lansford and Nesquehoning.According to the suit, Zartman finished the project on Aug. 28, 2007.The suit states that The Architectural Studio of Allentown rejected a substantial amount of concrete from Zartman's supplier, Pocono Transcrete. Zartman removed and replaced the concrete at a cost of over $612,000.Zartman subsequently sued Pocono Transcrete. In its response to the suit, Pocono Transcrete argued that The Architectural Studio had added water to the concrete and failed to inspect and/or monitor the concrete pours.Zartman held Panther Valley responsible for what the suit states was a breach of contract because the school district had hired The Architectural Studio.Zartman figured its damages to be between $100,000 and $612,000.Also, Zartman stated in the suit that the school district failed to pay it a total of $87,986 for repairs to an oil tank, additional concrete testing, and other costs and damages.That bill had been submitted on Sept. 8, 2008.Ron Gower contributed to this report.