Lehigh Carbon Community College has agreed to keep its satellite site at Jim Thorpe Area High School through the 2019-20 school year, while officials continue to look for a site to build a permanent home here.

The Jim Thorpe school board recently approved a four-year lease between the district and LCCC for use of the original 1932 wing of its high school building. It takes effect July 1.For the first year of the contract, LCCC will pay the district $183,600, or approximately $15,300 per month. The annual rate will increase by 2 percent each year, reaching $194,832 in 2019-20.After the lease expires, it can be renewed monthly.School board member Randall Smith, who also serves on LCCC's Board of Trustees, said that the lease will provide a place for the college while it continues to look for a permanent location in Carbon County. Smith said that the ideal site would be somewhere near Jim Thorpe and the Carbon Career & Technical Institute."There is money set aside for that project, and we (LCCC) believe that eventually the school district is going to need that space. It's just a matter of finding the property to purchase and build, or find a suitable facility to renovate and occupy," Smith said.LCCC has been operating its Carbon County satellite site at the high school since 2014. Before that, the college used a site in Nesquehoning and CCTI's campus.The district also approved LCCC's 2016-17 budget at the most recent meeting. As a sponsor district, Jim Thorpe pays a portion of the college's budget based on how many students from the area enrolled at LCCC in the past five years.For 2016-17, the district's obligation will be $132,849 - one of the lowest of the 13 sponsor districts, and a $4,957 decrease from 15-16.Full-time enrollment for a resident of the school district costs $1,900 per semester, and students at Jim Thorpe High School also have the opportunity to take dual-enrollment courses that count for college and high school credit.