One week away from the groundbreaking ceremony for its new primary/elementary center, Lehighton Area School District took a step Monday night toward meeting third-party inspection requirements for the building.

Lehighton's school board voted to hire Advantage Engineers to provide "construction observation and a materials testing service" for an amount not to exceed $144,037.Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the firm tests concrete, steel and other materials during construction of the new school, which will house all K-5 students in the district."Hiring Advantage Engineers allows us to meet a third-party inspection requirement for the project," Cleaver said. "It's required when you're dealing with larger projects such as this one. We looked at two other agencies but Advantage not only came in with a better base price, but also gives us an additional 100 hours if they have to come back and do extra testing."Lehighton allotted $150,000 for the line item within the elementary center budget.Quandel Construction, the district's construction management firm, also reviewed and recommended Advantage Engineers."They've actually helped out with the middle school renovations for some things that were above and beyond, so we're familiar with what they can bring to the table," Cleaver said.In other action items Monday, the board:• Approved construction project payments for the new stadium ($19,621.43), old stadium bleacher removal ($37,762.50), middle school renovation ($1,677,479.53), high school renovation ($1,505,422.52), and elementary center ($262,336.52).• Approved substitute staff hourly wages for the 2016-17 school year effective Oct. 31 for paraprofessional, secretary, custodian and lunchtime aide, all at $8.50 per hour.• Approved the hourly rate increase of $8.50 for all part-time lunchtime aides for the 2016-17 school year effective Oct. 31.• Approved a resolution of intent to reimburse the school district's general fund or capital funds for construction work at the high school from the Qualified Zone Academy Bonds.• Hired Nicole Baker, lunchtime aide, assigned to East Penn Elementary, at $7.25 per hour.• Accepted the resignation of Kristina Kemmerer, lunchtime aide at Shull David Elementary School, effective Oct. 19.• Approved Kevin Bond, Angela Harris, Trevor Miller, Laura Schiffer, Bobbie-Jo Stehle, and Joseph Zarelli for tenure.