A settled teachers contract, completion of a junior high school addition and continued resurgence of its band program highlighted 2018 in Palmerton Area School District.

Teachers contract

Palmerton Area School District and its teachers’ union struck a new deal in March, 20 months after the previous pact expired.

The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2016, and runs through June 30, 2020.

According to a summary provided by the district, the contract included an increase of 3.15 percent for each of the four years and included a 17-step matrix.

Health care deductibles were set at $200/$400 with premium shares at $36 for a single payer and $64 for a family per biweekly pay in the final year of the deal.

Deductibles remain the same as the last contract. The premiums were $30.50 for a single payer and $52 for a family in 16-17 and 17-18.

Palmerton teachers went on strike for two years in January 2017 and the two sides went to nonbinding arbitration later that year.

Junior high addition

The start of the 2018-19 school year brought with it the opening of a 13,000-square-foot addition at Palmerton Area School District’s junior high school.

Additions include a junior high cafeteria, a student lounge, a media center, a new junior high office and offices for district facilities. In addition, the school has its own main entrance separate from district facilities. Classrooms were also renovated and include air conditioning in every room.

Shift on taxes

In a last-minute change of direction, Palmerton Area School District’s board of directors decided to hold the line on property taxes for the 2018-19 school year.

The board initially approved a preliminary budget containing a half-mill tax increase, but only two board members, Kathy Fallow and Kate Baumgardt voted for the increase when final adoption rolled around.

Shortly after that motion for a tax increase failed, the board voted unanimously to keep taxes level.

The increase would have cost a property owner with an average property assessment of $45,000 an extra $21, and generated $144,000 in revenue for the district.

“I believe the majority of the board felt that the district’s fund balance could absorb the proposed deficit without causing harm to the district’s overall financial stability,” board President Barry Scherer said of the vote. “Several board members had already expressed their opposition to the increase when the preliminary budget was passed last month.”

One of them was director Charles Gildner, who voted no on the preliminary budget, which included the half-mill increase.

“We’re projecting a $1.9 million deficit,” he said during a budget workshop. “I just don’t think an extra $144,000 on the backs of our taxpayers is going to put a huge dent in that.”

Pre-K program

Inside the classroom, Palmerton started a Pre-K Counts program at S.S. Palmer and Towamensing elementary schools.

The was awarded $255,000 in state funding to open two preschool classrooms, one in each school, in partnership with Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers.

“This is a great achievement,” Superintendent Scot Engler said. “We still have to follow through some procedures with the Office of Childhood Development, but the biggest threshold was getting the grant money.”

Each classroom provides preschool services to around 15 children, ages 3 and 4, at no cost to families.

Families with an annual household income less than 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines (for example, a family of four earning less than $75,300 per year) are eligible to apply. Other risk factors may determine priorities for selection.

Band resurgence

In 2009, Palmerton was left without a marching band or a jazz band. The concert band was down to four students.

After a five-year absence, band director and high school music teacher Tom Heinick reached out to students in an effort to revive the band.

The marching band grew to 18 or 19 students and is now 50 members strong.

In 2018, the band’s resurgence took a great leap with new uniforms and a trip to Walt Disney World.

Palmerton’s chorus, concert band and marching band all performed in Florida in November.

Heinick said the national and international exposure that comes from the Disney performances will be good for the students, the school and the town.

“A few years ago, we had a districtwide goal or initiative to try to make that Palmerton dot on the map a little bigger,” he said. “We like to think we’re doing that through all of our performances, both locally and with this trip.”

Change in board leadership

The year ended with sophomore director Baumgardt edging out Tammy Recker by a 5-4 vote to succeed Scherer as board president.

“I appreciate the job Barry has done as president,” Director Fallow said during her nomination of Baumgardt. “He did a good job keeping this board together, which was not an easy task. I feel that the board needs to move in a somewhat different direction. Kate has been working very hard this past year to identify new areas we could explore.”