Lehighton Area School District officials said Monday night that further investigation is needed into exterior issues at its elementary center, where some bricks have broken loose above large bay windows on the school’s ground level.

“We don’t know what the cause is as of yet,” Lehighton Building and Grounds Supervisor Justin Smith said during a board workshop meeting. “We met with EI Associates on Friday and he said in the 35 years he’s been doing this, he’s never seen anything like it. It doesn’t appear it is a structural integrity concern.”

Upon closer inspection, concerns arose that the material used in the construction of the windows, particularly the lintel above them, might be of lower quality.

A lintel is a beam that runs along the top of windows and doors to support the weight of the structure above it.

“We’re going to have to wait for the investigation to find out if that is in fact the cause and how we proceed forward,” Smith said.

Smith said around 15-18 windows have been impacted by the problem and the district has already reached out to its insurance company.

Director Nathan Foeller addressed concerns of the issue extending to the remaining windows in the building in the coming months or years.

“We’ll wait to hear from the professionals in engineering but there is a concern because winter is coming,” Smith said. “We don’t want to expose that to any more condensation that is already getting in. As of right now, the inside of the building is not affected.”

Pictures of the bricks were publicly posted along with the agenda for Monday night’s workshop.

“We wanted to be transparent so the public can see the problems we are facing with this construction,” Board President Jeremy Glaush said. “I agree that we have to wait and see what the professionals say.”

The building opened in September 2018. The construction costs were approximately $33 million.

High school elevator

A separate issue has surfaced at the high school, where the school’s elevator has a malfunction. The cylinder in the elevator, Smith said, is showing signs of wear and tear.

“When we had the technician come and look at it, he told us it goes back to an issue when the building was constructed in the early ’90s,” Smith said. “When they are exposed to moisture, there is pitting and they go up and push the seals out. That is exactly what is happening to ours.”

The elevator was temporarily fixed for $8,500 by replacing a seal, but a long-term solution involves an estimated substantial repair cost of $79,458.

“The repair comes with a 12-week lead time,” Smith said. “Schindler Elevator’s recommendation is that we order the parts in February, which would take us out to May for delivery. We could then repair it in June after students are out of the building.”

School officials are exploring options, including the possibility of making an insurance claim to alleviate some of the financial burden.