The Tamaqua Area School Board will be looking at a $2.6 million buyout of its solar array and related equipment now in the sixth year of a partnership agreement.

The finance committee advanced the Jan. 2 buyout, which will be paid for with money set aside with capital reserve funds, to next week’s agenda for a full board vote.

Afterward, the district will then maintain full ownership of the array and equipment, which came with a 30-year warranty, according to initial talks back in 2019.

The district is also looking at selling 3,453 solar renewable energy credits at a cost of $23 each, or just over $86,000. The district receives SRECs from its solar generation.

“We talked about cashing these in, because they are not going anywhere,” Superintendent Ray Kinder said.

Board President Larry Wittig asked if they had time remaining before needing to sell them, and Kinder said that they had about a year.

The price on the district is receiving for the credits is going down due to the increased number of solar fields — the law of supply and demand, Kinder said.

The district was originally quoted $50 and up on the credits, but that number never materialized, he said.

In April 2024, the district sold slightly fewer SRECs, 3,263, and received $31 a credit for a value of about $101,000.

The proceeds from the sale of the energy credits could go toward the solar array buyout, Kinder said.

Other

The district is prepared to take out a tax anticipation note, should the state budget not pass this week, Kinder said.

Business manager Connie Ligenza told the board last month that a loan might be necessary if the budget impasse continued into the new year.

The district is considering purchasing three police vehicles for its three school police officers through a grant from the Morgan Foundation. The vehicles are part of funding that will also pay for other safety measures, such as cameras and window film. The vehicles are estimated to cost $165,000.

Under policies, the board is expected to pass changes to Policy 202 on Eligibility of Nonresident Students, allowing teachers to enroll their children at Tamaqua.

Also under consideration are policy updates on Academic Standards to change verbiage, such as including Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, and Curriculum to include instruction on observances of Constitution Day, Citizenship Day, Arbor Day, Bill of Rights Week and the civic responsibilities that go with them.

The district is also looking at agreements with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit and TransPerfect Remote Interpreting for written translation services for English as Second Language students and telephone interpretation services for non-English speaking families.

Assistant Superintendent Stephen Toth said that the district relies on these services more, and is looking at other options and translation services using new technology, such as translating earbuds for iPhone that came out this year.