The necessity of an estimated $7 million administration building in Palmerton Area School District once again took center stage Tuesday during a board workshop meeting.

The combined $15 million construction project combines an administration building and boardroom with an eight-classroom high school addition for security improvements. But the district would still owe its architectural firm $976,000 even if the administration building is scrapped.

Business Manager Ryan Kish said the district remains obligated under a contract approved in April.

“By contract, the district would still be required to pay KCBA the fee of $976,000 based on the $13 million estimated construction costs presented to the board in January,” Kish said.

Director Earl Paules said the project should be stopped and separated, allowing the district to proceed only with the high school security improvements.

“I’m asking the board to put a motion on there that we shut that part down of the project,” Paules said of the administration building.

Tuesday’s debate intensified after the district learned earlier this year that the project would increase around $600,000 for unforeseen issues such as unstable ground conditions that require building footers.

“That would have been nice to know up front,” Paules said. “We could have pulled the plug right there. When I buy property, I want to know if I can build a house on it. I don’t buy the property and then find out I can’t build. But that’s what they did to us.”

Support for project

Directors who support the overall proposal defended the need for additional space.

MaryJo King said the high school addition would free up the building’s third floor for classrooms by relocating district offices.

“There are currently numerous staff members who do not have classrooms,” the board member said. “They’re working off carts. There are not enough small group instruction classrooms.”

King said special education requirements drive the need for additional space.

“Special education exists and it grows every year,” she added. “We have to provide every student the opportunity to learn in the least restrictive environment, and that is just the reality of it.”

The high school project, according to architects, introduces three layers of security at a new entrance point. The new design incorporates a secure vestibule monitored by a receptionist or safety officer, an internal lobby and a final checkpoint before visitors gain access to administrative offices.

The top floor of the addition would contain new teaching spaces. One of the rooms, KCBA officials said during a 2025 presentation, is designed for family and consumer science with kitchen space and classroom seating. Two traditional classrooms are also included, with designs emphasizing flexibility, technology and future-readiness.

The administration building, King said, would serve purposes beyond housing 13 staff members.

“Those rooms are used for training, for professional development days, for interviews, any type of meeting, negotiations,” she said. “It helps more than just 13 people.”

For years, the district’s administrative offices were housed on the third floor of Parkside Education Center, which also serves as an elementary school. District officials said that arrangement created challenges, particularly because adult visitors and daily foot traffic were mixed with student areas.

The board approved a temporary lease for space at 3295 Forest Inn Road, in a plaza alongside businesses like Good Shepherd Physical Therapy and Iron Valley Real Estate, for two years beginning May 1, 2025, at about $3,800 per month. The move created room at Parkside to reconfigure the third floor for new classrooms, STEM space, and small-group instructional areas.

Superintendent Dr. Angela Friebolin emphasized that the 13 positions housed in the administration building are critical to district operations.

“It’s misleading to say that it’s a building that houses 13 to 14 people,” Friebolin said. “These are the 13 to 14 people that keep the wheels turning and the lights on, that serve the rest of the people that serve the kids. That’s the function of a district administrative office.”

Continuing to house those positions in rental space, Friebolin added, would be “embarrassing.”

“This is the cheapest it’s going to be,” she said regarding doing the project now. “I think we need to remember that.”

Resident worries about tax impact

District taxpayer Deb Kleckner told the board she calculated that homeowners would face approximately $265 in additional annual property taxes per $100,000 of assessed value when the school district increase is combined with the borough’s 2.5-mill increase and Carbon County’s tax increase.

Kleckner said she used a 1.29-mill projected school district tax increase to get her numbers.

“I’m not saying I don’t want you to have a nice administration building,” Kleckner said. “But maybe there is an alternative. As a taxpayer, I’d rather see us eat $1 million and start over with something realistic that the taxpayers can afford.”

Ken Sutton, another district resident, questioned adding eight classrooms when the district already has 142 classrooms serving approximately 1,600 students — a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio.

Sutton noted 33% of Palmerton residents live in poverty, with a median household income of $43,000.

“Do we want to tax those people more money?” he said. “Even if they’re renters, the rent is going up because the landlord is going to increase it.”

High school delay

Kish said Tuesday that separating the projects could delay the high school addition by a year.

“That would be due to changing the land development plans,” he said. “The district will also face increased costs with inflation and prevailing wage, which is at least 5% to 10% per year.”