Lehighton Area School District is going to put its upgraded middle and high school facilities on display this fall.

Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver recently announced that the district's school board would be holding its Sept. 18 meeting at the middle school, and its Oct. 9 workshop at the high school. In addition to the meetings, the public will be able to tour both buildings."Administrators and one of the school board members will take groups around and will be discussing the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects and how the improvements will help energy efficiency," Cleaver said.LEED is a rating system used to evaluate the environmental performance of a building. Projects earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building.Both school renovation projects earned LEED "Gold" status.In 2015, Lehighton approved $25.7 million in renovations to both buildings with the McClure Company installing a four-pipe central heat pump system in the schools for $7.72 million.Because it's an energy savings, or ESCO, project, McClure is guaranteeing the district over $80,000 per year in utility savings.Among the other improvements added to the project were renovations to the high school administration and guidance areas; a new high school fitness center and wrestling room; middle school science casework replacement; middle school auditorium seating replacement; new middle school paging, clock and phone system; new high school paging, clock and phone system; and a new middle school auditorium lighting and sound system.Seats in the high school auditorium have also been replaced.Lehighton submitted a successful request for Qualified Zoned Academy Bonds and Alternative and Clean Energy Program grants that helped to reduce the cost of the renovation projects.The QZAB allowed the district to take out interest free bond loans that will save the district over $5 million dollars for the life of the bonds.Any members of the public wanting to attend either tour are asked to meet in the auditorium of the school between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m.Both tours will begin at 5:30 p.m. Meetings will follow on both nights at 7 p.m.