A public hearing was held Tuesday night on a proposed $32.5 Lehighton Area School District elementary center.

Here is a sample of the comments for and against the school:"I'm not looking forward to land locking the school district into one property and giving up individual properties in surrounding townships. If the district does want to expand later, where do we go?" Hal Resh"The elementary center would allow for special education students to stay in one building for all services throughout their entire career. It would also result in more consistent instructional leadership, as staff would not have to travel between different buildings." Suzanne Howland."Simply fixing our existing elementary schools does address an inequality in class size." Gloria Bowman"I just don't see how the cost is the same to fix four schools as it is to build a new one. When we first started this, the number to fix the four schools was $23.4 million. That is an $11 million difference from where we are now." Rocky Ahner"I just want everyone to remember the state reimbursement doesn't come in one lump sum. That is paid out over 20 years. $67.8 million is a lot for this community to pay out over 25 years." Bill Hill"We are being cheated by the board and the superintendent. The board was fine with democracy when they were elected. We ask that you put this to a referendum. That is what a majority of the people are asking for." Wilmer Everett"I'm excited about the possibilities an elementary center will provide the staff and students. It will bring equality. All students will have equal access to technology and after-school services." Denise Gerber."This is a wonderful new opportunity for expansion. I will finally feel linked to my colleagues and all the students will be on the same page." Tiffany Strausberger"We have to make changes every day to survive. What are we doing to help our children? It is the children we should be talking about. I'm in favor of the new school." Tom Wertman"I have a problem thinking about a new school when our pension debt is looming. Thirty-four percent of families get free or reduced lunch in our elementary schools. We are going to ask them to pay additional taxes so our children can go to a bigger, nicer school? Are we living within our means? You don't throw out something because it's worn down, you fix it." Kerry Palumbo"A media center should be the focal point of any educational setting. It's virtually impossible to create a warm learning environment at Mahoning Elementary. I look forward to having dedicated classroom space in a new elementary center." Diane Brownmiller."A new elementary center can only bring good things to the community. Our community has remained stagnant, afraid of progress and change. The small schools were great, but they have problems." Bonnie Cortese"We need to do this. Every time we delay it, we're delaying the inevitable." Kristin Simmons."The fix and repair attitude has been going on for 20 years. This approach is just kicking the can down the road and will result in increased cost to taxpayers." Dave Krause"The way to deal with the demand for a large campus is to encourage more parents to homeschool." Robert Davis"The children need a small community school where teachers know their name, not their number." David Bradley"We need to make the safety of our students a top priority and we'll have a top security system in the new school." Wayne Wentz"I went to a new school and I felt I was pushed through. I believe I was failed by the district, which wanted a higher graduation rate to legitimize the school, because I wasn't held back. I would hate to see that happen to the students of this county." Michael Marshall.