Lehighton Area School Board will determine Monday what account will be used to pay soft costs for the design of a new elementary center and multipurpose sports stadium.

To date, the district has been paying Barry Isett and Associates and EI Associates out of its general fund for their work on the stadium and new school, respectively.Board member William Hill Jr. would rather see the bills paid from Lehighton's $13 million fund balance."That fund balance is being protected like we're a goalkeeper, and I don't know why," he said during a recent finance committee meeting. "The general fund is supposed to be for the day-to-day business of the district. I'd like a motion at the end of the month to reimburse the general fund through our fund balance and pay any future soft costs from the fund balance."Hill estimated the district has spent almost $600,000 between both projects.If an elementary center is built, all four Lehighton elementary schools would close, and each K-5 student in the district would attend the new building. Two locations were under consideration for the project, but Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the majority of the board supports a site next to Lehighton High School, as opposed to open land directly across Union Street from the district administration building.Meanwhile, designs are progressing for the multipurpose Warrior Stadium, located just to the west of the administration building.Cost estimates are $32.5 million for the school and $5 million for the stadium.Lehighton has borrowed $23 million for renovations to its middle and high school. Design costs for those projects are paid out of that money.Hal Resh, finance committee chairman, said he supports paying design costs for the elementary center and stadium out of the fund balance.Spend too much of the general fund, he said, and the teacher's union is bound to take notice."If I was on the other side of the table and I saw that the district had this kind of money to spend out of the general fund, I would use that during the next negotiation," he said.Resh said to the best of his knowledge, there hasn't been a vote to designate where to take the money out of to pay the design bills.Business Manager Brian Feick said all district contracts are paid out of the general fund, unless the board specifies otherwise.Lehighton is not projecting a property tax increase in 2015-16 due to the use of $1.2 million from the fund balance. In fact, Feick said taxes would not have to go up until at least 2020 if the fund balance was left alone."If you start taking more away from the fund balance and don't cut expenses or find some other revenue source, the date of the next tax increase could be sooner," Feick said.The debate over how to pay for the soft costs is expected to play itself out on Feb. 23."If the motion passes, then I think we did the right thing," he said. "If it doesn't, at least we followed due process."