Lehighton Area School District recently applied for a Qualified Zone Academy Bond to help pay for renovations to its existing middle and high schools, but receiving money could be a long shot.

District business manager Brian Feick said the federal no-interest QZAB program provides the bondholder with a federal tax credit in place of an interest payment.Only $27 million in QZAB money is available in Pennsylvania, and the district applies to the state Department of Education."At this point we know that we qualify with the middle school, but we're not sure about the high school," Feick said. "I put in for $18 or $19 million. We might get $5 million if we're very lucky."Although free of interest, the money is a bond, not a grant, and would have to be repaid over 20 years.In order to qualify, at least 35 percent of a school's students must be enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program. At Lehighton Middle School, 44 percent of students are enrolled, while only 32.7 percent are enrolled at Lehighton Area High School."They go by the number in October, so if the high school can increase the free and reduced lunch participant percentage by then, we would be eligible," Feick said.Under the National School Lunch Act, free meals are provided for students from families with income below 130 percent of the federal poverty level. Reduced-price lunches are provided if the family's income is between 130 percent and 180 percent of the federal poverty level.To reach the QZAB qualifying plateau, Lehighton would need around 16 additional eligible high school students to sign up for the free and reduced lunch program."What we are finding at the high school is that the kids just don't take the paperwork home or don't let their parents know," Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said.According to the district's current projections, middle school renovations are estimated at $10.7 million, while high school renovations would total $9.3 million."I think the bond is a long shot because last year they had around $50 million to give and only gave it to three districts," Feick said. "This year, it's only around $27 million. But you don't know if you don't try."