Could a three-story elementary center be coming to Lehighton Area School District?

That was the question several board members were asking last week after reading the most recent report from a design committee working on the proposed building's layout.Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said that type of a design was only pitched as one of several possibilities for the building, which would replace four aging elementary schools and bring all K-5 students under one roof."There are a lot of teachers on the design committee and one of their concerns was the distance between certain parts of the building and the main office and nurse's suite," Cleaver said. "One of the ways to address that would be to make the building three stories and things would be equal."Aaron Sebelin, principal at Shull-David and Mahoning elementary schools, said his understanding was that the design was directly related to a survey that went out to teachers.The board has not voted on any design and Cleaver was quick to point out that group has the final say.In prior discussions, Cleaver and other district officials have estimated the building, which could be around 142,000 square feet, would cost approximately $32.5 million."That budget doesn't change no matter how many stories the building is," Cleaver said.One board member, Rocky Ahner, questioned what is going to happen with stormwater runoff at the site, which at this point is still near Lehighton Area High School."We never discussed that," Ahner said. "When you start a project, you typically go to the conservation district or to the Department of Environmental Protection and ask them how much green area you need. You can't just go put any size building on any piece of property you want."Cleaver said without a board-approved building design, there is no footprint to take to those entities.Another sticking point for Ahner is the changes discussed in design committee meetings."I was previously told the insurances were too high and we couldn't have kids going up or down too many stairs," he said. "Now we're talking about a three-story building. This isn't the same project we started out with."Not every board member agreed with Ahner's assessment."It should be different than it was a year ago," said Larry Stern."If it didn't change then people wouldn't be giving their input and this wouldn't be evolving into the kind of building that will fit the needs of the students and staff."