Panther Valley School District is appealing a Carbon County assessment ruling over the PA Solar Park II lands in Nesquehoning.

Attorney Robert Yurchak, who is the solicitor for the school district, as well as Nesquehoning borough, filed the appeal in the Carbon Court of Common Pleas late last week.The appeal challenges the Carbon County Board of Assessment Appeal's denial of the district's initial appeal to increase the PA Solar Park II's three-parcel fair market value from $277,788.42 to the purchase price of $1,750,000 paid by owners Consolidated Edison Development Inc. of Valhalla, New York, in February 2016.The board of assessment appeals denied the initial appeal on Nov. 2, keeping the assessed total value of the three parcels that make up the property at $146,978 for the tax year 2017.The appeal states that the school district is asking for the court to overturn the ruling and "establish that the subject properties assessed value for the tax year 2017 and subsequent years is $925,925.92."Yurchak, last month, discussed the matter with Nesquehoning Borough Council, saying that the district and Carbon County were chipping in together to cover the costs for an appraisal of the properties and asked if the borough would also go in to cover the appraisal cost.Council, at that time, voted in favor of joining in the appraisal.Commissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein, on Tuesday, also confirmed that the county has agreed to pay for part of the appraisal, but said that he is not sure when it will be completed.The three parcels purchased by Consolidated Edison Development Inc. are being used for phase II of a 20-megawatt solar park being constructed off Route 54 near the Hauto Valley Estates portion of the borough.The land in question had been owned by the Kovatch family and Boca Holdings.Work has been happening on the land since early fall, clearing brush to make way for nearly 40,000 solar panels to complete the solar park.The first part of the solar park, located on land next to the parcels in question, has been generating electricity, which is sold to suppliers out-of-county, for the last few years.