The Palmerton Area High School library could be getting a new look as the district plans out how to use Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding by the Sept. 30, 2024, government-imposed deadline.

Dr. Jodi Frankelli, Palmerton superintendent, discussed possible uses Tuesday night for nearly $2.4 million of the district’s ESSER III funding, about $300,000 of which would go toward subdividing the current high school library and adding two classrooms.

“The library is a huge space, but it’s underutilized with regard to books on the shelves and tables and kids being in there,” Frankelli said. “This would be a chance to add some classroom space without taking on a major construction project like adding a wing to a building or something like that. This would entail just adding some walls internally and some doors and windows. It lowers the cost a lot.”

High School Principal Paula Husar said it’s no secret the school is short on space and converting library space gives the district “a really nice bang for its buck.”

“We don’t need that big of a space for a traditional library.” Husar said. “The traditional library is going away and they are becoming more of a media center and a computer center. We’re looking at modernizing it.”

One of the rooms would be a technology lab replacing a modular the school currently uses. The other space would be a small group instruction room, according to a sketch presented at Tuesday’s board workshop.

“The modular is done,” Husar said at the meeting. “It’s been here since I’ve been here going on 10 years. I’m very excited about this project and I’m hoping it gets approved. I think it’s a necessity.”

Because the district plans to use ESSER funding to pay for the project, it has to submit an application to the state. Frankelli said she feels good about the district’s chances of being able to move forward.

“I think because we’re not using a majority of the $2.4 million for construction purposes, this would be about $300,000, we should be in good shape,” she said. “I think this is a really good use of the funds.”

Personnel items

In addition to recommending the use of ESSER III money to offer salary and benefits to long-term substitute teachers through the 2023-24 school year to try to solve a substitute shortage issue, Frankelli told the board Tuesday the district could use an additional math coach and guidance counselor at the elementary level, as well as a districtwide social worker.

“We currently have one math coach at Towamensing Elementary and one that splits time between S.S. Palmer and Parkside Education Center,” she said. “Bringing on another math coach could help us divvy up those duties. The goal of the funding is to close some of those learning loss gaps, and this would be one more way we could do that.”

Like the long-term substitute positions, however, the extra math coach position would be eliminated after the 2023-24 school year, when districts are no longer able to spend ESSER money.

Frankelli is recommending the district budget to keep the additional elementary guidance counselor and social worker positions beyond that time.

“We don’t foresee the need in those areas going away,” she said. “The role of the guidance counselor has broadened significantly in recent years.”

ESSER funding uses

Frankelli described other ways Palmerton could use ESSER III funds, including heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades in the weight room at the secondary complex.

While it may just be getting its hands on the money, the district can also use the funds to recoup costs dating back to March 13, 2020.

“When schools were coming back in person after the COVID-19 virtual learning period, districts everywhere were looking at where they could get masks, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, dispensers, buckets, you name it,” Frankelli said. “Nobody could be concerned who had the cheapest masks, we just had to find them and find them in bulk. We put the money out at the time for those items and now we can use this money to replace some of that money we spent.”

Other areas where the funds could be used, Frankelli said, is the purchase of an online data warehouse, which she described as an electronic way of organizing data for all students; curriculum supplies and resources, student/parent resources, professional development, conferences and related expenses, and additional folding tables including those for the cafeteria to allow for students to further spread out.

Learning loss programs

Districts across the state were required to set aside 20% of ESSER funds to specifically address learning loss, which came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Palmerton set aside $26,619 for after-school programs, $26,619 for summer school programs and $133,094 for learning loss initiatives such as social emotional supports, contracted services, professional development across the district, the Leader In Me educational leadership program for students and LETRS training, a literacy training professional development program specifically for elementary teachers.