Palmerton Area School District’s Board of School Directors approved more than $12.9 million in construction contracts Tuesday night for a project Assistant Superintendent Ryan Kish said will total $14.9 million once all costs are included.

The project, expected to add a secure entrance and five new classrooms to the high school and build a new district administration building on campus, came in nearly $113,000 under budget.

A group of 5-3 votes, with Earl Paules, Danielle Paules, Erin Snyder, Kris Schaible and Sherry Haas in favor and Stacey Connell, Brandon Mazepa and Rob Moyzan opposed, awarded more than $12.9 million in prime construction contracts.

“The bids came in at $112,827 below the budget presented by KCBA architects in December,” Kish told the board.

Background

The project’s roots stretch back to 2023, when the district hired RLPS Architects at a cost of nearly $18,000 to conduct the first facilities feasibility study in roughly 25 years. That study sparked more than a year of contentious public debate that at one point included a proposal to realign elementary grades and move sixth grade to the junior high campus — a plan that would have required an additional $27 million in construction and was ultimately rejected unanimously.

What remained is a two-component project: a two-story addition to the east side of Palmerton Area High School that will house a new secure entrance, five classrooms and a combined counselor and nurse’s suite; and a separate, approximately 11,000-square-foot district administration building to be constructed on the west side of the high school gymnasium.

The road to Tuesday’s vote was not without complications. Site testing revealed poor soil quality and areas of asbestos requiring remediation. Project architect Jay Clough of KCBA Architects told the board in January that the soil at the administration building site is largely fill that lacks the stability to support new structures, requiring the installation of concrete piers to reach solid ground — a process Clough described as “putting money in the ground.” The asbestos abatement contract was previously awarded to Sargent Enterprises Inc. of Jim Thorpe for $39,812.

Despite those hurdles, contractor interest was strong heading into bid day. At a March 5 pre-bid meeting, roughly 20 contractors showed up, and Kish said at the time the district was optimistic the turnout would produce competitive numbers.

Contract prices

The board on Tuesday awarded four separate prime contracts as required by state law. E.R. Stuebner Inc. of Reading received the general construction contract at $8,931,000. Billitier Electric Inc. of Allentown was awarded the electrical contract at $1,764,618. JBM Mechanical Inc. of Nazareth captured both the mechanical contract at $1,560,000 and the plumbing contract at $657,000.

Director Earl Paules explained why state law mandates separate prime contracts rather than a single general contractor overseeing the work.

“In the past, the general contractor would take this job and run with it,” Paules said. “Now the state requires it to be all separate, because general contractors were basically not paying the subs. This way, the subs will have their own contract with the school district and will be pretty much guaranteed they will be getting paid.”

Admin building

District administrators have been operating out of temporary leased space at 3295 Forest Inn Road in Lower Towamensing Township since May 2025, at a cost of $3,800 per month, while the project was in its planning phase. Their previous offices on the third floor of the Parkside Education Center were vacated to open up 7,700 square feet of classroom space for student use.

Paules said moving permanently to a campus building makes long-term financial sense.

“Looking at what we pay for rent, it’s about $45,600 a year,” Kish said. “Plus this administration building will come with another savings of $150,000 a year. Basically, every five years, we’ll be saving roughly a million dollars.”

Over the life of a 20-year loan, Paules said those savings would total approximately $4 million — nearly enough to offset the full cost of the administration building. He also stressed the project would not on its own drive a tax increase.

“If we raise taxes, it’s for other reasons, like insurance purposes,” Paules said. “That’s not why we’re going to raise the taxes.”

Not everyone in the room agreed.

Resident Ken Sutton told the board he supports the security portion of the project but argued the overall cost per square foot is far out of line with regional construction norms — and that change orders will push the final price even higher.

“I’m all for the security, don’t get me wrong on that, but I think what we’re doing is going down a rabbit hole,” Sutton said. “You’re looking at $14.9 million — we’re going to go over that. We know that.”

Sutton said his calculations put the project at roughly $677 per square foot, compared to a national average of $327 to $359 for primary and secondary school construction, and said he believes the northeast regional figure is even lower at around $238 per square foot.

“I think we’re way over budget on that — way over,” Sutton said. “I know we’re saying, ‘Oh, we’re only going to raise taxes because of insurance,’ but it’s eventually going to trickle down to this building project.”

Another resident, Deb Kleckner, who said she has lived in Palmerton for more than 40 years, raised concerns about the district’s overall financial picture. She noted the district is facing a projected $1 million deficit for the 2026-27 school year — which Kish confirmed — and questioned the wisdom of building on ground that required hundreds of thousands of dollars in foundation remediation.

“We’re also building in the same location that they deemed unstable ground,” Kleckner said. “When I was reading the report, it was $600,000 estimated, depending upon what they had to do to reinforce that foundation and how far they had to go before they hit bedrock. So in my mind, if you were going forward with this, why didn’t you look at other stable ground?”

On the rent savings argument, Kleckner did her own math and arrived at a different conclusion than district officials.

“At $3,800 a month in rent times 12 months, comes up to your $45,600,” Kleckner said. “According to my equation, we could keep renting for 100 years and we’d still be making out.”

Mazepa, who voted against the contracts, raised concerns about the possibility of contractors low-balling bids to win jobs and then driving up costs through change orders.

Paules said a contingency of more than $300,000 for change orders is already factored into the $14.9 million total. He also pledged transparency if change orders do arise.

“I will be very transparent with the public when there is a change order, and I will explain to them what the change order is and why there is a change order,” Paules said.

High school project

The new high school entrance will be located on the east side of the building and will feature a secure vestibule monitored by a receptionist or safety officer, an internal lobby and a final checkpoint before visitors can access administrative offices.

The redesign, officials said, will also shift how the building functions operationally. The assistant principal, Paules said, will be stationed at the new addition while the principal remains in the existing building, providing administrative coverage at both ends of the high school.

“That change would also free up a security guard to move throughout the campus during the day,” he added.

Other contracts

Also tied to the project, the board approved a Public Utility Right-of-Way Agreement with UGI Utilities Inc. for a permanent easement on district property — and will be compensated for it.

“They were going to move the lines for no cost,” Kish said. “Now they’re actually going to pay us $23,375.”

In addition to the prime contracts, the board approved several supporting agreements. David Blackmore & Associates Inc. was approved for geotechnical and construction quality control covering third-party inspections at an estimated $90,528.68. Optimum Performance Balancing Inc. was approved for mechanical testing and air balancing services at an estimated $21,000. Keystone Consulting Engineers received retroactive approval for an NPDES permit major amendment at an estimated $15,000.