Tamaqua Area School Board on Tuesday held off on a contract for a new 9,000-square-foot pole building at the stadium.

Looking at low bids for electrical, the 150-foot by 60-foot building and alternate adjustment on the roof, the building still came in at $700,000, Superintendent Ray Kinder said.

“We still think that’s too high for what we would be getting,” he said. “So, we would like to take the next month to go back and work with Alloy 5, who is our architect on this.”

The administration would like to see if they can make adjustments that could save more on the project, if they rebid it, Kinder explained.

The district saved $100,000 on the concession stand working with Alloy 5 and would like to continue to use them for this, despite some hiccups with the specifications, he said.

Companies bidding on the project included Bane Excavating of Tamaqua, Dutchman Contracting LLC of Reinholds, Lancaster County, and Urhig Construction of Reading, Berks County.

Elementary art

The board approved bringing back the elementary art program for the coming school year, thanks to a reshuffling of staff, Kinder said.

By swapping out an ESL teacher, the district was able to provide the program and give teachers much needed prep time, he explained.

“We have not had art taught by specifically an art teacher in over a decade,” Assistant Superintendent Stephen Toth, Ed.D., said after the meeting. “Currently, classroom teachers have absorbed that responsibility.”

Toth, who is the incoming superintendent as Kinder retires later this year, thanked the board for making this change.

“They saw the benefits, and it makes an already strong educational program even stronger,” he said.

Other

In other business, the board approved:

• The Tamaqua Area Booster Board to apply for a Small Games of Chance License.

• Pay to participate fees: $40, first sport; $30, second; and $20, third sport. The fees drop by $10 with an annual donation.

• First reading on policy on electronic devices. This changes the district’s policy regarding cellphones to comply with anticipated bell-to-bell cellphone restriction, as a bill requiring it moves through the state legislature.

• The 2026-27 Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Plan. Kinder explained that this affects a specific subgroup at the high school.

• An agreement with Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley for the center’s partial hospitalization program and therapeutic education program should services be needed.

• Authorizing the business manager to select the district’s insurance package for 2026-27, looking at the lowest cost options.

• Mauch Chunk Trust as the district depository and M&T Bank as the depository for the district’s tax account for 2026-27.

• The 2026-27 Health and Welfare composite, self-pay and COBRA rates effective July 1,2026, including adjustments to the out-of-pocket maximums set by the Affordable Care Act.

• A contract renewal with the Nutrition Group, effective July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. This will end the five-year contract, and food services will need to be bid in the coming year, Connie Ligenza, business manager, said.

• Purchasing district-wide window security film for the first-floor windows from Window Film Depot Inc. of Marietta, Georgia, at a cost not to exceed $190,000 This is funded by a grant from the Morgan Foundation.