The Scranton School Board voted Dec. 15 to acquire 1509 Maple Street (the Friendship House property) for $2,500,000 and approved a related lease agreement that allows Friendship House to lease back approximately 15% of the building.

During presentation staff summarized sale and lease terms: the district will purchase the building for $2.5 million; Friendship House will remain as a tenant and pay $15,596 per month in rent for roughly 15% of the facility. An accompanying lease agreement was presented and approved together with the purchase agreement.

Board members asked whether past utility bills were available to assess the district’s exposure given the lease includes utilities in rent; staff said they were aware of the issue and would follow up to supply utility history. The motion passed on roll call (7 affirmative, 2 negative).

The presentation noted an accompanying lease agreement and no immediate financial impact beyond the purchase price was provided in the executive summary; the board requested more information about operating costs tied to the lease terms before full implementation.

Next steps: administration indicated follow‑up on utility cost history and implementation details for the leaseback; the purchase and lease documents approved at the meeting enable contract execution subject to any final administrative clarifications.