Northern Lehigh superintendent presents feasibility study for common campus; residents warn of tax, survey concerns

At a special meeting of the Northern Lehigh School District board, Superintendent Dr. Link presented the district’s feasibility study and detailed three options: do nothing (status quo), pursue targeted capital improvements, or transition to a consolidated common campus that would reconfigure grade spans and eventually take Peters Elementary offline.

Dr. Link said the feasibility study (approved 05/13/2024 and conducted by Alloy 5 with McClure) outlined capital needs across district buildings and provided probable cost ranges: roughly $12–$14 million for Peters Elementary renovations; $2.2–$3.8 million for Slatington Elementary improvements; $7.4–$14 million (depending on scope) for middle-school renovations or $10.6–$12.2 million for an 18,500-square-foot middle-school addition; $14.4–$16 million for high-school upgrades; and about $5 million–$6.2 million for the athletic complex (lighting, ADA work, turf and a press-box renovation). Consolidating the work into a common-campus model was shown as $76.8–$89.2 million, and Dr. Link noted the total cost with interest could be roughly $100 million spread over 25 years under the financing assumptions shown to the board.

"This evening there is only one topic, and that's the superintendent's, my, presentation," Dr. Link said at the start of the…