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Board approves financial reports, contracts and budgets amid questions about high renovation payments
Summary
The board approved the treasurer's report, bill registers and several contracts and settlements. A board member questioned large, front-loaded payments to contractor Alloy tied to the high school renovation and noted a 3.5% Colonial IU 20 budget increase that raises Easton's share about $68,000.
The Eastern Area School District board approved multiple financial matters on March 24, including the treasurer's report, fund revenue and expenditure reports, student activity statements, a bill register, and several settlement stipulations and contracts.
During discussion, board member Mr. Snyder highlighted a line item in the check register to Alloy for about $789,000 and said the district has paid roughly $4.9 million to Alloy for the high school renovation to date. "Do we... know what we're going to end up paying them?" he asked, saying he had been told a guideline of 8% but wanted clarity. District staff responded that many payments were front-loaded during the design phase and that the team expects more costs to shift as the project moves into bidding.
Snyder also flagged the Colonial IU 20 budget: board members discussed a 3.5% increase and noted Easton's share would be about $68,000. Snyder observed the IU committee had not yet formally approved that budget and provided those figures for board members' information.
A few other contract and service approvals drew brief questions. For a lawn-care contract with On Demand, the facilities representative confirmed billing is per property and the district will not be billed for cuts omitted due to drought or other conditions. The board approved the lawn-care contract after clarifications.
On the roll call by voice, most agenda 10 items passed. One board member registered opposition to payments to Home Depot under agenda 10a and said she would oppose item 10h; otherwise the motions carried by voice vote.
What the board approved at the meeting included the food service management contract renewal for 2026–27, several settlement stipulations (including Willow Properties 328 LLC), authorization of student activity accounts, and appointment of the district delegate to the Northampton tax collection committee. Many of the items were routine or administrative and passed on unified voice votes after brief discussion.
The board also approved other routine items across athletics, academics and personnel during the same meeting.
