Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
The board authorized creation of a district design committee to review enrollment, utilization and boundary scenarios, pursue a formal feasibility study and deliver recommended design options; committee membership, public meetings and a timeline aiming for recommendations by mid-2027 were outlined.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
NCC told the Bethlehem Area SD finance committee it proposes an $85.5M operating budget (3.25% increase) and $8.7M capital budget, outlined a $12M capital campaign to fund a library-to-learning‑commons renovation and program expansions including a larger luthier (guitar-building) program.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
BASD finance staff presented FY24–25 audited results showing about $10M more local revenue than budgeted, an improved general fund balance, use of $5.7M to balance the current year, and cautioned that state and federal funding timing and enrollment trends will shape the March budget workshop and final June 8 budget.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
A representative from the Democratic Socialists of America told the board CEP could cover 11 schools and 4,043 students and eliminate meal debt at no direct cost to families; board members welcomed the data but said equity and partial rollouts require further analysis and a district cost breakdown.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
Committee members previewed several procurement and funding items for the Feb. 23 board meeting, including a CIU fuel oil bid, bulk salt participation, annual gym-floor refinishing, a PowerSchool/Naviance one‑year extension, and a noncompetitive PCCD safety and mental health grant worth $377,738.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
District staff described a controlled pilot granting about 265 secondary students supervised access to Google Gemini and Notebook LM, staff training plans including a Feb. 13 KIKER Learning session, and a Lehigh University AI tutor pilot for Algebra I that provides hints rather than answers.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
District staff presented midyear benchmark results showing districtwide gains in reading and math since the new curriculum, highlighted first-grade oral reading fluency progress, and explained cohort-level reports and intervention pathways used to target students below benchmark.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
At its Jan. 28 meeting the Bethlehem Area School District board approved multiple facility, curriculum, finance and human-resources items (most unanimously), heard a public call for radon testing and staff health screenings, and a board member explained a lone no vote on a finance/technology item citing screen-time concerns.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
Facilities staff reported a districtwide functional-capacity model showing about 6,683 elementary seats of functional capacity versus current elementary enrollment of 5,230 (a surplus of ~1,453 seats); middle-school utilization was flagged as notably low in some buildings, prompting discussion of boundary changes and redistribution.
Pennsylvania / School Districts / Bethlehem Area SD
District testing found no classroom lead issues and low radon in tested schools; maintenance building (slab-on-grade) and a transportation garage showed samples above the EPA's residential action guidance for radon, and staff will investigate remediation options.