2.1 Percent School Tax Hike Could Get Higher

With one member absent, Bethlehem Area School Board casts preliminary final budget vote.

  The Bethlehem Area School Board voted Monday night to increase the district’s school real estate tax by 2.1 percent, though the final budget the board adopts in June could have a larger increase. With one member absent, the board first deadlocked 4-4 on a 2.4 percent tax increase that would have added five full-day kindergarten classes. Board member Sudantha Vidanage was absent due to a family emergency, according to Board President Mike Faccinetto. Board member Basilio Bonilla said Vidanage had written that he was in favor of the higher increase, but that did not count at Monday’s meeting. Monday’s vote was a preliminary budget adoption, which under state law is required to be done at least 30 days before the final budget is passed. The…

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New Nitschmann School Project Approved by Board

Bethlehem Area School Board votes unanimously to authorize beginning phases of $53.7 million project to raze and replace Nitschmann Middle School.

  The Bethlehem Area School Board voted unanimously, 9-0, Monday night to authorize the design phase for a new Nitschmann Middle School in West Bethlehem, according to The Express Times. The board opted for new construction at a cost of $53.7 million rather than pursue a third set of renovations for the existing 90-year-old building. In addition to new construction, the board was looking at three renovation options that ranged in cost from $23.1 million to $48.4 million. Back in January, board President Mike Faccinetto said he thought that building new was now the most pragmatic option. Though some questioned the cost, others on the board agreed. “After taking a tour of the building, I do not think it is a proper learning environment,” …

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School Board Ponders Nitschmann's Future

The Bethlehem Area School Board is expected to decide in February whether it wants to build a new Nitschmann Middle School or renovate the 90-year-old building a third time.

  By next month, the Bethlehem Area School Board expects to make a decision on the future of the 90-year-old Nitschmann Middle School building. Will they renovate it or will they replace it? On Monday night, school board members heard a report from Facilities and Operations Director Mark Stein on four options for the building – three variations for renovating and a plan to build a new building at an estimated cost of $53.7 million. The options as outlined: A.  Capital improvements would be limited to electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. There will be fire alarm and emergency power upgrades; air conditioning; new heating and ventilation system; new exterior doors and windows; a sprinkler system; new ceilings and ceiling tiles and …

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Five Bethlehem Stories to Watch in 2013

In 2013, a new mayor will be elected, the municipal garbage debate will resume and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks will again make national sports news.

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School Real Estate Tax Increases by 4.84 Percent

Bethlehem Area School Board approves new 2012-13 budget with a tax increase of 2.17 mills.

  The Bethlehem Area School Board made official an anticipated 4.84 percent real estate tax hike for the 2012-13 school year on Monday night. The 2.17-mill increase was approved by a 6-3 vote, with board members Michele Cann, Irene Follweiler and Eugene McKeon dissenting. The new school tax rate is 47.09 mills, meaning that a taxpayer with a home assessed at $50,000 will see their school tax bill go up by a little more than $100. “I am truly confused and appalled that anyone can raise taxes at a rate of 4.8 percent in this economy today,” Follweiler said. “I feel sorry for the children of this district because they will be paying for this action for the rest of their lives.” Two parents got up to thank the board for adopting a budget that …

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School Board Approves 4.84 Percent Tax Hike

In a split decision, Bethlehem Area School Board approves a preliminary final budget that will increase school real estate tax by 4.84 percent.

  The Bethlehem Area School Board approved a preliminary final budget Monday that will increase school real estate taxes by 4.84 percent, in a split decision, according to The Express-Times. Under the tentative budget for the 2012-13 school year, expenses will increase from $203.8 million $212.5 million. Among the biggest increases in cost to the district for the coming year is an increase of $3.4 million into the Public School Employees’ Retirement System. Salaries and health insurance costs for employees are expected to increase by a combined $2.8 million. The proposed tax increase is 1.23 mills higher than the state’s Act 1 index alone would have allowed. The Pennsylvania Department of Education approved district exceptions for school …

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Daryl Nerl

8:43 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Only non-profits are exempt from paying real estate tax.   more ›

Rosado Appointed to Northampton College Board

Bethlehem Area School Board appoints first Latino to Northampton Community College's Board of Trustees.

  As anticipated, Fountain Hill Mayor Jose Rosado was appointed to become the first Latino member of the Northampton Community College Board of Trustees by the Bethlehem Area School Board on Monday night, according to The Express Times. The vote to appoint Rosado and former School Board President Loretta Leeson to the two open seats on the board was 5-4. But the split vote objections had more to do with reappointing Leeson than bringing Rosado on board, the newspaper reported. The Bethlehem Area School District is represented by four of the 14 members on the college’s Board of Trustees. A former administrator in the Bethlehem Area School District, Rosado currently works as an administrator for the Allentown School District.

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First Latino May be Appointed to College Trustees

Bethlehem Area School Board will vote on appointment of Jose Rosado to Northampton Community College Board of Trustees.

  The Bethlehem Area School Board is set to appoint a Latino to the Northampton Community College Board of Trustees for the first time in the college’s history. Board President Michael Faccinetto is nominating Jose Rosado, a veteran educator and the mayor of Fountain Hill, to join the college trustees. The board will vote on that nomination at its regular monthly meeting, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at East Hills Middle School. Bethlehem Area has four representatives on the college’s board with two of its seats set to expire at the end of June. Those seats are currently occupied by former school board members Loretta Leeson and Rosario Amato. Faccinetto is nominating Leeson to remain with the board and Rosado to fill the other …

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