The Bethlehem Area School Board’s Finance Committee heard presentations from Northampton Community College and the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School (BAVTS) at the meeting March 14.

In addition, the Finance Committee discussed tax payments for the 2016-17 school year, a lease of farmland owned by the school district, and appointing Gorman & Associates as local auditor. The committee also discussed the 2016 bond issue parameters.

Dr. Mark Erickson, president of Northampton Community College, spoke about the college’s strategic priorities, student outreach, completion agenda, diversity and global engagement, community engagement, and technology leadership.

Erickson also said the college has a dual enrollment program with Bethlehem schools, allowing students to take college courses for credit while still in high school. He also said the college is waiving fees for dual enrollment classes. Instead of the usual $139 in tuition and fees per credit, dual enrollment tuition will be only be $97 per credit, a $42 savings.

The college will also be offering an associate degree in global studies and a study abroad program in China and India, Erickson said. To prepare students for the global business environment, the college is offering classes in Intermediate Mandarin and Introduction to Arabic. Other courses offered to prepare students for in-demand careers include applied psychology, public health, and computer forensics.

Currently there are 313 students originally from the Bethlehem Area School District in Northampton’s honors program, Erickson said. “We appreciate your partnership,” he said.

Board member Tom Tomasik asked Erickson what is the biggest gap he sees in students entering the college. Erickson said the gap is greatest in math readiness, but professors are working with school district faculty to prepare students for college-level math. “I think we’re making progress,” Erickson said.

Adam Lazarchak, executive director of Bethlehem Area Vocational Technical School, presented the school’s 2016-17 budget proposal to the finance committee. To prepare students for in-demand careers, BAVTS will offer two new programs in athletic training and physical therapy fundamentals. This will require additional facilities, staff and equipment, he said.

Students are assessed using NOCTI and Skills USA, which are industry certifications similar to academic assessments like Keystone exams, Lazarchak said. He told committee members the BAVTS expenditure budget increase for 2016-17 will be $233,129 or 2.10 percent. The school’s total budget will be $11,413,426 and the increased cost to member districts will be $144,389 or $1.56 percent.

The finance committee also discussed the lease of land on the corner of Freemansburg Avenue and Farmersville Road in Bethlehem Township to Dale and Gloria Koehler from March 22 through Dec. 31, at a rental payment of $2,400, which pays for the taxes on the property.

The Finance Committee also discussed 2016 bond issue parameters with Scott Shearer of Public Financial Management. Shearer said the financing plan for the Nitschmann MS project should be done as two separate borrowings. The first borrowing is planned for the summer of 2016 to finance the Nitschmann project and various other capital projects. The payments will be structured to wrap around debt to lessen the budget impact of the Nitschmann project bond until 2020, until BethWorks TIF expires. After that, overall debt will increase and be funded by additional tax revenues. The parameters were scheduled to be on the board’s agenda at the March 21 meeting.