Chief Facilities Officer Mark Stein reviewed the status of the Bethlehem Area School District’s summer projectsSept. 8 at the first Facility and Curriculum Committee meeting for the 2025-26 school year.

Projects included a new roof at the Governor Wolf ES as well as major improvements to the auditorium at Freedom HS. The improvements included removal of asbestos, audience and stage lighting, improved staging area, a new sound booth and lighting, hand rails, fresh painting, removal of dated paneling, and fresh carpeting, The costume area is now larger and provides safe, clean, storage and more hanging capacity for costumes. There is also an area to store staging materials. School Director Karen Beck-Pooley said, “All projects were on time and on budget.”

A total of $3.6 million was spent on all summer projects.

Construction at Fountain Hill ES is also on schedule with no unexpected delays.

Stein also explained the district’s 20-year air quality testing procedure. Buildings are divided into two groups, A and B, rotating groups each year. Radon is an odorless and invisible radioactive gas naturally released from rocks, soil and water. Radon can get trapped inside homes and buildings and build up in the air. Over time, breathing in high levels of radon can cause lung cancer (CDC, 2024). This is proactive testing initiated by the district, not mandated by the state.

Superintendent Dr. Jack Silva said air quality affects student performance and students’ overall health. Testing the air quality includes testing for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic chemicals (VOC), as well temperature, humidity levels and spot checks for mold.

Several years after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Curriculum Committee is still trying to amend the national problem with poor attendance; high levels of chronic absenteeism continuing to be a top concern.

BASD Chief Technology Officer Marie Bachman issued the new Synergy technology program and how it has changed the way absenteeism is calculated. Elementary attendance is tracked daily, while secondary attendance is recorded by periods. Synergy helps identify trends and helps teachers and administrators see when and where attendance is a problem. Students are considered chronically absent if they are absent two days a month.

Silva said, “Synergy is helpful in identifying chronic absenteeism, tracking attendance down to the minute with precision we’ve never seen before.” Despite state-of-the-art technology it remains unclear why increased absenteeism is still such a problem years after schooling routines have returned to pre-pandemic conditions.

Freedom HS Assistant Principal Marissa Kvacky and Liberty Assistant Principal Tara Richards presented the Equity and Excellence/ advanced placement (AP) report stating both high schools have seen an increase in student participation. A potential problem is the funding of Title 4 Funds that helped students pay for the exam fees – $90 per exam. Title 4 funds are federally funded, and education funding is in a questionable state.