The debt service of Northampton Area School District has been a topic of questions and answers at board of education meetings.

The district pays approximately $12.5 million annually in debt service for outstanding bonds, according to NASD Business Administrator Craig Neiman. Approximately half of that amount is for principal and half is for interest, Neiman said at the Aug. 17 school board meeting.

Neiman was responding to questions from district residents Paul Nikisher and Dr. Katherine Mack, who asked about the amount of interest paid on district bonds. Neiman said interest rates depend on the specific bond, but that rates are between 1.4% and 5%.

PFM, district financial adviser firm, is paid when the district closes on bonds with the fee depending on the size of the bond, Neiman said. A bond counsel fee, in general approximately $25,000, is also paid, said Neiman.

NASD has $175 million in outstanding principal and an additional $77 million in interest, according to Neiman. The bonds are fixed rate, so it will remain at that amount for the next 20 years into 2046, Neiman said.

The district administration analyzes “the interest rate environment on a daily basis,” Neiman said.

A school board policy regarding the interest rate threshold stipulates a 2% savings over payments. If NASD can save more than 2%, the district works with PFM to refinance the debt at a lower interest rate to save money, Neiman said.

The school board finance committee, spearheaded by school Directors Joshua Harris and Jamie Marchiano, is working with the administration on a long-term financial outlook for the district.

Marchiano said the finance committee “is working hard to become a proactive financial steward of taxpayer money rather than a reactive financial steward.”

The 2026-27 preliminary budget had a deficit of $12.7 million based on expenditures of $154.8 million and revenue of $142.1 million when presented at the Jan. 12 school board meeting by Neiman. The deficit was reduced to $9.3 million at the March 9 board meeting and $2.8 million at the April 13 board meeting.

The proposed final budget, with a general fund of $149,233,848, supported by a rate of 60.97 mills, a 2.45-mill increase from 58.52 mills, for an increase of 4.2% from the 2025-26 budget, was approved at the May 11 board meeting. The proposed final budget took $2.8 million from the district fund balance to help balance the budget.

At the Aug. 17 board meeting, school Director Dr. Michael Baird raised questions about a July 28 article in The Morning Call about NASD graduation rates. The article stated the NASD graduation rate went from 93.85% to 91%. Baird said the article did not explain how the information was obtained.

The article stated NASD graduated 10% fewer students than when the students started in ninth grade. Information in the article was from the 2024-25 school year, NASD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Michelle Schoeneberger said at the Aug. 17 board meeting.

The four-year cohort graduation rate was around 91%, adjusted for students who moved in and out of the district, Schoeneberger said. Through the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there is a five-year cohort, Schoeneberger added. Some special education students are allowed to remain in school until they are 21 years old and, once they graduate, would be reported in the five-year graduation rate.

NASD Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik said, at the Aug. 17 meeting, six seniors of 437 in the Class of 2026 did not graduate because they did not qualify for the required 24 credits.

At the Sept. 14 board meeting, school directors voted 9-0 to approve the following.

• Letter of agreement between NASD and Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 for remedial instruction in reading and math to non-proficient students in qualifying nonpublic schools at $37,529 for instruction and $379 for parent involvement programming. The Colonial IU20 administrative service fee is 5% of the total amount. Costs for instruction and parent involvement programming are covered through the 2026-27 Title I grant.

• Collaborative agreement/contract for services between Center for Humanistic Change and NASD for the 2026-27 school year to provide liaison services for student assistance program at no cost to NASD

• Utilization of specialized substitutes via contract with RO Health LLC, effective Sept. 15 through the end of the 2026-27 school year

• School-based mental health services by Valley Youth House for the 2026-27 school year, paid through Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Competitive Safety Grant: “Meeting Behavioral Health Baseline Criteria Needs” at no cost to NASD for these additional counseling services

• Contract with Soliant Services for the 2026-27 school year, to not exceed $136,125, included in the 2026-27 school board-approved budget

• Contract with Parallel Services for the 2026-27 school year

• Implementation of previously approved course “Honors Engineering Essentials” at Northampton Area High School: “Project Lead The Way Engineering Essentials” annual participation fee, $3,200; “Project Lead The Way” launch participation fee, $950, with costs paid by Title IV funds at no cost to NASD

• Coaches Joe Tocci, Jessi Tocci, Stan Kish, Kevin Spano, Danielle Roland and approximately 22 student athletes to attend a girls wrestling tournament Jan. 8-12, 2027, in Norwalk, Calif., at no cost to NASD with funds to be raised by Northampton Girls Wrestling Booster Club

• Accept, with appreciation, donation of five tons of infield mix from Keith Siegfried, of Northampton, at an approximate value of $500

This month’s NASD meetings schedule includes the finance committee, 7 p.m. Oct. 1 in the board room of the NASD Education Center, 7200 New Seemsville Road, East Allen Township; board of education, 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the board room of the education center; and a board of education special meeting to discuss student transportation, 6 p.m. Oct. 19 in the auditorium of NAHS, 1619 Laubach Ave., Northampton.

The Oct. 5 policy committee and Oct. 15 security committee meetings have been canceled.