The Easton Area School District will seek appraisals for the district education center in Forks Township and the “academy” building in Palmer Township.

The unanimous vote Tuesday is a necessary step in case the district decides to sell the buildings, according to Superintendent Tracy Piazza.

“The resulting funds would provide a critical opportunity to offset costs associated with the high school project, support other vital district capital improvement projects and or support educational programs for students that are currently reliant on receiving the state and federal annual funding contributions,” Piazza said in an email Monday, Oct. 27.

The district is moving ahead with plans to build a new high school estimated to cost $298 million. Early plans are making their way through Palmer Township’s approval process.

The education center at 1801 Bushkill Drive in Forks Township houses the offices of the superintendent and other administrators. It’s also the site of school board meetings. It’s a “non-essential facility,” Piazza said. Its disposition would not impact the district’s core educational operations, she added.

Same goes for the “academy” building at 2035 Edgewood Ave. in Palmer Township. The school district leases the facility to Buxmont Academy to provide classes for at-risk students in the Easton Area School District and other districts. Easton Area formerly housed its own academy for at-risk students there.

The district bought the land for the administration building for $1.8 million in 2004, according to county tax records.

Binney and Smith, the former parent of Crayola, donated the academy property to the school district in 2007.

You can watch Tuesday’s school board meeting on YouTube.

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