The Valley View School Board will hold a special meeting Wednesday to pick a member to represent in lawsuits the district’s opposition to data centers and related power plants.
The K-12 Valley View School District of Archbald, Blakely and Jessup issued a public notice in Tuesday’s edition of The Times-Tribune for a “special voting meeting” Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the district high school at 1 Columbus Dr. in Archbald, “for the purpose of a discussion and motion(s) relating to litigation opposing nearby development of data centers.”
The special meeting agenda posted on the district website contains the following two motions:
• To designate a board member to serve as a witness for hearings and proceedings opposing nearby development of data center and power plants.
• To take any other action the board deems necessary and appropriate relating to litigation opposing nearby development of data centers and power plants.
In recent months via litigation, the school district legally entered the fray over the proliferation of proposed data centers and power plants in the region.
Lawsuits pending in Lackawanna County Court involving the district and data centers presumably will have proceedings requiring district participation from a member witness.
In May, the district joined a legal battle against data centers on two fronts. Those included siding with Archbald in one legal battle against the developer trying to build the18-data-center Project Scott campus on Eynon Jermyn Road, while simultaneously challenging the validity of the borough’s data center zoning via a curative amendment.
In June, the district filed a land-use appeal in county court challenging a Dallas, Texas-based developer’s contention that its proposed 18-data-center Project Scott campus on Eynon Jermyn Road should be automatically approved due to a procedural issue.
At prior various conditional use hearings on data centers and related power plants, the Valley View School District had an attorney question developers on whether they considered potential impacts on the school district and its students, including noise, traffic and air pollution.
The school board’s special meeting will be held in the high school cafeteria.
Tamara Misewicz-Healey, who along with her husband formed the Stop Archbald Data Centers grassroots movements last year, stressed the importance of members of the public attending the special meeting to remain aware of any step being taken. Word of the public notice for the special meeting quickly circulated in the community via social media, she said.
“There’s a lot of activity on Facebook regarding the importance of being there tomorrow. There might be some discussion on their role (board members) in all of this and there might be concerns in ensuring that they hold their stance,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s so important that people are there. That’s what got us into this trouble to begin with, (it) was not being aware of what was going on.”
Staff Writer Frank Wilkes Lesnefsky contributed to this article
“No Data Centers” signs along North Main Street in Archbald on April 20, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
“No Data Centers” signs along Lawrence and Spring streets in Archbald on April 20, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A “No Data Centers” sign along Kennedy and Altier drives in Archbald on April 20, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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“No Data Centers” signs along North Main Street in Archbald on April 20, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)