{"id":85326,"date":"2026-01-13T07:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T07:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/85326\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T07:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T07:38:08","slug":"basd-reviews-next-phase-of-fountain-hill-elementary-construction-bethlehem-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/85326\/","title":{"rendered":"BASD reviews next phase of Fountain Hill Elementary construction | Bethlehem Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 The Bethlehem Area School District Board of Directors is taking steps to continue plans to replace Fountain Hill Elementary School.<\/p>\n

During the body\u2019s joint committee meeting on Monday, officials reviewed a measure<\/a> that would set the district\u2019s borrowing parameters as it prepares to enter the next $20 million phase of the project. The measure is scheduled to appear on the board\u2019s voting agenda Jan. 26.<\/p>\n

Phase three of the project, with a price tag of about $8 million, is expected to wrap up next year.<\/p>\n

The project required demolition of the 95-year-old school building at 1330 Church St. District plans call for a new K-5 school consisting of an 85,000-square-foot, three-level building with ground-level entrances along Church Street. The building will serve about 500 students.<\/p>\n

The first floor will house a food pantry and family center. Classrooms are organized in pods with shared support spaces between them, while community spaces such as the gymnasium and cafeteria are separated from academic areas, according to the layout.<\/p>\n

Fountain Hill Borough conditionally approved the combined preliminary and final land development plan for the project on Dec. 18, 2024.<\/p>\n

During construction, the former Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School site at 1640 and 1650 Valley Center Parkway in Hanover Township will temporarily house the elementary school\u2019s 500 students in two buildings.<\/p>\n

Building capacities<\/p>\n

Board of directors members also heard a presentation on the district\u2019s building capacities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to district officials, BASD elementary schools are at approximately 78% capacity with roughly 1,450 spots available; the middle schools are at nearly 68% capacity with 1,726 spots available, and the high schools are at roughly 86% capacity with 695 spots available.<\/p>\n

Officials aim for 20 to 25 students per elementary class size and 25 to 30 students per secondary class size, they said.<\/p>\n

Radon testing<\/p>\n

In other business, Chief Facilities and Operations Officer Mark Stein provided an update on radon levels<\/a> in district facilities on Monday. Stein said all buildings tested well, though ventilation in the maintenance and transportation buildings is still under evaluation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want you to be safe over there,\u201d Superintendent Jack Silva said.<\/p>\n

Last year, the board approved air quality testing proposals totaling $41,080. TRC Companies Inc. will conduct indoor air quality testing at a cost not to exceed $18,100, while A.B.E. Radiation Measurements Laboratory will perform radon testing at a cost not to exceed $22,980.<\/p>\n

According to board documents, the district tests air quality in all buildings every two years, measuring carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, temperature, relative humidity and total airborne fungal spore counts.<\/p>\n

Buildings are divided into \u201cA\u201d and \u201cB\u201d groups and tested in alternating seasons. During the 2025-26 cycle, \u201cB\u201d buildings will be tested, including Broughal and Northeast middle schools; James Buchanan, Governor Wolf, Hanover, Lincoln, Marvine, Miller Heights, Thomas Jefferson and William Penn elementary schools; and the education center and maintenance and transportation facilities.<\/p>\n

The \u201cB\u201d buildings will also undergo radon testing, last completed during the 2015-16 school year. Since that time, the district has upgraded many HVAC systems, according to board documents.<\/p>\n

The district plans to conduct radon testing every three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 The Bethlehem Area School District Board of Directors is taking steps to continue plans to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,42706,42704,42701,42700,42703,42702,1434,42707,42705,8141],"class_list":{"0":"post-85326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news","11":"tag-amy-meyers","12":"tag-artsquests-creative-factory","13":"tag-basd-communications-office","14":"tag-bethlehem-area-school-district-board-of-directors","15":"tag-district-social-media","16":"tag-fountain-hill-elementary-school","17":"tag-jack-silva","18":"tag-jennifer-loconte","19":"tag-mark-stein","20":"tag-nitschmann-middle-school"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}