BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School is eyeing a South Bethlehem property to serve as a satellite campus in place of a proposed $46.6 million expansion.
The building at 315 Columbia St. is listed for sale at $5.75 million. It’s a former Bethlehem Steel facility that was originally built in 1940, according to the real estate listing. The 40,000-square-foot space was renovated in 2019 to serve as Factory LLC, a large-scale business incubator for food and beverage companies.
“It would give us a lot of opportunities for future growth,” Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto told LehighValleyNews.com last week.
Faccinetto confirmed Tuesday a letter of interest was submitted for the property.
Cost-saving option
The vo-tech school and its three sending districts — Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley — are considering the property as a cheaper alternative to constructing two additions on the school’s main campus, located at 3300 Chester Ave. in Bethlehem Township.
Faccinetto said it would cost an estimated $20 million to buy the South Bethlehem building and outfit its interior for vo-tech programming. There would still be some smaller updates needed at the BAVTS main campus as well to address things like traffic safety, he said.
The new building would accommodate at least an additional 330 student seats — the number planned for in the expansion. BAVTS would also be able to offer the same new programs it had proposed in the expansion plans, including vet tech studies, cybersecurity, aviation mechanics, and medical and office administration.
There are warehouse areas in the South Bethlehem building that could allow BAVTS to potentially move its welding program from the main campus to the satellite campus, Faccinetto said.
“It fits the bill in terms of some of the things we want to do and reduces the cost for construction with the bond itself.”Adam Lazarchak, executive director of BAVTS
It’s not clear whether BAVTS or one of the sending districts is the intended potential purchaser of the South Bethlehem building. Faccinetto said there will be a public update about the property in coming days.
“It fits the bill in terms of some of the things we want to do and reduces the cost for construction with the bond itself,” said Adam Lazarchak, executive director of BAVTS.
Lazarchak told LehighValleyNews.com last week there were three scenarios for obtaining the property. BAVTS could purchase the building; a sending district could purchase it and lease it to BAVTS; or a sending district could purchase it and later sell it to BAVTS.
Contract terms still undecided
As these real estate conversations have been taking place, the BAVTS sending districts still haven’t been able to agree on an updated contract to govern the next 30 years of the school. The current BAVTS articles of agreement expire June 2025.
Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area school boards approved an extension of the current terms in recent months. But Saucon Valley school directors passed their own version of an agreement in August, highlighting their positions on the vo-tech’s cost-sharing formula and voting structure.
Because of the disagreement on contract terms, Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area officials said in September they were considering how to dissolve the current formation of BAVTS, and create a new version without Saucon Valley.
Saucon Valley school directors said they have no intention of leaving BAVTS, but they believe some contract changes are needed.
Saucon Valley school directors have argued they’re overpaying for BAVTS based on the current funding formula that takes into account both student enrollment numbers and market values of the homes in sending districts.
They want a formula based only on student enrollment. Their district sends the fewest students to the vo-tech.
Saucon Valley calls for equitable contract
Under their plan, Saucon Valley school directors said their district would save about $4 million over the next 20 years when taking into account the proposed expansion project and the additional students who would be attending the vo-tech – these students would largely be coming from the other two districts, they said.
If BAVTS obtains the South Bethlehem property and nixes the expansion, Saucon Valley school directors said their request for a change to the funding formula still stands.
As of November, there are 1,339 students at BAVTS. Of those students, 117 are from Saucon Valley; 391 are from Northampton Area; and 830 are from Bethlehem Area.
"There’s some small things that we can do that I think would make them feel more comfortable that they have a say in some of the larger items."Michael Faccinetto, Bethlehem Area School Board President
Faccinetto has said Saucon Valley’s formula proposal would cause too much fluctuation and volatility. Northampton officials have said they see no reason to change a formula that’s been working for decades.
Neither Bethlehem Area nor Northampton Area have changed their stances on the funding formula as of this month.
Saucon Valley school directors have continued to argue their proposed formula would be more fair.
Saucon Valley school directors also want to change the BAVTS voting requirements for certain topics to make it so no district can be forced into committing future funds by the other two districts.
Faccinetto said last week he sees room for compromise on voting structure.
“There’s some small things that we can do that I think would make them feel more comfortable that they have a say in some of the larger items,” Faccinetto said.
Northampton Area School Board Vice President Kristin Soldridge said Monday her district has not discussed the potential to compromise with Saucon Valley. She said the BAVTS joint operating committee would need to have a conversation about any potential compromises.
Next step: Negotiations
Saucon Valley school directors said Tuesday they are still ready to negotiate an agreement that's fair for everyone.
"Never once have we said we have a hard redline on any issue."Donald Carpenter, Saucon Valley School Director
“Never once have we said we have a hard red line on any issue,” said Saucon Valley School Director Donald Carpenter.
Carpenter is part of a three-person negotiating team Saucon Valley formed to discuss the BAVTS articles of agreement. They requested Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area form similar negotiating teams so the three districts can hash out the contract terms.
But Bethlehem Area and Northampton Area have not done that and previously said they have no plans to do so.
On Monday, Northampton Area Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik confirmed his district has not formed such a committee. When asked about a potential committee, Faccinetto said last week his district was consulting with its attorney on how to move forward.
"There’s no logical, rational explanation for not even being willing to talk other than playing hard ball in negotiations," Carpenter said.
Attorneys for the three districts have been in communication about BAVTS. Officials said these talks could lead to negotiations between the three districts through their attorneys.
“I think that would be the smart path forward, to have cooler heads chat and give suggestions,” Faccinetto said.
Saucon Valley School Board President Shamim Pakzad said he would be OK with attorneys handling negotiations but said it's “a less optimal version” of the negotiation process his district proposed.
School directors are more in tune with what their board will agree to, Pakzad said. He also believes negotiations between school directors would move more quickly.
Pakzad added that he wants to collaborate with school directors from the fellow sending districts.
“We have the utmost respect for them,” he said. “We know that their job is difficult. We want to do the right thing for the kids – not just our kids, their kids [and] not just our community, their community as well.”
