Discussion on several big-ticket building programs and athletic facility upgrades in various school districts dominated much of this calendar year.

LehightonPlans for a proposed $32.5 million K-5 elementary center in Lehighton Area School District are on a three-month break after the school board last week voted 5-3 to pass a moratorium on any new PlanCon filings or approvals on the center to allow three new board members to be educated on the project and any alternatives.The proposed 146,000-square-foot elementary center would house all K-5 students. East Penn, Mahoning, Franklin and Shull-David elementary schools would close.Northern LehighEarlier this month, Northern Lehigh School District agreed to enter into an agreement with FieldTurf USA Inc. for the stadium track resurfacing project at a cost of $668,820.The entire surface of the track will be milled down, and a new asphalt track will be installed with perimeter drainage. Then crews will overlay the pavement with a new black mat with a urethane surfacing system. The material is impervious. The pole vault runway, long jump runway, and high jump area will receive the same track surface. The project comes with a life expectancy of 15-20 years.Jim ThorpeAlso earlier this month, the Jim Thorpe Area School District took another step forward in its plan to build a new administration building, replacing its offices, which are currently located in an 80-year-old school.At that meeting, the school board voted 6-2 to authorize an architect to create a schematic drawing for a new building. The architect is Benjamin Walbert. The work is expected to cost $1,995.The district spends about $40,000 in utility costs for its current administration building each year, according to district officials. The building is a former junior high school on Center Avenue, built in the 1930s.PalmertonAnd in July, Palmerton Area School District agreed to move forward with a $21-million renovation project, complete with a junior high cafeteria, turf field and stadium improvements.A $13-million junior high school expansion that will create a cafeteria and kitchen solely for the junior high, and a $2.3 million state-of-the-art multipurpose turf field located at the current football field and track site at the high school stadium, are among the key highlights of the project.