Jack Finnegan remembers a time when Lehighton Area Middle School didn't look so great. It was a time when you could push corrugated material under the windows straight through to the outside and water infiltration issues were evident.

After a tour of the renovated facility Monday night, the Lehighton resident used words like "functional, handsome and modest" to describe what he saw."I'm proud of what you've been able to do here," Finnegan told Lehighton board members.Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said the district had many discussions about renovating the middle school dating back over 10 years."Something had to be done and what ended up happening is we took most of the building down to wall studs and came out the other side with a school that has increased energy efficiency and more importantly, increased opportunities for our students," Cleaver said. "The community members who toured tonight had a lot of positive comments and had some neat reflections about their memories when the building served as the high school."The building, which houses fifth through eighth grades, was designed around educational opportunities, Cleaver said, with shared area all located in one location.One of those shared areas is the library/media center, which he called "student friendly."Science classrooms in each grade level were upgraded with new casework and full laboratories and a Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics laboratory was added."One of the most impressive areas is the auditorium, which got new lighting, a new sound system and new seats," Cleaver said."When we first started work in here, we couldn't have imagined it would turn out as nice as it did."Much like it did at the high school, the district added a secure entrance where visitors don't have to enter the main part of the building to pick up their child or have a conference with an administrator.The office, nurse's suite and guidance office all have separate entrances.In 2015, Lehighton approved $25.7 million in renovations to both its middle and high schools with the McClure Company installing a four-pipe central heat pump system in the schools for $7.72 million.Because it's an energy savings, or ESCO, project, McClure is guaranteeing the district over $80,000 per year in utility savings between the two schools."Every room has individual climate control," Cleaver said.Despite the improvements evident to the eye, district officials are most encouraged by the lack of a hit to the taxpayers' wallets.Lehighton received a $1.5 million Alternative and Clean Energy Program grant and 0.25 percent Qualified Zoned Academy Bond of $8.5 million to help pay for the project."We've been able to keep taxes level for the past several years, keep our buildings updated and increase opportunity for our kids," Cleaver said.Lehighton will host a similar tour at its high school on Oct. 9, followed by its building workshop meeting.