A Palmerton Area High School library renovation project will cost $237,898 after the district’s school board awarded the general construction contract to CMG of Easton on Tuesday night.

“CMG was the only company to bid on the project,” Superintendent Dr. Jodi Frankelli told the board.

According to project plans, the current library space will be subdivided and several classrooms, including small group instruction and a technology lab, would be added.

High School Principal Paula Husar said last year that it’s “no secret the school is short on space and converting the library provides a nice bang for the buck.”

“We don’t need that big of a space for the traditional library anymore,” Husar said. “The traditional library is going away and they are becoming more of a media center and computer center.”

The project will be paid for entirely with the district’s Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund allocation, which is COVID-19 pandemic related federal funding.

Work is anticipated to begin after school ends in June with a final completion date in early-to-mid-August.