The Saucon Valley School District and Lehigh Valley Academy have agreed to a five-year charter extension without enrollment caps for the charter school.
Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School is located in Hanover Township, Northampton County.Contributed photo
Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School’s board voted to approve the new charter Tuesday night. Saucon’s school board passed the new agreement without an enrollment cap at its Jan. 24 school board meeting.
And the charter school board unanimously voted to drop Saucon Valley from its lawsuit filed in Northampton County Court and with the state’s Charter Appeals Board.
“The Board is appreciative that SVSD followed the law and approved a five-year charter document without enrollment caps,” said Martin Smith, board president. “The school is dedicated to providing a high-quality education option to students in the Lehigh Valley and looks forward to strengthening the relationship with SVSD and working together in the future.”
The Hanover Township, Northampton County, school is a regional charter school, which requires its charter to be approved by both Saucon Valley and Bethlehem Area and students from those districts get enrollment preference.
Saucon Valley drops charter school enrollment cap demands
In December, the charter school sued Saucon Valleyand the Bethlehem Area school districts after the Bethlehem school board in November passed a charter renewal that includes enrollment cap for its students.
The charter school argues the enrollment cap would force it to violate its charter’s provision that its enrollment lottery give preference to the siblings of current students.
Bethlehem has taken the lead in the renewal process, putting the charter school through several hearings and pushing for an enrollment cap that it says would save $1 million in tuition annually.
When Saucon Valley voted last week to approve the charter, district Solicitor Mark Fizgerald said he hoped it would resolve the legal disputes.
Saucon had sought a cap of 35 students, but chose to drop it, he said.
Currently, about 30 Saucon students attend the charter school and enrollment has never gone above 35.
About 1,013 of the school’s 1,689 students are Bethlehem Area kids. Bethlehem wants to cap the enrollment of its own students at 60 percent or 90 per grade.
Charter schools are independent public schools funded by taxpayer dollars funneled from an enrolled student’s home district. The K-12 charter school is located in leased office space off of Valley Center Parkway in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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