On Thursday, Sept. 19, Northampton School Board broke ground on the Route 329 elementary school and education center project, which was named East Allen Elementary School at the September school board meeting.
Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik began by introducing the current and former board members in attendance including John Becker, Robert Mentzell (former), Roy Moranki (former), David Gogel (former), President Doug Vaughn, Vice President Kristin Soldridge, Michael Baird, Kim Bretzik and Brian McCulloch, as well as NASD Assistant Superintendent Michelle Schoeneberger and Business Administrator Craig Neiman.
Also in attendance were representatives from Allen Township and East Allen Township, D’Huy Engineering Inc., Penn Builders Inc., Terraform, KCBA Architects, Snyder Hoffman Associates and the Act 93 administrative team.
“Today marks the commitment to the school district to provide the educational resources needed for future generations in today’s fast educational technologically driven world. In this district, we’ve been very fortunate to have supportive parents, a supportive community and a great staff to get the kids going in the right direction here,” Kovalchik shared.
“I’ve always said that Northampton is the best kept secret in the region. Well, that’s no longer a secret anymore. The district is 98 square miles [and] there are 2,000 homes being built in our school district, so you have residential growth, you have commercial growth, and the district is primed to be the next huge success in the region. Some of that is because of location, and some of it is because we have one of the lowest tax bases and lowest tax rates in the entire region. And success doesn’t happen by accident. Everyone here has had some type of part in the success of the school district,” Kovalchik divulged.
“I’m just extremely proud of what we’ve been able to do as a unit over the years and on this project, and I’m looking for more continued growth and more opportunities for all of our kids and the community at large,” added Kovalchik.
Former board member and Northampton Area High School history teacher, Robert Mentzell, then provided the audience with a history lesson on the property and the area.
Mentzell noted that the land the elementary school is being built on was the Craig Settlement, named after James Craig, who was a leader of the Scotch-Irish group that settled in the area in 1728, and just 1/5 of mile away is Horner Cemetery, which served the Craig Settlement and is the oldest cemetery in Northampton County.
Buried at Horner’s Cemetery are some of the notable figures of the settlement’s Scotch-Irish community including Craig’s father and sons, Hugh Wilson (builder of the blockhouse that is now on Laubach Avenue and one of the first three judges in Northampton County Court), James Ralston (builder of the fort that was located at Franks Corner at the intersection between Airport Road and Nor Bath Boulevard, and who also drew the plans that laid out the town of Bath) and General Robert Brown (Revolutionary War hero and U.S. congressman who was gifted two horse-chestnut saplings by George Washington for their friendship that Brown planted at his home north of Franks Corner, which is known as the Friendship Tree that later became the symbol of Bath).
“When East Allen Elementary is completed, that small network of roads around the buildings should be named in honor of these East Allen pioneers and heroes: James Craig, Hugh Wilson, James Ralston and General Robert Brown,” Mentzell offered.
Closing out the ceremony, Kovalchik and current/former school board members excitedly donned their hard hats and picked up their shovels, tossing dirt to signify the breaking of the ground at East Allen Elementary School.
“It’s good to be a Konkrete Kid,” Kovalchik beamed.
East Allen Elementary is on schedule to be completed prior to the 2026-27 school year.
