Public comments focus on LCTI funding fairness and PowerSchool data problems

Two public commenters used the meeting to press the board on distinct but related concerns about district partnerships and data systems.

Phoebe Harris (public comment) criticized how Lehigh County Technical Institute (LCTI) governance and funding allocate resources across Lehigh County, saying Allentown sends roughly 25 cents of each LCTI dollar while not receiving ‘‘first choice’’ for students. She urged the board to consider building local programs and to revisit funding formulas that she characterized as "taxation without representation."

Later in the meeting, Robert E. Smith Jr. (public comment) raised operational concerns about the district’s use of PowerSchool and related data integrations. He said the district had spent more than $1 million on PowerSchool and that data transfers from a system called Sapphire remained incomplete for critical populations, including special education. He also said a password leak occurred months earlier and questioned an MOU with the University of Pennsylvania for AI research, asking whether district employees or student data were included as research participants and whether the public had been adequately informed.

The board responded by noting reports and memos already prepared on assessment appeals and by inviting administration to provide additional LCTI completion and persistence data and to brief the board on any MOU terms and data protections. Administration said it would provide a memorandum on assessment appeals and would follow up on PowerSchool/Sapphire integration and data‑security questions.

Why it matters: public comment identified two areas of community concern — regional career‑tech funding and student data privacy — both of which intersect with the district’s operational priorities and procurement of software and third‑party research agreements.