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In an effort to persuade parents not to send their children to charter schools, the Bethlehem Area School Board will spend more than $3,000 a month over the next two years on a local communications and marketing firm to promote the district's success.
In a 7-1 vote Monday night, the board approved hiring Imagevolution at a cost of $3,115 a month to produce materials to inform the community about what's going on in Bethlehem's schools. Board President Michael Faccinetto was absent. School Director Tom Thomasik casts the lone no vote.
After the meeting, Thomasik said he voted no because he questioned if Imagevolution was the best firm for the job.
At a presentation last week, Randi Mautz, Imagevolution's creative director and designer, said the goal is to bring back some students who have left the district for charter schools.
The district paid $26 million to charter schools this year.
Last week, Superintendent Joseph Roy said there has been previous discussion about how the district can better represent itself in the community. Last year, the district hired Lehigh Valley With Love Media to manage its social media accounts. Roy said this is an opportunity for the district to market itself.
"We haven't gotten to where we need to be," Roy said last week.
Representatives from Imagevolution said the firm would first set out to get more parents to enroll their children in the district's full-day kindergarten program by reaching out to preschools. The firm plans to be in touch with local Realtors and the Valley's largest employers to give its new employees information on the district.
Marketing materials could include post cards or letters from principals sent to homes.
Imagevolution has previously worked with Lehigh University and the Downtown Bethlehem Association.


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There are one hundred and sixty-seven "e"s.
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