A Bucks County judge signed off on a plan to compensate Easton Area School District for the loss of Riegelsville students to the Palisades School District.
Waite's decision Friday sends the matter to the state board of education for a final decision.
Riegelsville residents have fought for years to leave Easton Area and join the Palisades district.
Palisades agreed to pay $1.4 million to Easton to make up for debt and obligations Easton Area incurred educating the 50 or so students.
In a court document Judge Clyde Waite signed, he made Riegelsville an independent school district for purposes of transferring the borough to Palisades.
As no members of Easton’s school board reside in Riegelsville, three people have been appointed to a newly formed board of directors. Those people are Katherine Anderson, Maureen Woerner and Damion Newton, according to the court order.
Anderson did not return calls for comment late Friday evening. Phone listings for Woerner and Newton were not immediately found.
Creating an independent district for Riegelsville is not the last step in the legal process. The district must still be granted permission to move to Palisades by the state Board of Education.
But state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis previously has said he supports moving Riegelsville to the Palisades district.
The $1.4 million is payable in four equal annual installments, beginning Aug. 31, 2013, according to the court document. The amount is not subject to interest, according to court documents.
If the state Board of Education does approve the transfer, students from Riegelsville will attend Palisades schools beginning July 1, 2013.
One restriction in the court document is that both Easton Area and Palisades waive the right to appeal the court’s decision.
