Fire delays opening of Matawan-Aberdeen middle school

Published in the Asbury Park Press 9/08/04

2 SHIFTS: Morning session for grades 7, 8

By RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR
KEYPORT BUREAU

ABERDEEN -- School officials yesterday pushed back the opening of the Matawan Avenue Middle School, a day after a fire now deemed suspicious broke out on the roof of the building.

The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional Board of Education decided to start the school's 2004-05 year Monday instead of tomorrow, when the district's four elementary schools, preschool and high school are slated to reopen for the year.

When classes do begin, the students will be on a staggered schedule. Seventh- and eighth-graders will be in session from 8:19 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. with sixth-graders attending from 12:39 p.m. to 4:55 p.m., officials said.

A storage space containing roofing materials located on top of the roof was ignited late in the afternoon, shortly after custodians made final preparations inside the building for a new school year, Superintendent Bruce Quinn said.

"Obviously, this is something we didn't plan for," Quinn told the hundreds of parents who packed a standing-room-only board meeting last night. "We're devastated at the fact that we lost a building that was ready to go and ready for the new school year."

Quinn also said the fire was being investigated by law enforcement officials as "suspicious."

Aberdeen police are also investigating several complaints of vandalism that took place Aug. 24 and 25 in the school and along nearby Grove Street.

Obscene phrases and lines were found spray-painted in yellow on several construction vehicles and two cars parked along the street, and some of their windows were smashed, said Police Chief Joseph Kelly.

Windows in the middle school nurse's office were smashed in, the school's gym doors spray-painted and a satellite dish destroyed. A telephone box connected to a construction office trailer was found ripped from the structure, Kelly said.

Police believe juveniles are responsible.

Neither school officials nor police would confirm that the vandalism and fire are related.

"At this point, it's a little to early to draw that conclusion," Deputy Chief John T. Powers said, adding that police are investigating the fire, as is the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Safety is top priority

Walter Kain, 55, of Aberdeen, who was among the parents who attended last night's meeting, said he was thankful no children were hurt.

"It has got to be safe for the kids," said Kain, who was at the meeting with his son Michael, 11, who is starting sixth grade at the school. "That's the number-one priority."

The middle school is undergoing a $15 million building project for 20 new classrooms, an expanded cafeteria and a new gym. Construction at the school is scheduled to be completed by September 2005.

Anyone with information about the fire or vandalism is asked to call police at (732) 566-2057.