Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/15/06

Voter input not sought

Congratulations on a most important editorial, "Turf tariff too steep" (Sept. 6), about an upcoming school referendum question in Manasquan.

I am a resident in the Aberdeen-Matawan regional school district. Unfortunately in our last budget, our school superintendent chose a method of getting his artificial turf project approved by not making it a part of the budget to be voted upon by the public. He chose to use a "lease purchase program" that would enable him to have his Giants Stadium field without the approval of the voters. When I questioned him on the subject, I reminded him that he took a method that bypassed the public's opinion, in effect taking our right to vote on something for which we were paying.

I am most happy that your editorial at least brings important facts to the attention of the Manasquan public regardless of the vote, for or against.

Bill Dunphy

ABERDEEN

SHORE SCHOOLS' PROJECTS

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/4/06

AVON

PROJECT: Avon is planning fire and safety code upgrades, along with a 2,900-square-foot addition to its elementary school, which is about 100 years old.

TIME LINE: School construction will not begin until 2007. Voters approved the project in a referendum last year.

LONG BRANCH

PROJECTS: The district has embarked on a massive building program since it began receiving Abbott funding several years ago. The district already has finished construction of the Amerigo A. Anastasia School on Seventh Avenue, which serves pupils in kindergarten through grade 5.

Others are:

The $24 million Gregory Elementary School, which would house pupils from prekindergarten through fifth grade, should be ready by Dec. 7. Construction on the Monmouth Avenue facility began construction last year. The Gregory School would be a 94,000-square-foot school on three floors with 36 classrooms. It also would contain a media center, gymnasium, auditorium, community health center, computer laboratory, science room and music room.

The district also is getting ready for the ground-breaking for renovations to the Elberon School, which will cost about $23 million. The school would get a second floor, cafeteria/auditorium, gym and media center. No construction deadline is set for that yet, according to Schools Superintendent Joseph M. Ferraina.

Work continues on the new high school. The $62 million project is scheduled to be complete in November. It will be 294,000 square feet with four academic wings, each one housing a specialized "academy." The district broke ground in 2004.

None of these projects will interfere with the start of the school year for students, Ferraina said.

MANASQUAN

PROJECT: Work on an addition to Manasquan Elementary School will require parents to drop off their children at a different entrance but otherwise won't affect student life in this Broad Street building that houses grades kindergarten through eight. When completed, the addition will include a multipurpose room and eight classrooms, said school district Superintendent Carole K. Morris.

A $12.75 million referendum approved by voters in December 2004 is paying for the work. That money also will pay for projects completed this summer. The school now has a new roof, a new parking lot, and a new heating and air conditioning system. The first day of school is Wednesday.

MATAWAN-ABERDEEN

PROJECT: Work on the football field at Matawan Regional High School, on Atlantic Avenue in Aberdeen, is almost done and expected to be completed by Sept. 16, said Charles Shay, business administrator for the Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District. The project includes putting in a new artificial turf, replacement of the drainage system at the field, the resurfacing of the track and the placement of lights at the field.

COST: $1.4 million.

TIME LINE: Began July 5. Resurfacing of the tennis courts at the school, at a cost of $26,000, was completed during the summer, Shay said.

MIDDLETOWN

PROJECT: To build replacement modular classrooms at Navesink Elementary School. The previous modular units were damaged in early April by a fire that started near a heating ventilation and air-conditioning unit.

COST: Roughly $500,000, being paid for by insurance, said schools Business Administrator William Doering. The construction of a new covered walkway between the main building and the modular classrooms is costing the district $30,000 to $40,000, he said.

TIME LINE: Work is expected to be finished by Oct. 3.

MILLSTONE TOWNSHIP

PROJECT: Work continues on the 650-student middle school, said Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Donahue. The school is on 110 acres between Baird Road, Waters Lane and Roberts Road. When the new middle school opens, the current middle school, at the intersection of Millstone and Clarksburg roads, will be used for third, fourth and fifth grades. Renovation work there is scheduled for summer 2007, Donahue said. Work on added parking and the realignment of Backbone Hill Road was completed this summer at the current middle school, Donahue said.

COST: $34 million.

TIME LINE: Scheduled to open in September 2007.

NEPTUNE

PROJECT: Midtown Community Elementary School is under construction near Route 33 and Embury Avenue and it will replace Ridge Avenue School. The new school will have 38 classrooms, an over-sized gym, a rooftop outdoor science laboratory, and a district security center that will house the Embury Avenue police sub-station, according to the NJ Schools Construction Corp. Web site. It will also have an "intergenerational tutoring center" where senior citizens will work with the students.

The school will also be home to a wellness clinic that will be staffed by residents from Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and will treat students with chronic health and dental problems.

While that three-story, 145,200-square-foot building is under construction, the students are taking classes in modular classrooms set up on land adjacent to the construction site.

TIME LINE: It is expected to be completed in the spring of 2007.

PROJECT: Construction is complete at Neptune's high school, where classes begin on Wednesday, said School Superintendent David Mooij. The 128,000-square-foot building was being renovated, and about 140,000 square feet was added, according to the SCC Web site. The project included a 1,200-seat auditorium, a two-story library, a three-story math and science wing, and a technology wing that includes a television studio, according to the Web site.

TIME LINE: The dedication of the new high school is scheduled for Oct. 14.

NEPTUNE CITY

PROJECT: School officials plan to make security improvements, and replace the roof, boiler system, heating and air conditioning system and hot water tanks, as well as other upgrades at the Woodrow Wilson School. The school, which houses about 415 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, will also get four new classrooms and some other building modifications.

TIME LINE: Officials expect school construction to start in January. Voters approved the project in a referendum last year.

SHORE REGIONAL

PROJECT: The sending districts for the regional high school's district, which include Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright and West Long Branch, will vote Sept. 26 on a $49.7 million proposal to renovate the high school, said Steve Brennan, business administrator for the district. The project would include realigning and reconfiguring classroom space, addition of classroom space to accommodate science labs and dedicated special education space, renovations to the two gymnasium spaces, a new auditorium with backstage space, a new music room and expansion of the media center and cafeteria, according to the district.

PROJECT: The district is replacing the 40-year-old heating system in the Memorial School gymnasium, said Stephen Imperato, business administrator for the district.

COST: $153,000.

TIME LINE: Work began in August and is expected to be completed by mid-October, he said.

Staff reporters Janeen Jones, Alison Herget, Michelle Sahn, Nicholas Clunn and Carol Gorga Williams contributed to this story.