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“This is more than shared service, this is a shared vision,” Interim Superintendent Dr. James Corino said. “It’s historic [and] it’s innovative.”
The new facility, estimated to cost $53 million, will be built on Matera Field off of Marin Avenue.
“This is an historic event,” BOE President James “Chizzie” Vuono said. “There hasn’t been a new building proposal since 2000, when we added onto the high school.”
Lincoln School was built in 1884 and Township Attorney Richard DiLascio said a 1961 master plan examination called for the school’s use to be “retired.”
BOE Vice President Joseph Abruscato called Lincoln School “a disaster.”
Township students would attend kindergarten through sixth grade in neighborhood schools before proceeding to the new junior high school.
Facilities improvements to the already existing schools will be subject to a $19 million Nov. 8 referendum. This includes $4.5 million in improvements to the high school, with state aid covering 88 percent of the costs.
“I can’t be happier with the 18 months of work that’s gone into this,” BOE member Christopher Musto said. “We’re going to have the best academic facilities.”
“I think everyone has been waiting for this,” fellow BOE member Ronald Szwec added. “I think it’s the future for the town – definitely the future for our kids.”
It will be at least 4 years before students attend the new junior high school, Dilascio said.
“It’s an opportunity as a community for us to shine,” Assistant Superintendent Shauna DeMarco said.
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