Knowing that the planned extension to Lincoln School needed to house the new Early Childhood program for 4-year-olds will not be ready in time for the start of school in September, North Bergen Board of Education officials have found a suitable temporary site – the township’s municipal swimming pool.
According to Superintendent of Schools Peter Fischbach, the Board of Education would turn the parking lot of the municipal pool, located on 91st Street and Nolan Avenue, below Tonnelle Avenue, into its central location for the 4-year-old program.
The approximately 400 students would be housed in 15 temporary classroom units (TCUs), trailers that would be leased for the school year, in order that the state-mandated program get off the ground as expected later this year.
The 4-year-old students were supposed to be situated at a new extension planned for Lincoln School, located on 63rd Street and Durham, but a severe winter and environmental problems that came with the demolition and excavation of the area have delayed the project, probably for a full year.
“Ever since we realized that Lincoln School would not be ready in time for September, we’ve looked all over for other possible solutions to the problem,” Fischbach said. “We had to find temporary housing for the students and we really wanted to keep it centralized. We looked into the possibility of putting the 4-year-olds at the respective neighborhood schools, but there is construction ongoing at four of our schools now and there simply is not room.”
Added Fischbach, “Our architect [Grace Lynch] realized that the only place that we could have enough room to house all the students at the same site would be the parking lot of the township pool. We had some parking lots where we could put two trailers or five, but the rent prices to put the trailers at those sites became exorbitant, like $100,000 for two trailers. We couldn’t do that. For now, this seemed to be the most viable and practical solution.”
Fischbach said that the Board of Education would lease 15 trailers. The idea of purchasing the units was also a very costly proposition, just for one year’s use. Fourteen of the units would be used to house the students, with the last TCU being utilized for office space and an all-purpose activity area.
Each of the units would be able to house 15 students. The 4-year-old students will only attend half-day sessions, so that means that 350 to 400 students could be housed in the TCUs on a temporary basis.
Fischbach is certain that the delays in construction of the extension at Lincoln School would force the Board of Education to utilize the temporary site for the entire 2001-2002 school year.
“Right now, it looks like the construction will take a full year to complete,” Fischbach said.
The students would be picked up at their neighborhood schools and transported to the site. Fischbach said that the majority of 4-year-old students were going to be bused to the Lincoln School extension, so the transportation costs would not be significantly higher at the new pool location.
“Of course, we would have to make some improvements to the current pool parking lot, like fencing, landscaping and other improvements, to make sure it is a very safe location,” Fischbach said.
Lynch is currently organizing a plan that will insure the area will have proper plumbing, sewage and electrical capabilities to hold a temporary school site.
“We really looked at every possible alternative,” Fischbach said. “And we simply do not have a big open space anywhere in the township that could accommodate 15 of these TCUs in one spot. We looked at vacant lots and park areas and there was absolutely nothing else, if we wanted to insure that all of the students would be in a centralized area. We also wanted to make sure that the site would be one that could cause the least amount of problems in traffic and parking. This site seems to accomplish all of that.”
Fischbach took Hudson County Superintendent of Schools Robert Osak on a tour of the site last week to show him that it would be able to accommodate the new students.
Two sites
While Fischbach had Osak’s attention, he also showed the county schools chief the proposed site for the new high school, located on 83rd Street and West Side Avenue, at the site of several garment distribution warehouse centers. Fischbach is hoping that Osak will give approval to both sites in the near future.
If the board receives approval at that location and it also can acquire the necessary funding – estimated at more than $100 million – then plans can move forward to tear down the existing warehouse and build a new three-story high school. But that idea is further down the road. The temporary pre-school site has to take precedence.
“We have to see if the county superintendent thinks that is an appropriate site,” Fischbach said. “We have to do additional research about the possibility of a new high school there on West Side Avenue.”