The Hoboken school district recently announced that renovations to Connors Primary School will begin August 2010, forcing its students to move east to the Demarest School building for two years. In addition, a K-12 charter school that was in Demarest will have to find new space by next fall.
Hoboken has been planning renovations to Connors – located at Second and Monroe streets – for several years, according to Interim Superintendent Peter Carter. It is one of three primary schools in town.
The Connors upgrades are state-funded. The district had been waiting to hear from Trenton about when the work will begin.
“It was not a secret.” – Peter Carter
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Demarest currently houses three schools: Demarest High School, an alternative high school with vocational classes; Hoboken Charter School high school; and Hoboken Charter primary school.
Thus, with Connors in, HCS is out.
Hoboken Charter School officials plan to meet with parents on Wednesday, Dec. 2 to inform them of the possible options for their next two years.
Helen Cunning, chairwoman of the HCS Board of Trustees, said the two HCS schools may be separated over that time, much like during their first few years of existence, when the HCS high school was housed in the Brandt School building and the HCS primary school was stationed in the Demarest building.
Cunning said the schools hope to move back into the Demarest building after the renovations at Connors, especially considering all of the upgrades the charter school made to the facilities there, including plumbing.
She said the district and the Board of Education have been helpful in finding a solution to the schools’ predicament.
Keeping the schools going
“We are in the throes of making arrangements,” Cunning said. “It’s an inconvenience, [but] we’re confident we’ll be fine for next year. We’ve been assured by the district this is only a temporary measure.”
She said that Carter and Tim Calligy, the district facilities manager, have worked with the HCS facilities committee in the search for usable space.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Assemblyman Ruben Ramos, Freeholder Anthony Romano, and some members of the Board of Education have also been key proponents of HCS’s search, Cunning said.
She said the HCS board will present four or five scenarios to the parents at the Dec. 2 meeting, and get some feedback.
She said some solution is forthcoming. “There’s no interest in closing the school,” she said.
Her main goal is to keep continuity during the transition and maintain the same continuity during the two-year upheaval.
She said that the school did not get much notice from the district administration about the move. But Carter, who took over the district in July, said HCS was notified by the former administration.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.