School officials deserve praise

Upper Freehold Regional School District officials reacted swiftly and admirably to an unfortunate situation which forced the district to shut down Allentown High School’s annex last week

With the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon us, the school day would have been stressful enough for everyone present, without the added drama of more than 100 displaced students.

As expected, the school district chose to play it safe and shut down a building where students may or may not have been at risk from debris and dust from the lead paint being removed as part of an ongoing overhaul of Allentown Borough’s nearby water tower.

However, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Connelly, the district made a point of keeping the public well informed about the status of the building and any risk to students.

School and health officials were forthright and forthcoming with information — even keeping a county health official on hand to answer questions — which is a practice that all local officials should learn to follow.