Construction should start this summer

BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

ALLENTOWN - Groundbreaking for the construction of the new middle school could take place this summer.

According to interim Superintendent Robert Smith, groundbreaking for the new school on Ellisdale Road should be held in July. Earlier this year, he had said that work on the project would begin in April.

When asked if the school would still open in September 2007, Smith said the revised schedule projects substantial completion of the academic wing in August 2007.

"This would permit use of classrooms, the offices and the library," he said.

Smith said the project's professionals will meet during the week of May 1, when they will seek approval of the soil remediation plan from the Freehold Area Board of Health.

Smith said the project also requires other approvals from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

At an October appearance before the Planning Board, the board's attorney, Philip Shore, said there is minor dieldrin contamination on the proposed school site. Dieldrin is a historic pesticide that was once used on farms in the area.

Shore said the school board was aware of the contamination when it entered the contract for the property. He also said the board appropriated funding for the cleanup.

At that same meeting, the school's engineer, Frank Monte, said there is probably not a subdivision in the entire township that doesn't have some kind of pesticides in it, as Upper Freehold is a farming community.

In an effort to provide appropriate educational facilities to accommodate enrollment growth, voters passed a $38.9 million referendum in December 2004 to build a new state-of-the-art middle school for grades five through eight.

The Upper Freehold Regional School District will hold a community meeting regarding the new middle school at 7 p.m. on May 4 in the Upper Freehold Regional Elementary/Middle School.