New Long Branch School Construction Could Ease Overcrowding Concerns

Long Branch’s new Gregory elementary school opened four years ago, but its enrollment already exceeds its capacity by about 150 students, or more than 25 percent, officials said.

At Anastasia elementary school, which opened in 2005, the enrollment exceeds capacity by about 100 students, or more than 15 percent.

How could these brand new schools become overcrowded so quickly? The answer has become part of the legacy of New Jersey’s long-troubled program for building new schools in the state’s cities.

Back in August 2009, education officials demolished the old Elberon elementary school to make way for a larger facility, which would be called George Catrambone school, that was going to be built at the same site. In the meantime, many Elberon students were relocated to Gregory and Anastasia schools.

Two years later, folks are still waiting for work to start Catrambone, and Anastasia and Gregorgy schools have become overcrowded.

The proposed Catrambone school has been delayed by a freeze on new school construction that Gov. Chris Christie imposed soon after taking office in January 2010. The governor decided that the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA), the agency that handled the construction of city schools in the state, was plagued by waste and mismanagement.

Christie put a halt to all work on those projects under his people could review and reform the agency. That took about a year. In February, Christie decided that more than 50 projects on the drawing board, 10 of them could proceed and one of those was Catrambone.  At the time of Christie’s announcement, Long Branch education officials said they hoped there would be ground-breaking soon afterwards.

But the land where Elberon school had stood remains an empty field and it will probably continue that way for at least another six months.

Long Branch Public Schools spokesman Walter O’Neill said the district expects the construction contract to be awarded in December or January and that work would begin in the spring.

“The SDA has some intense timelines for moving ahead,’’ said O’Neill. “Long Branch did a lot to help that. We had all the documents in place. We had the land all ready for them.’’

The SDA already has spent more than $3.3 million on the design and other preparation for Catrambone. But part of Christie’s blueprint for restarting the planning process for the 10 selected projects was that they would be redesigned to “achieve standardization.”

So instead of breaking out the shovels, officials had to go back to the drawing board. What’s happened since Christie’s February announcement?

“For all of the 10 projects identified for advancement, the SDA is participating in working group discussions with DOE [Department of Education] and district representatives to discuss the approach, scope, schedule and logistics of the identified projects,’’ said SDA spokeswoman Edythe Maier. “In addition, the SDA will be determining how to best apply standardization elements to the identified projects.”

Catrambone and Elizabeth’s proposed Academic Magnet High School are the first two projects of the 10 slated to begin construction. The others will start no sooner than next year. That pace upsets the SDA’s critics.

“I’m not convinced that any of these projects are going to go forward,’’ said David Sciarra, executive director of the Newark-based Education Law Center, the group that brought the original lawsuit that forced the state to take on the responsibility of building schools in low-income districts.

“There’s no definite schedule or budget for any of them,’’ continued Sciarra. “I don’t see any evidence other than these make-work meetings that anything is happening.’’

When asked for construction schedules for the 10 projects, the SDA declined to provide them. Previous plans said the Catrambone School would cost $40.2 million.

“Please note that these were the costs associated with the original projects,’’ said Maier. “These costs do not represent any design modifications or standardization applications that will occur. Therefore many of these costs will change as the projects advance.’’

Construction on Catrambone could take about two years, officials said. Long Branch education officials are looking forward to getting the new school underway. Since 2007, the district’s enrollment has increased by about 13 percent, from 4,785 to 5,441. As a result, space like the teachers’ lounges at Gregory and Anastasia is being converted to classrooms.

“We’re taking any space that is suitable for education purposes and turning it into a classroom,’’ said O’Neill. “If that means teachers have to give up their lounge, that’s one of the sacrifices that has to be made.’’

Juggling space is nothing new for Long Branch educators. Paul Eschelbach, president of the Long Branch School Employee Association, recalled teaching orchestral music a couple of decades ago at West End in a room that was simultaneously used by gym classes.

“The only thing I could do was close the curtain,’’ Eschelbach said.

Unlike some cities in the state, where educators are trying to replace schools that are more than 100 years old, Long Branch’s demolition has targeted newer building. Elberon School, for example, was built in 1969 and was open just four decades before it was knocked down.

“It’s not that the schools are falling apart, it’s that the district is looking ahead to the future,’’ said Eschelbach.

SDA-related delays have complicated some of the planning. For example, after their high school opened in 2007, Long Branch education officials had hoped to use the original high school, built in 1924, to house the district’s alternative education program for 124 students with behavioral problems and learning disabilities.

But that building needs renovations that could cost as much as $2 million. The district has applied for SDA funding for the project, but has not yet received approval from Trenton. Officials aren’t sure when – if ever – that might happen.

In the meantime, the district is paying $5,500 per month to lease space at the old Holy Trinity School on Division Street for the Alternative education program.