CRANBURY – An ad hoc committee studying the possibility of building a new school gym is eyeing May 1 as a deadline to decide whether it will recommend the project.
By:Brian Shappell
An ad hoc committee studying the possibility of building a new school gym is eyeing May 1 as a deadline to decide whether it will recommend the project.
The Cranbury School District Facilities Committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the results from five subcommittees formed a month ago, said Chairman Richard Johnson.
The committee was formed in February to study plans to build a new school gym, which may be needed because of growing enrollment at the Cranbury School. The committee has been studying whether the gym is necessary to meet state standards in physical education, provide better facilities for student athletes and serve the space needs for outside community groups.
The committee also is looking at potential cost and how it would be paid for.
The committee will discuss its findings at 7:30 p.m. at the Cranbury School cafeteria.
The current gym, constructed in 1957, was built to accommodate a school with 300 students. There are now twice that number of students at the school. The current facility also is used for a number of community events and by organizations such as the Recreation Commission, Cranbury Arts Council and a local men’s basketball league.
The committee has been studying how to get critical information on the committee to the public; visiting gyms in other districts to note successes, failures, cost and variance of use at other schools; what community needs it would meet; funding avenues such as state grants for large-scale, long-term, school improvement projects; and exploring the effect the current facility and a potential new facility has on the physical education program in Cranbury.
“The reason for the subcommittees is it’s practical and strategic,” said Mr. Johnson. “When there’s 20 people on a board, it’s hard to move things along and give everyone a chance to participate.”
The committee, which includes school board members, community organization heads and members of the community at large, took the first step in assessing the school and community needs for an additional gym at its inaugural meeting Jan. 26.
Members of the community have said the gym is inadequate to meet the various needs for community space and is inferior to gyms at other, similar-sized schools. School representatives have said the outdated facility is starting to have a noticeable, negative impact on physical education studies.
Mr. Johnson, who also is a Zoning Board of Adjustment member and president of the Cranbury Education Foundation, said talks have gone well.
“It really is a group of A-personality types,” Mr. Johnson said. “People are spending a lot of time and effort on this. It’s been a terrific experience, thus far.”
Mr. Johnson said the final report to the school board will include whether the committee recommends the construction of a new gym and the cost of such a project and a firm timetable.
He also said he could not make a prediction on whether a new gym will be suggested, though the decision by the committee will likely be made in April.
“There should be no element of surprises on May 1,” Mr. Johnson said.