Plumsted officials await construction costs

Plans call for new primary school, additional classroom at New Egypt High School.

By: Ken Weingartner
   PLUMSTED — The cost of proposed new construction and renovations in the school district should be known by the end of the month, Superintendent Gerald Woehr said last week.
   District officials have proposed construction of a new primary school, plus classroom space additions to New Egypt High School. Also, renovations to the elementary school are planned.
   The proposed primary school would house pre-kindergarten disabled classes, full-day kindergarten and first-graders. The district currently has half-day kindergarten.
   The elementary school would house students in second through fourth grades while the middle school would be home to sixth- through eighth-graders.
   Currently, kindergarten through fourth grades are in the elementary school, grades 5-8 are in the middle school and grades 9-11 are in the high school.
   Dr. Woehr said the district is in the process of finalizing arrangements on land acquisition for the new school.
   A referendum seeking voter approval on spending for the projects is scheduled for March 2002.
   "We need to fast track this," Dr. Woehr said. "We plan to have everything done by September 2003. We plan to have it all done in basically just over a year. There are still a lot of pieces to the puzzle that need to be done."
   The district has hired an architect — SSP Architectural Group of Somerville — for the proposed project.
   Renovations for the elementary school include a new roof, boiler and elevator, Dr. Woehr said.
   There are 340 students enrolled at New Egypt High School this year. The school currently houses students in ninth through 11th grades; members of the Class of 2002 still attend Allentown High School, from which the Plumsted School District has withdrawn. There are 88 seniors from Plumsted at AHS.
   Dr. Woehr said there are 670 students in the elementary school and 525 in the middle school. Enrollment at the elementary and middle school levels has increased 21 percent since the 1998-99 school year, according to state statistics.
   "We’re going to be really tight next year," he said.