By:Casha Caponegro
Residents will have their say on a proposed school expansion project Wednesday.
"I do hope people come to hear the specifics of why we are looking to expand and give their feedback," said board President Joan Rue.
The primary issue on the agenda will be the proposed addition of a new gym facility and five to seven classrooms, expected to cost between $8.4 to $8.9 million.
A proposed school addition will be discussed 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The addition was proposed Sept. 4 as a solution to expected enrollment increases during a presentation by Vice Principal Carol Malouf, architect Allan Kehrt and Bob Pasquale, a representative of Bovis Lend Lease, the firm that would be responsible for management of the project.
Ms. Malouf indicated that the school currently is overcrowded and that the situation may get worse as student enrollment increases over the next two to three years predicted by a demographic study by University Associates.
There are currently 578 students at the Cranbury School. According to the study, enrollment will increase to 604 students by 2003 and 612 students in 2004.
Mr. Kehrt, a township Planning Board member who works for KSS Architects, presented two possible options for the school expansion.
One option would include five classrooms and, according to the Bovis cost estimate, would cost approximately $8.4 million. The second option would provide seven new classrooms and cost about $8.9 million.
Both options include plans for a new 12,000-square-foot gymnasium facility, complete with new locker rooms and storage spaces.
According to Mr. Kehrt’s preliminary project schedule, the school board would need to approve the proposed expansion by the end of September in order for a referendum to be held in late January 2002. Construction would need to begin September of 2002 in order for the addition to be completed in time for the opening of school in September of 2003.
Although the school board was sympathetic to the school’s plight, they were reluctant to carry out such a massive and expensive project without consent from the community.
The Cranbury School, which now serves kindergarten through eighth grade, originally opened in 1896. The portion of the school in which the current classrooms and the Cranbury Public Library now resides was completed in 1968 and underwent several additions. The most recent included several new industrial arts rooms, occurred in 1997.
The current proposed addition was initially proposed by an Ad Hoc Committee, comprising township officials, school board members, parents and community members who were not satisfied with the school’s current gym facilities.
Last spring, the committee recommended the construction of a new gymnasium and six classrooms. Based on the results of the demographic study, the school administration is now asking for one additional classroom.

