Montgomery Township Committee to tour high school site

School projected to open for 2004-2005 school year.

By: Paul Sisolak
   MONTGOMERY — The Board of Education will be hosting the Township Committee on Tuesday for a tour of the new high school construction site.
   Committee members will have an opportunity for a close-up look at the construction of the school, projected to open its doors for the 2004-2005 school year.
   The tour will be conducted by Jim Strimple, the Board of Education’s business administrator and construction coordinator. Mr. Strimple was unavailable for comment on the tour.
   Jack Rotter, administrative assistant to the superintendent of schools, said Mr. Strimple visits the site on a weekly basis to talk with construction managers.
   Mr. Rotter, who participated in a tour last week, said the Board of Education administration offices at the site, due to open in early summer, are near completion.
   "It’s very much on track for the end of June," he said.
   Plasterboard and carpeting for the office building have already been installed, he said. When the new offices are occupied, he said, the old Board of Education building will be used for storage.
   The board has made sure the Township Committee is informed and involved in the construction process, Mr. Rotter added, because municipal action may soon be requested for the installation of a second traffic signal near the school’s entrance on Route 601.
   Proposals from the board for an initial traffic signal, designed to accommodate school buses at the intersection of Route 601 and Skillman Road, have already been submitted for approval to the state Department of Transportation.
   While much of the campus is still just a skeleton of steel beams, Mr. Rotter said the tour may include a visit to an existing building that may also be used as an auxiliary gymnasium to supplement the new one planned for the high school.
   The building, which is attached to the administration building, is the only structure left over from the former McCorkle School for Boys.
   "It will be a good use for the facility," Mr. Rotter said.
   "It’s a fascinating thing to see a building built," he commented.
   To take an aerial photograph tour of the new Montgomery High School, visit http://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/new-hs.htm.