BY PATRICIA A. MILLER
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE — The groundbreaking for the new middle school could come as early as November, Superintendent of Schools William Setaro said.
"I would say we’ll put a shovel in the ground within the next six to eight months," he said.
Setaro met earlier this week with the school district’s architect and the construction manager to begin the design phase for the new school and to map out a preliminary timeline.
The design phase for the new school will take roughly six to eight months, he said.
The actual construction will take about 18 months. Although the architect and the construction manager have estimated a September 2006 opening date, Setaro thinks it may take a little longer.
"I think we are looking more at December 2006," he said.
Until then, trailers will continue to be used to handle the overflow enrollment at both the middle school and the elementary school.
By next September, all 10 kindergarten classes will be housed in trailers. And depending upon the enrollment, Setaro may have to add another trailer the following year.
So far, kindergarten registration for the coming school year is down, he said.
Both Setaro and Board of Education President Kathy Winecoff believe that some parents in the district do not want their children to attend school in trailers and, until space eases up, have opted for private arrangements.
"We may have parents not choosing to put their kids in the school because of the trailers," he said.
Setaro is not planning to add any more trailers to the middle school, but will probably increase class sizes.
"We don’t have any more room to put any more trailers out there," he said.
The new school will be built with the ability to grow, he added.
"That was a big concern in our previous construction projects," Setaro said.