All debris from the site of a recent fire at Ethel McKnight Elementary School must be removed before damages can be assessed.
By: Marisa Maldonado
HIGHTSTOWN The district must remove all debris from the site of a recent fire at Ethel McKnight Elementary School before assessing any damages or performing more construction, officials said at a Board of Education meeting Monday evening.
The school board passed a resolution giving permission to other companies to remove the debris, which is both on the roof and scattered near the ground. The fire started in the morning on March 22 and burned a 4,000-square-foot hole in the roof of the new McKnight School, which was scheduled for completion this September.
A fire official predicted at the time that construction could be delayed for six months, and school officials still say they do not know when the construction will resume.
"Part of the delay is, there’s no way to access the site," Business Administrator David Shafter said at the board meeting.
The district has hired B. Poole Restoration LLC, of Huntington, N.Y., to remove the debris, Mr. Shafter said. An official was scheduled to come out Wednesday to survey the site, he said.
The cost of removing the debris, will be between $22,000 and $30,000, Mr. Shafter said. It is covered under the district’s insurance plan, Mr. Shafter said.
The district must finish in time for the building to open in September 2006, Superintendent Ronald Bolandi said.
"The good news is we have until September 2006 to finish that building," Mr. Bolandi said. "The bad news is we have to get moving in the next couple of months."

