Project won’t interfere with school activities.
By: Jessica Beym
Indoor winter activities at the Cranbury School won’t be affected by the construction for the new heating, ventilation and air conditioning that will be installed in sections of the school next month.
The construction will take place in the 1949 and 1957 sections of the building and will start in the auditorium once the school has closed for winter break Dec. 23.
Construction will continue once school has reopened on Jan. 3 and any instruction that usually takes place in the auditorium will be moved to the gymnasium. Indoor basketball for the school will take place in the new gymnasium, with the court divided into three sections for multiple games to take place during practice. Play practice for the school’s spring play will be held in the auditorium. Participants of the play will be limited to use only half of the auditorium, including the stage while construction continues.
Board member Frank Ransegnola, a member of the Facilities Committee, said the construction on the auditorium should be complete in late February.
"The good thing about it is that we will have full use of the auditorium by the time of the play. I think the pros outweigh the cons," said Mr. Ransegnola.
The second part of the project, installing the HVAC systems to the classrooms in the older sections of the building, will begin in the spring and will take place only at night when school is closed and will continue throughout the summer. Construction will be complete by the time school reopens in September.
The furniture from the classrooms will be stored in the auditorium over the summer, instead of the gym as was originally planned and will not interrupt the summer activities that are held in the gym.
The cost of the project, which will be done by the Comfort Mechanical Corp. of Long Branch, is $1.5 million with $300,000 going toward design and architectural plans with LAN Architects.
Some of the project’s funding will come from a state Department of Education Save Our Facilities Program grant for $562,000.

