BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer
A new special education school is proposed for a 30-acre site off Cheesequake Road in Sayreville.
The borough Planning Board on April 19 held an initial review of the project proposed by the Middlesex Regional Educational Services Commission (MRESC). The commission is a public agency with a charter from the state Department of Education. The Piscataway-based agency operates six special education schools in Middlesex County, accepting students from its 25 member school districts.
The 65,000-square-foot school building proposed in Sayreville would have a capacity for 175 students, and would educate children ages 3 to 12 years old who have multiple disabilities or who are autistic, said attorney Anthony Vignuolo, who represented the commission during the informal review.
Vignuolo said Sayreville already has 57 students enrolled in commission programs at facilities outside the borough.
“Sayreville is already taking tremendous advantage of our programs,” MRESC Superintendent Mark J. Finkelstein told Greater Media Newspapers.
Finkelstein noted that out-of-district placement is costly for taxpayers, so the 22-classroom school would have fiscal and educational benefits for the community.
“Sayreville has long been a supporter of the commission and our programs,” Finkelstein said. “We look forward to working with them so that the residents can maximize usage of the school right in their own backyard.”
Having this school operate in Sayreville would save local taxpayers money, as students in the program would no longer have to be bused to facilities outside the borough, he said.
“Less travel means less transportation cost for the district,” he said.
Children who use the services would also benefit, Finkelstein said.
“One of the great things about a project like this is that children are able to attend schools close to home,” he said.
An onsite parking lot would have a 125-vehicle capacity, Vignuolo said. He also mentioned the potential for a second school to be developed on the property, if a need was demonstrated.
Project Engineer Robert Chankalian presented exhibits of the preliminary site plan to the Planning Board. He anticipates allowing for open space on the property, and one acre would be dedicated to the borough for a right-of-way road to be used for access to the school. He said the site plan meets the borough’s zoning standards.
The commission would purchase the property for the school from Hercules Inc., a former borough manufacturer now based in Wilmington, Del. The property was mined until recent years and is currently vacant.
“The site has been heavily excavated. It is essentially a valley of sorts,” Chankalian told the board.
An indoor swimming pool is included in the project, and would be used by students enrolled in the school as well as others, according to Vignuolo.
The pool will be designed to meet numerous purposes, according to MRESC Business Administrator Patrick M. Moran, including rehabilitation for the special education students and for participants in Sayreville’s brain-injured children program. It could also be used by the local high school swim team, though a fee would be charged to the school district.
The pool would not be used for commercial purposes, Moran said.
Vignuolo said the facility would be operational all year long, though the school program would run for 11 months of the year. School hours would be from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the children would likely be transported to and from the school using minibuses.
Planning Board member Donald Newton pointed out that the property adjacent to the lot is on the borough’s priority list as a potential site to purchase for open space purposes.
Andrew Shapiro, a representative from Hercules, responded that his business is aware of the borough’s desire to acquire the adjacent land for open space, adding that the company intends to work with the borough in that regard.
Vignuolo said he does not anticipate a significant impact on traffic related to the proposed school. Due to the nature of the population, only small minibuses will be necessary to transport the student population.
Borough Engineer Jay Cornell said that the portion of Cheesequake Road where the site is located does not have water or sewer lines, so the developer would have to show the Planning Board the design for that project. Plans for the sewer line extension would be included in a formal site plan proposal for the entire project, according to Finkelstein.
Vignuolo said the agency would solicit bids for construction next year, and would hope to have the school built by 2008.
Planning Board Chairman Dr. John Misiewicz said that with the addition of the sewer line extension, the board does not have any objection to the informal plan.
Board member Michael Macagnone agreed, characterizing the plan as a positive use of the property. He added that the swimming pool would allow the school district’s swim team to stay in the borough for practices and cut down own transportation costs.
Councilman and Planning Board member Thomas Pollando also expressed satisfaction with the addition of another recreational facility in the borough.
“We do not have any other pool in town,” Pollando said, “so I welcome it.”
The MRESC also operates the Raritan Valley Academy, Bright Beginnings Learning Center and Piscataway Regional Day School, Nuview Academy, all in Piscataway; Academy Learning Center, Monroe; Middlesex County Academy School Program, Old Bridge. The agency also offers programs to special needs students within their neighborhood schools.