As many of you in the East Brunswick community are well aware, the beloved Memorial School, which had a devastating fire this past summer, will most likely not be repaired because of the extensive damage done to it, and will instead be demolished and replaced.
But unfortunately, the timeline for replacement of the new building has not yet even been determined by the Board of Education or by East Brunswick township. It does not look good with the current state of our economy.
It may be many, many years before a new school is designed, funded and built. Meanwhile hundreds of our children attend the Corpus Christi School in South River as a temporary stopgap — a very fine temporary solution (better than trailers) but not one that should continue in the manner it has for all the coming years.
Most, if not all, of the elementary schools in East Brunswick have some sort of playground area with swings, slides, ropes and places for children to be children.
The South River school the children are currently attending has no such facilities. It does have some nice fields in the back in which the children run around and play as best they can.
I understand a playground may seem trivial to many of us adults. But for my children and many of their friends the loss of the playground time during recess and after school is tremendous. Couple that with the loss of their school, and many of them are distraught about this situation.
I know my children will never again attend classes in Memorial School — it is gone. By the time a new facility is completed, my children will be out of elementary school. But it is my hope the school board and the town can somehow build a temporary playground for the children who still miss their beloved school every day. A few swings, some slides and maybe a nice jungle gym would do just great for recess.
Please don’t let these children miss out on the same fun and exercise that kids at the other schools have. Let’s build a playground for the children.
Michael Hill Goldstein
East Brunswick