By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — When the school house doors swing open Tuesday for the first day of school, students will be welcomed by a host of newly hired teachers and even a couple of new vice principals — one each at the Village Elementary School and the Orchard Hill Elementary School,
Nearly 70 new teachers will take their place at the head of the classroom — more than 40 teachers who are replacing veteran teachers who have retired or who have left the district, and the rest of the new hires who are replacing teachers who are out on personal leave.
That’s in addition to the two new vice principals — Jamie Maccarone at the Village Elementary School, and Karen Dudley at the Orchard Hill Elementary School, said Superintendent of Schools Nancy Gartenberg.
Ms. Maccarone may be new to the position of vice principal at the Village Elementary School, but she is not new to the school district. She taught at the Village Elementary School and the Orchard Hill Elementary School for 15 years. She has led many professional development initiatives for teachers.
Ms. Dudley is coming to the Montgomery Township public school district from the Branchburg school district, where she was a teacher and the K-8 supervisor for STEM and the Arts. She will officially join the Orchard Hill Elementary School team in October. In the meantime, Kathy Sinclair, the school’s health and physical education teacher, will fill in as the interim vice principal.
Summer is also the time when school districts tackle maintenance projects, but this summer was very quiet because of the proposed referendum, said Ms. Gartenberg, the superintendent of schools. Most of the summer projects revolved around removing carpeting and, where appropriate, replacing it with floor tile, she said.
At the Orchard Hill Elementary School, carpeting was removed from two classrooms and replaced with floor tile. Carpeting in two classrooms at the Village Elementary School also was replaced. The replacing of the fire alarm system at the Village Elementary School took place this week, Ms. Gartenberg said.
At the Lower Middle School, soundproof doors are on order for the two band practice rooms, she said. The classrooms are adjacent to each other, and the doors will ensure that students in one practice room are not distracted by students in the adjoining practice room.
At the Upper Middle School, new lights were installed in the auditorium. This will allow ample lighting for the auditorium to be used as classroom space, Ms. Gartenberg said.
Montgomery High School accounted for the majority of summer projects, she said. Those projects include a concrete pad under the stadium bleachers, which will be completed soon, and a pool heater replacement.
An automatic temperature control upgrade was completed, along with training on how to use the new software. It will allow school district officials to control the heating, air conditioning and ventilation at Montgomery High School, Ms. Gartenberg said.
More projects may be on tap, if voters approve a bond referendum later this year. The list has not been finalized — it is being reviewed by state officials — but potential projects include roof replacements at four schools and bathroom renovations at three schools.
In addition, potential projects include resurfacing the track at Cougar Stadium, installing or replacing sidewalks at the high school, and replacement of the running track at Upper Middle School. The tennis courts may be resurfaced.
