What NJ will spend to build a new high school in Paterson. Advocates say more is needed
PATERSON — The state has set aside $160 million to build a new high school at the former Paterson Catholic property, but local education advocates say the city needs many more new schools than that.
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority said it already has begun preliminary engineering work on the new high school and that the design work won’t be done until the end of next year.
The state agency has not released any information about when construction may start or when the new school would open.
Advocate: 'a Band-Aid on an amputation'
“That’s nice,” Paterson teachers union official Charles Ferrar said of the plans for the new high school, “but we’ve got 17 schools in this city that are more than 100 years old. What about them?”
The SDA approved the $160 million Paterson high school project at its meeting on July 5. About three weeks later, a ceiling collapse at Paterson’s School 3 resulted in the shutdown of that building and transfer of its 302 students to other schools.
Rosie Grant, head of the Paterson Education Fund advocacy group, said the School 3 ceiling collapse was “symptomatic of a larger problem.” Officials at the SDA said Paterson ought to use its annual funding for maintenance and emergent repairs to address situations like School 3.
“That’s putting a Band-Aid on an amputation,” Grant said. “That building ought to be demolished and rebuilt. That’s what we were promised in the state’s 2005 strategic plan.”
Ferrar and Grant were among a group of Paterson education advocates who attended the SDA’s Oct. 4 meeting to demand more money for additional new schools. The New Jersey Supreme Court decided decades ago that the state was responsible for new school construction projects in Paterson and 30 other low-income cities.
Parents and staff members from School 3 have been complaining because local education officials are not telling them when the school may be reopened.
Local education advocates said Paterson was lucky the School 3 ceiling collapse happened in the summer, without children and staff members in the building. They warned of risks at the city’s other schools that are older than 100 years, buildings that they say have been poorly maintained because of the district’s financial problems.
“What’s to say another wall or ceiling won’t collapse with children inside?” asked school board member Jonathan Hodges. “Who’s going to tell them we couldn’t afford it?”
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How big would the new building be?
Meanwhile, the new $160 million school is projected to have a capacity for 1,200 students, which would make it Paterson’s third-largest high school, after Eastside and John F. Kennedy.
The new school would contain Paterson's STEAM program as well as its high school classes for children with special needs, known as STARS Academy. At present, STEAM and STARS operate out of the old Paterson Catholic building, which would be demolished after the new school is built, officials said.
Paterson’s new superintendent, Laurie Newell, welcomed the planned school.
“The importance in providing modern facilities to our students cannot be over-emphasized,” Newell said. “Amongst many professions, there has been an ever-growing need for STEAM education. We want to provide our students with the best preparation for their future careers that is available. The funding gives the district an opportunity to create the state-of-the-art spaces that students deserve.”
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson, NJ: New high school planned by NJSDA
