Sayreville inches closer to solving high school parking issue

Cheryl Makin, MyCentralJersey.com
·2 min read

SAYREVILLE – The school district is a step closer to clearing a school bus jam at the high school.

School board members last week advanced resolutions on a proposed new transportation complex, recommended by Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe.

The resolutions awarded a $5.6 million bid for development of the complex to James R. Ientile, Inc., of Marlboro, with the funding coming from the district’s capital reserve funds.

The Borough Council and the Board of Education in March 2022 agreed on a plan where to park the buses.

Instead of building a new facility at Selover School, a controversial proposal that generated neighborhood opposition, the new site is on the north side of Cheesequake Road between the entrances to the ballfields and the DuPont factory.

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Attorneys from the borough and school board currently are in the process of agreeing on a land lease agreement, Labbe said, adding he hopes the agreement will be approved this month.

The new facility would be a joint transportation center for the school district and borough, including the Department of Public Work's facility as well as accommodating about 60 district-owned school buses.

The need for a bus depot arose after the school district decided to switch from a private contractor for transportation to provide the service in-house in 2017. But there was not enough room at the high school for the all the buses, which caused other issues.

"We made a decision in 2017 to purchase our own buses, due to issues with the vendors," Labbe said in 2022. "We absolutely need a complex. We're really in a tough spot. There is only one big garage at the high school and that's 60 years old. Our mechanics, our drivers, our bus aides and our support staff deserve a complex."

Labbe said the buses are currently "gobbling up all the parking spots at the high school."

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Sayreville NJ inches closer to solving high school parking issue