Frelinghuysen Middle School will look a little roomier this fall as the Morris School District plans to add six new classrooms to the West Hanover Avenue facility.
Superintendent Thomas Ficarra discussed the plan at Monday's Board of Education meeting, saying plans were about to go out to bid for the project. The Wayne firm of Di Cara-Rubino Architects provided the design work for the new classrooms.
The need to expand the West Hanover Avenue school in Morris Township became apparent, Ficarra said, when enrollment rose from 900 to 1,100 students over the past three years. "As we look down at the elementary school grades, enrollment is expected to sustain or get bigger," he said.
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Discussions between the district and FMS Principal Mark Manning lead to the decision to add six new classrooms. In an effort to keep costs down--as well as not sacrifice any field space on the property, the district will be converting space in the main building currently utilized by The Community School and child study teams. Modular offices for those will be built elsewhere on-site.
By doing this, Ficarra said costs were expected to be reduced by 30 to 40 percent.
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Those costs won't be known until a construction company is designated for the project. However, Ficarra noted several times during the meeting the entire project is being paid through existing funds in the district's capital reserve.
"There will be no borrowing of money," he said. "We are paying for it as we go."
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