Remaining funds may pay
for repairs at high schools
Auditorium at FTHS
cited as one facility
requiring attention
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Money left over from a $69 million construction project may be used to make repairs at several schools in the Freehold Regional High School District.

District administrators discussed the proposed work during a Jan. 12 Board of Education meeting held at Colts Neck High School.

The recently completed construction projects saw major structural upgrades completed at the district’s high schools. Now, administrators are planning to use the remaining funds for capital projects that will not have to be included in the 2004-05 budget.

Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said about $775,000 remains from the $69 million package voters approved several years ago.

He said the first project administrators want to complete is the renovation of the auditorium at Freehold Township High School.

He called it "the worst auditorium in the district."

"Some of those seats are atrocious, if you’re lucky to get a seat," he said. "It’s time for that auditorium to get done."

He said another project would be to install air conditioning in the auditorium at Freehold Township which would, after the renovations, hold about 1,000 people instead of the present 750 to 800.

Administrators are also considering making repairs to the running tracks at some of the high schools.

"During the Thanksgiving Day football games I became aware that the tracks are in very bad shape," Wasser said.

"In some cases there are literally craters that have developed, where the tracks cannot be used, [at] Freehold Township and Manalapan. We would like to fix the ones that are in very bad shape and resurface the ones that need it."

Ilse Whisner, the district’s public information coordinator, said the tracks are being assessed by an architectural firm.

She reported that all of the tracks in the district will have some kind of work done, but the track at Colts Neck High School will likely need only minimal work.

"Those are the two items, auditoriums and tracks," said Wasser. "That will take us to a zero balance on the referendum funding."

By using the remaining referendum funds for these two projects, there will be no need to add them to the capital projects for this year, he said, adding that the time to get the work done is now because future budget funding may not allow for these projects to be completed.