District may weigh office move out of Main Street School
BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District administrators are investigating the possibility of relocating the school district's offices from their present location in the former Main Street School on Main Street in Englishtown.

The possibility of the Manalapan- Englishtown school district central office staff vacating the building where they have been located for more than two decades was first publicly discussed at a recent meeting in Englishtown during a presentation about the revitalization of Englishtown's downtown area.

Information was presented which indicated that the former Main Street School could be transformed into a coffeehouse and/or center for the arts and performances if it became available.

Board of Education President Anthony Manisero confirmed that school district administrators are looking into the possibility of relocating the central offices and have begun tentative discussions with James Wasser, the superintendent of schools of the Freehold Regional High School District. (FRHSD).

The FRHSD has its headquarters in Englishtown's former Pine Street School, which is just behind the old Main Street School.

Manisero said the board would look at any options, including existing properties and facilities.

Manalapan-Englishtown Regional school board Secretary and Business Administrator Joseph Passiment said that in his 15 years of service in the district, school board members have consistently expressed interest in selling the Main Street building and moving to other quarters.

However, Passiment said, doing so would be a significant undertaking with certain proscribed actions which mean it is not something that will happen anytime soon.

According to Passiment, voter permission would have to be granted before the school board could look to build a new facility.

Passiment said in order to sell the Main Street building, the board would have to secure independent appraisals, have the building declared as surplus, obtain sealed bids and declare a minimum price for the old school.

Passiment noted that regardless of how much the old school was sold for, it would not equal the amount of money that would be needed to construct a new building.

"We're willing to look at anything and everything, but in the end we're talking about taxpayer dollars. We need a building that will satisfy the needs of the district," Passiment said.