NEW CHS OPTIONS DISCUSSED, INCLUDING COSTLY POOL IMPROVEMENTS

The News-Record this week has a good round-up of the options for Columbia High School and its pool that were recently discussed:

MAPLEWOOD / SOUTH ORANGE - With an aging pool facility and an expected surge in students predicted for the coming years, Maplewood and South Orange leaders met Monday night, June 17, with the local Board of Education to discuss options for readying Columbia High School for its future, with a focus mainly on the school’s pool.

“As you know, there’s limited life (for) the existing swimming pool,” Cheryl Schneider, business administrator and secretary for the Board of Education, told those in attendance. “When we had unanticipated costs last fall, we actually had closed the swimming pool and were able to have an incremental cost of just about $30,000 to get another two years out of the swimming pool.”

Schneider emphasized the need for a plan to be in place — one that will keep the high school modern and able to meet the towns’ needs through the 2024-2025 school year. According to Schneider, this plan needs to take into account the expected student enrollment, which, at its peak, could theoretically be approximately 2,100 to 2,200 students — an increase of more than 700 students.

See the entire story HERE.