West Essex Schools Get a Makeover

New Road Construction Management Company presented a slideshow  illustrating upgrades made to West Essex Regional Schools at the West Essex Board of Education meeting on Monday night.

Scott Weitz of Cherry Hill-based New Road Construction and Allen J. Barnett of Wayne-based Di Cara Rubino Architects directed the presentation to the board. 

The board indicated how pleased and impressed they were with all of the work that was accomplished over the summer.

"The place looks absolutely fabulous," said board member David Laible.

"I think that this board recognizes the tremendous, tremendous amount of work and effort on the part of very many people that has gone into our facility and our grounds looking the way it does right now," said Phyllis Helmstetter, board president. "It's night and day."

West Essex Regional High School
The high school underwent the most obvious transformation with the construction of two new science classrooms and two new science labs. One lab will be designated for biology, while the other will be used for chemistry. 

According to Superintendent Thomas McMahon, what was originally designed to be the school store wound up becoming the new deli section of the cafeteria dubbed "Cutting Edge." 

"The carpet was ripped up and tile was laid down, and now it's a make-your-own sandwich station that's in the middle of the bulk cafeterias," McMahon said. 

The faculty lounge in the high school was repainted and redecorated to include leather couches and overhead lights were replaced. New banners were installed in the weight room, new lockers were installed and new windows and screens were replaced throughout the school.  

Renovations in the gymnasium consist of floor resurfacing, acoustical panel replacement, and the installation of new bleachers in the East gymnasium that spell out "KNIGHTS" when closed. 

Security cameras were installed in the ceiling at each crossway between two hallways within the high school. The new cameras have the ability to zoom down the corridor of the hallway offering a greater perspective for security detail. 

Plans to revamp the library and media center are in the works. "We're looking at doing this media center in steps," McMahon said. 

Twenty-five laptops are present at the laptop station in the library, which is now wireless. The library counter has finally been pieced back together to create one uniform reception desk.

McMahon also reported that 6,000 of the 30,000 books in the library have been removed because they were outdated. This 20 percent reduction in books creates more space for the establishment of a closed-off group study section and more Internet usage throughout the library. 

New Road Construction is also looking at whether installing solar panels would be cost-effective for the school. The board first researched the advantages of solar panels two years ago, and the subject is currently being revisited.

West Essex Middle School 
The middle school also underwent renovations over the summer months.

Lockers got a fresh coat of paint. Locker room showers were updated and new lockers were put in place.

Both of the middle school gymnasium floors were resurfaced and additional padding was installed on the walls. The bleachers were also replaced. 

The middle school courtyard was refurbished, with new windows installed and the outside concrete was cleaned. 

Additionally, the restrooms throughout the school were renovated with energy-saving faucets and flushometers. Due to the flushometers being recalled in August, new ones are scheduled to be installed on Sept. 20. 

Security cameras were also installed throughout the middle school, and new carpet was put down in the auditorium. Three modular boilers were also replaced. 

Pre-construction has begun on the relocation of the Child Study Team and the Board of Education offices to the middle school. Two tech labs will be constructed in Rooms 110 and 111 of the middle school. Room 110 will be designated a Professional Development Center which will house conference tables and workstations for computers, while room 111 will be a traditional computer lab for student use. 

Site Work
A new five-foot brick wall, funded by beautification funds, was constructed at the entrance to the schools and letters for the sign will be placed on the wall by the end of the week.

New Road Construction paved the parking lot and repainted the parking stripes and the curbs. Sidewalks have also been built by the middle school and new walkways were constructed up to the athletic stands. 

New goal posts were put in on the football field, blacktop cushion was placed around the track fencing and the rubber has been repaired on the track. The restrooms around the athletic fields have also been made ADA compliant with the installation of ramps.

Future plans include bringing the outdoor bleachers up to code.