No Parking at McGinnis School

The Township Council is getting ready to accept bids to sell the McGinnis School property at the intersection of Hardenburg Lane and Dunhams Corner Road, and with that, parking in the area will change.

The council introduced an ordinance Monday that would prohibit parking in the lot at McGinnis School beginning in September and ban parking in front of the school on Hardenburg Lane from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during school days.

“A lot of residents have been used to utilizing the abandoned McGinnis School parking lot as a student drop off area and personal parking area and that’s not going to be permitted as school starts,” said Township Administrator James White.  “We anticipate people will be looking for other spots to park. We’ve notified the Board of Education that effective September we were going to be closing off that area. This is based on a recommendation from the police traffic division.”

In May, the council declared “surplus,” allowing the township to seek alternative uses for the property. The building has been unused by the municipality for years. Township Officials have said it would be a major expense to bring the building up to code.

In March, township attorney Catherine Tamasik said the property is deed restricted for educational purposes and that she is looking into options regarding overcoming those restrictions should the township have no further use for the property. Mayor David Stahl said several charitable groups have inquired about the building, most of which would meet the education requirement.

According to Mark Nonestied, host of EBTV's "On the History Trail," the McGinnis school represents the second generation of schools that were built in the township. The first being wood framed one room school houses.

By the early 1900s many of those buildings were inadequate for education purposes and the improvement came in the form of buildings like McGinnis school. They were usually masonry construction (McGinnis is brick with terra cotta trim) and they had multiple classrooms, central heat systems and large windows for lots of natural light and fresh air. 

For farming families living in rural East Brunswick in the 1920s Mcginnis school, and its nearby neighbor Weber school, were the pinnacle of the educational system in the township, according to Nonestied.