Playgrounds, New Floors, Lights Greet Toms River Students, Staff

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The start of a new school year can be a mix of excitement and nerves. In the Toms River schools the excitement is getting a boost, as students and staff are returning to find improvements that they can see.

Playgrounds. New lighting. New flooring. Parking lots that aren't like games of Frogger for drivers trying to avoid potholes. Improvements that all are courtesy of the $147 million package of projects approved by voters in January and the $17 million ESIP project that started last school year.

At South Toms River Elementary School, students will have a playground for the first time. For years the school's parent-teacher organization had worked to raise money to build a playground, but the price tag was a mountain to climb for one of the smallest schools and communities in teh Toms River Regional School District.

For schools in the district that had playgrounds, some are receiving additional equipment. Others are receiving new equipment to replace old pieces. But all of the elementary schools are receiving items for their playgrounds, according to the project list.

"The playgrounds are 85 to 90 percent completed," Superintendent David Healy said Tuesday, and the remaining work, including surfaces under the equipment — mulch at some schools, rubberized safety surface at others — is expected to be finished by the end of September.

Paving projects at Silver Bay, Washington Street and Hooper Avenue Elementary schools and Toms River Intermediate East are complete, and paving at the John Bennett Indoor Athletic Complex — the "Bubble" — is well underway.

Healy said the paving at the Bubble, which was supposed to be done when the Bubble went up in 2005, will save the district time and money.

With the site paved, students who used the Bubble for gym classes, and athletes and spectators who attend track events there no longer will track mud into the complex on rainy days. No longer will the district need to pay additional personnel to park vehicles efficiently at track meets.

And the paving, which includes drainage work, will eliminate flooding around the site, he said.

The ESIP — Energy Savings Improvement Program — has allowed the district to install LED lighting in all of the schools, which will save money. A new chiller is being installed at Toms River High School North through the ESIP, which funds the projects through the energy saved in the new, energy efficient equipment.

The athletic teams at all three high schools are playing on new turf on the football fields, which replaced turf that was more than 10 years old and out of warranty. The new fields came in $100,000 under budget, Healy said.

The district's list of projects and timelines is on the district website.

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