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Neptune school officials plan to change the location of a swimming pool from the Midtown Community School to the high school.
By ELLEN CARROLL
The Olympic-sized swimming pool planned for the Midtown Community School in Neptune will be relocated to the high school on Neptune Boulevard under a new plan from the Board of Education.
School Superintendent David Mooij said the pool is being relocated because of the high water table at the Midtown Community School site at Corlies Avenue and Memorial Drive.
A feasibility study showed that it would be difficult to work there and would require a different type of construction, Mooij said. Space for it has been approved at the high school site. Nothing else has been changed. It is just a relocation.
Mooij said the board is still working with the $5 million allowance from the state for the pool. That figure was drawn up three years ago and Mooij acknowledged supplies have gone up since then. He said money would be saved, however, because costly pilings would not have to be installed.
The NJ Schools Construction Corporation is the contractor.
Our understanding is that the money is there and has been allocated for the project, Mooij said. The deal has not changed.
Mooij said school officials are moving ahead with the redesign for the high school to include the pool. The Midtown Community School, instead of featuring the pool, will now include green space and more open space.
Under the boards new plan the pool, which will be used by students as well as the community, will be located at the north end of the high school, facing Heck Avenue. It will be adjacent to the new gymnasium.
The high school is currently undergoing a $55 million construction project that is renovating the existing 128,000-square-feet.
The renovation will more than double the buildings size. In addition to expanding the existing classrooms to meet state standards, the high schools 134,000-square-foot expansion will include a 1,500-seat auditorium, a two-story library, a three-story math and science wing and a high technology wing.
The high school renovations and additions should be completed by June. Students will return to the building in September.
Mooij said relocating the pool to the high school is a positive move for the educational community.
We wont have to transport high school students for physical ed, he said. The students would have to get on a bus. There would have been a lot of down time. Also there will be more parking. At midtown there would be 95 parking spaces. At the high school site there will be approximately 450 spaces.
I really believe stuff happens for a reason. The board and I dont feel good about not being able to deliver the pool to the midtown area, but on the other hand, more important, was to have this for Neptune.
Mooij said school officials hope to introduce additional sports and activities for students in connection with the pool. They might include scuba diving and canoing. The board also plans to make the pool available to the community through some type of membership.
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