By John Burton
RED BANK — The borough’s youngest students are expected to be attending classes at the middle school, beginning Monday, for a week or longer because of the storm damage sustained at the primary school.
The primary school’s approximately 570 students will have to attend the district’s middle school, 101 Harding Road from 8 a.m. until noon.
The middle school’s grades 4-8 students will have classes from 12:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
The district’s primary school, 222 River Road, overlooking the Swimming River, had about 2 inches of water flood the school, damaging carpet, vinyl flooring, some furniture and supplies, said Laura Morana, the district’s superintendent of schools.
“There wasn’t a single section that was spared,” she said.
Teachers will see their schedules modified, Morana said, with the primary school teachers working a 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. schedule and their middle school counterparts starting at 10 a.m. and working until 5 p.m., Morana said.
The district’s insurance carrier immediately authorized the hiring of a cleaning crew for the primary school, which is almost completed, Morana said. The building is still waiting for the floors to be taken care of before students would be allowed back in the building.
Morana hopes the building would be in shape for conducting classes by Monday, Nov. 19, but that is a tentative date, she said.
The school’s library/media center can wait for its carpeting.
“We want the classrooms back in shape to bring the children back,” Morana said.
As of now, Morana couldn’t estimate as to the dollar amount of the damage. Administrators have been working with state Department of Education representatives and those from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), wading through the pile of paperwork to obtain any assistance available, she said.
