GARWOOD — Garwood Public School District Superintendent Christopher Kinney presented the district’s Long Range Facilities Plan for 20242029 at the board of education’s June 20 meeting.
GARWOOD — Garwood Public School District Superintendent Christopher Kinney presented the district’s Long Range Facilities Plan for 20242029 at the board of education’s June 20 meeting.
The plan includes an overview of the facilities and existing structures, a summary of structural needs, building maintenance plans, an overview of existing technological frameworks, a summary of technology needs, student population data disaggregation, staffing analysis, room utilization, security measures and a borough development plan. During the span of this five-year plan, the potential costs for these upgrades and infrastructure remediations/maintenance could total up to $2,335,290.
Heating and air conditioning could cost up to $30,000 each; replacing the main heating and cooling systems would cost $35,000; boiler maintenance costs would be $32,000 and the replacement of three boilers would cost $475,000.
Full replacement of Lincoln School’s roofing would be around $1,200,000. Heating, ventilation and cooling maintenance would be priced at $16,000 annually, totaling $80,000 for five years. Elevator maintenance would cost $5,600 annually, and $28,000 over the course of five years.
Server maintenance would cost $16,000 at Lincoln School and at Washington School it would be $12,000. Replacing the Meraki ethernet switches would be priced at $94,000 at Lincoln School and $47,000 at Washington School. Cabling at Lincoln School would cost $6,700. Replacing the firewall would cost $12,500 at Lincoln School and would cost $4,500 at Washington School. Upgrading PCs would cost $36,000 at Lincoln School and $10,000 at Washington School. Upgrading the Chromebooks at Lincoln School would be $150,000. Upgrading document cameras would cost $4,800 at Lincoln School and $1,600 at Washington School. Access points replacements would cost $20,500 at Lincoln School and $10,000 at Washington School. Upgrading IP cameras would cost $15,000, upgrading ID scanners would cost $800, upgrading badge printers would cost $1,000, upgrading computer stations would cost $1,600 and the visitor-management software annual license fee would be $4,590.
Superintendent Kinney called it a fluid plan and said the replacement/ upgrades for the oldest items will be prioritized. The costs cited are only to be used if equipment were to break down or need to be replaced; if there is no need to replace it, then it will stay as is. If these costs can be afforded, they will be presented in the annual budget.
Lincoln School’s structural needs include waterproofing, roof repairs as needed, air-conditioning inspections and upgrades as necessary, boiler inspections, pest control, fire-alarm tests and inspections, elevator inspections and service and asbestos abatement.
Washington School’s structural needs also include waterproofing and roof repairs as needed, as well as classroom flooring, split-unit heating, cooling rooftop units, heating and cooling inspections, pest control and fire-alarm inspections and tests.
In this five-year plan, Lincoln School will replace its Chromebooks, printers, content filters, firewalls, servers, switches and access points when necessary.
The board projects that there will be an increase in student enrollment at both Lincoln and Washington Schools during the 2026-2027 school year, as the district accommodates families who will reside in the Paperboard complex. The number of eligible preschool students in the area, also known as Preschool Universe, for Garwood is 73 students, as defined by the NJDOE. The Garwood Public School District must accommodate 90 percent of this number by the 2027-2028 school year.
Lincoln School will see the addition of five IP cameras and a new visitor-management system, while Washington School will see a new door-engagement locking system as well as five IP cameras.
The borough development plans show that the first and second Vermella buildings are filled to capacity and in total house 15 current students from Washington and Lincoln schools.
The Paperboard complex is predicted to start renting in Fall 2025, and though this site is smaller than the Vermella, it is still predicted to bring more students to Washington and Lincoln schools.
“I wanted to make sure that when [this plan] was created, it was created so that it was user-friendly and understood to someone just looking at it,” Superintendent Kinney said.
Other members of the community who contributed to this plan besides Superintendent Kinney and members of the board of education are Bernadette Pinto, business administrator; Mary Emmons, Lincoln School principal; Oscar Lucero, maintenance supervisor; Jonnathan Zhindon, technology coordinator;Albert DelConte, facilities chair; April Farrell, board of education president; Luke Miller, Garland Associates; District Advisory Committee; Garwood Mayor Jennifer Blumenstock and Garwood Planning Board member Bill Nierstedt.
The Garwood Board of Education will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, August 20.