Ringwood Public Schools Facilities Blog

The Ringwood Board of Education is preparing for it’s most difficult year yet.  For the current year, we had an increase of more than $500,000 in health benefits and Governor Christie cut our state aid by more than $1,000,000.  Our budget was voted down in last April’s election and the municipality cut our 2010-2011 budget by another $417,000.  We are facing the current school year with $2,000,000 less in funding than we expected.  Obviously, there are no available funds for repairs and renovations in the Ringwood School’s budget.  It is at this time, we find that the roof in the modular units at Hewitt is in dire need of repairs or replacement.  Mold has also been detected in the modular section of the school.  Analysis showed that the mold is of no immediate harm to students or staff, but due to the structural problems and the mold, the Board of Education closed that section of the school.  One of the concerns of the board is that dampness under the modulars provides an environment for other molds to take hold.

The Ringwood Board of Education arranged for a structural engineer to evaluate the roof and the corridor in the affected area of the Hewitt School modulars.  We also brought in an engineering firm to evaluate and analyze the mold situation.  The Hewitt modulars are currently 51 years old.  Their original life expectancy was 10 to 15 years.  Due to our excellent maintenance and custodial staff, we were able to triple the useful life of the modulars.  However, for the benefit of our students and on-going education in Ringwood, it is time to do something about this situation.  The engineering report recommended that most or all of the modulars be replaced or removed.

The public is invited to attend our Referendum Committee meetings and provide input into the course of action that the Ringwood Board of Education selects to resolve these situations.