Officials
like what they see
Classrooms with a view.
Overcrowded school district considers buying scenic Villa
Madonna site.
Sunday, January 29, 206 • By KAT MAIN •
The Express-Times
ALLAMUCHY TWP. | Elementary school
officials are searching for ways to accommodate an
ever-expanding student population.
"We're already at capacity," said
district Superintendent Timothy Frederiks. "Over the next
five years we will have about 200 more students
here."
The school's enrollment now is 355
students in pre-school through eighth grade.
Each grade is comprised of two classes,
and some grades have more than 50 students per class,
Frederiks said.
In early January, school officials held a
public meeting to outline some of their overcrowding
concerns.
"We have to brainstorm and come up with
ways to house these students, and we want to have everybody
in the community involved in the process," Frederiks
said.
One possibility discussed was using part
of the 32-acre Villa Madonna property on Route
517.
Purchased by an order of Catholic nuns in
1950, the property offers an infirmary that would translate
well into classrooms, Fredericks said.
A mansion built in 1903 by the Rutherford
family also sits on the property.
The idea was well-received by the public,
the superintendent said.
"(Using the Villa Madonna) would do a
number of things that are very important to the community,"
Frederiks said. "It would protect a very large piece of
property that is a beautiful natural gem and part of
Allamuchy's history."
He also said it would be much less costly
to renovate an older building than to build a new
one.
While the school used the infirmary
building, businesses or other schools could possibly use the
vacant mansion, Frederiks said.
Elementary school Principal Seth Cohen
said using the structure would be a wonderful solution to
the school's current situation.
"The landscape is tremendous," Cohen
said. "It's inspiring to look (out the mansion's windows) to
the mountain and look to the lake. It's just beautiful.
Walking through some of the rooms, I could almost envision a
student doing artwork and feeding off of (the
landscape.)"
Although it could be the answer to the
school's overpopulation concerns, moving into the Villa
Madonna building is just an idea at this point, Frederiks
cautioned.
The property is embroiled in
litigation.
The nuns' order is suing the state
because it had planned on selling the property to a
developer to help pay for improvements to a Staten Island,
N.Y., infirmary for aging nuns, according to a lawsuit filed
last year by the order.
But the deal didn't go as planned when
restrictive Highlands Act regulations prevented the
construction of about 210 age-restricted condominiums on the
lakefront site, the suit contends.
Kevin Coakley, the attorney representing
the nuns in the suit, said if the Allamuchy School Board was
interested in purchasing the property it might lead to
resolution of the litigation.
"It's speculation at this point," he
said.
The matter is set to be heard this week,
Coakley said.
Reporter Kat Main can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by
e-mail at kmain@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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