Veterans Memorial Middle School unveils additions

BRICK — Administrators and Board of Education members couldn’t help reflecting on how far Veterans Memorial Middle School has come in recent years during a dedication ceremony Thursday night for its new wing.

Board member John Paredes recalled a time when classes at the Hendrickson Avenue school were so crowded that students picked up their lunches from a cart in the hallway and ate at their desks. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Philip Nicastro said that when he joined the district in 1992, class sizes were approaching 40, referendums and school budgets were being defeated, and some building conditions were "deplorable."

"If this had been 11 years ago, I would have been talking to you from a field," Assistant Superintendent Mary Ann Ceres, who began her administrative career as an assistant principal at the middle school, said to a crowd of parents in the school’s cafeteria.

But it’s a different day for the middle school, as parents saw firsthand with a tour of its new facilities. Students guided visitors around the school’s 10 additional classrooms, two science labs and locker-lined hallways. Most classrooms were equipped with new Dell computers, and the labs with gas jets, emergency showers and other modern science equipment.

The additions are the result of a $28 million referendum for several school construction projects which was passed decidedly by Brick voters in 2001. Construction costs were offset $8 million by state grants.

"It wouldn’t matter how many hours the board and the administration toiled, none of this would have been possible without the support of the parents," Paredes said.

Work is also under way at Herbertsville, Osbornville, Midstreams, Veterans Memorial and Emma Havens Young elementary schools with an estimated completion date of September for each.

A dedication ceremony will also be held tomorrow night at Lake Riviera Middle School, Beaverson Boulevard. That school will also unveil 10 additional classrooms and two new science labs.