Ground broken for Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science

Citing partnership and cooperation, Ocean County officials joined with representatives of Ocean County College, the Ocean County Vocational Technical School, students and parents, and broke ground for a new technology and environmental science academy.

“Education and the environment are two priorities of the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders,” said Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari, who serves as liaison to the Vo-Tech school. “We are celebrating the perfect match as we break ground for the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, also known as MATES.”

The 54,000-square-foot academy, when completed, will have the capacity to house 250 students. The building will be bordered by Ocean County College’s Resource Center on Cedar Bridge Road in Stafford Township and Southern Regional High School.

The construction is a result of the partnership created by the Vo-Tech School District, the college and the Board of Freeholders. In order to bring the academy to fruition, the college signed an agreement to sell 6.4 acres of college property to the Vo-Tech School for $1. The Board of Freeholders is providing $5.3 million toward the construction, while the state is providing $4 million and the Vo-Tech about $2.4 million.

“The construction of the MATES facility is a result of the hard work and vision of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Ocean County Vocational Technical School District’s Board of Education and Ocean County College,” said Nina Anuario, president of the Vo-Tech Board of Education. “These people, along with local Stafford Township and state officials, have worked together to bring this project together.”

The academy, when completed will provide six laboratories including one for physics, chemistry, ecology, technology, oceanography and biology.

It will be shared by the Vo-Tech students and the college, with the Vo-Tech students using the facility during the day and the college in the evenings.

“We are officially breaking ground on a sophisticated vocational-technical facility that, along with the partnership we have formed, will expand the educational opportunities for both the children and adults of Ocean County,” said William P. Hoey Jr., superintendent of the Vocational Technical School. “The Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science will provide cutting-edge educational tools for skilled teachers to provide an integrated and challenging curriculum focused on the Marine and Environmental Studies.”

The academy also will include eight classrooms, two conference rooms, a media center and lecture hall, complementing its neighboring college facility.

“Ocean County is fortunate to have a Freeholder Board that is as supportive as ours. Their support for this collaborative project is a model that is envied by county colleges across New Jersey,” said Dr. Jon H. Larson, president of Ocean County College.

Before participating in the ceremonial breaking of the ground, the Vo-Tech school also was presented a check in the amount of $135,000 from the Ocean County Foundation for Vocational Technical Education.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of partnership when it comes to a project like this,” Vicari said. “The county, the state, the college, the Vo-Tech school, the cooperation from all these groups is what brought us here today.”

David Geeter, president of the MATES sophomore class, also addressed the attendees.

Vicari emphasized that it was the students and their parents who play the most important role in getting a project like this under way.

“These students, these parents — that is the reason why we are here today,” he said during the ceremony. “Without their burning interest, their staunch dedication, their quest for knowledge, none of this would matter.

“This is for you,” Vicari said. “This is for your future.”