By KARA L. RICHARDSON Staff Writer
Published in the Courier News on December 20, 2004
MONTGOMERY -- Anne Marie Weber can be downright giddy when talking about the new Montgomery High School, a project that she has worked on for the past six years. "I love seeing it come alive. It was a just a plan on paper," Weber said about the construction.
Weber, who was the district's high-school principal for 16 years, dedicated herself full-time to the project two years ago. She serves as assistant to Superintendent Stuart Schnur and will retire from Montgomery Township Schools about two months after the school's ribbon cutting on April 16. It is expected to officially open in September 2005, one semester behind schedule.
In 1998, Weber started working on the building specifications of the $57 million high school on Route 601 southwest of the intersection of Skillman Road. The more than 100 classrooms will stem from the school's central commons area, which will seat 600 students.
The new commons will replace the existing high school's cafeteria, which is so small that there must five lunch periods, beginning at 9:30 a.m., to feed all of the students, Weber said.
The new school could fit 2,100 students, a number based on township population projections for the next decade.
The existing high school was built to fit 875 students, so 17 trailers have been brought in to accommodate the enrollment, which has surged to about 1,400. When the new high school opens next fall, that number is expected to exceed 1,550 students, she said.
"You don't want to be hampered by a building," Weber said, before switching from red heels to a pair of grubby shoes to tour the dusty construction site.
There are palettes of ceiling tiles, lights hung with protective coating and doors yet to be hung in the corridors of the high school. Much of the heavy lifting and infrastructure is done. Weber just recently was able to walk through the project without a hard hat.
"It's really beginning to take shape," Weber said before stepping in the aquatic center, where workers were binding together the mold for the six-lane swimming pool. A large green tile "M" for Montgomery was already on the wall.
Planners didn't want the 400,000 square-foot building to feel too big. So the four administrators offices will be split up into four different areas.
Weber said students will likely have an extra minute between classes because of the size of the building. It takes a while for kids to get to class in the existing high school because the hallways are bottlenecked with congestion.
Weber glows when talking about the 1,000-seat performing arts center with orchestra pit. She was involved with drama programs when she was a teacher.
"I'm just so pleased that the school can have this kind of facility," Weber said.
Francine Bridy, an electrician with IBEW Brotherhood of Electricians Local Union 269, has been working on the project for 13 months now. She can't begin to count the miles of wire she has installed in the school.
"This school is unlike any school that I've done," Bridy said. That's because all of the lights in the building are operated by switch and motion-detector to conserve energy. When there isn't movement in approximately 12 minutes, the lights will shut off, she said.
Bridy spent Wednesday making sure the electrical work was complete on the second floor, collecting loose wires and making sure every single switch worked. There are 1,300 switches in the classrooms alone.
The building was originally set to open this month. Severe weather during the winter and a wet summer in 2003 set construction back more than 90 days. Structural steel for the new 356,000-square-foot building started going up in December 2002. When the new building is complete, the old high school will be used to alleviate overcrowding at the elementary school.
- Kara L. Richardson can be reached at (908) 707-3186 or krichard@c-n.com.
Adding up Montgomery's new High School:
Location: Route 601 southwest of the intersection of Skillman Road. The site, bought from the state, was the former Lloyd McCorkle Training School for Boys.
Grades: 9-12
Size: About 400,000 square feet
Classrooms: More than 100
Computer labs: Six
Stories: Two
Estimated completion date: September 2005
Source: Montgomery Township Schools
Special meeting to discuss the new school's progress:
If you go: The Montgomery Township Board of Education will hold a joint meeting Jan. 4 with the Montgomery Township Committee to give an update about the high-school project, budgeting and funding issues, use of the new facilities, expanded shared services and other matters. The stadium, pool and performing arts center will be discussed. The 7:30 p.m. meeting will be in the current Montgomery High School media center, 375 Burnt Hill Road.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com
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