Despite Irene South Brunswick Schools Open for Business

After a hectic final week of summer vacation that included an earthquake and a hurricane, the South Brunswick School District will open its doors today for the official beginning of the 2011-12 school year.

District staff was faced with a few anxious moments after Hurricane Irene knocked out power for a number of days last week in some school facilities, while other schools were inaccessible due to road closures. But district officials said everything has been settled and cleared as they anticipate getting back to business.

"We're anxious and ready for another year, because there's always something neat about new beginnings," said Superintendent Gary McCartney. "We're in good shape, we did have a few places where water came in, but we're not being held up by any aspect of Irene now."

School buildings throughout the district sustained minor flooding and wind damage from the storm. But coupled with the loss of electric power for part of the week and the need to fix the damage that occurred, the district faced several challenges and pressure was placed on employees to conduct cleaning and maintenance tasks in time for the new year.  

"Starting on Sunday, August 28, while roadways were still flooded and the winds were gusting, dedicated members of the school district's staff made their way to each building to assess damage and commence repairs and cleanup," said Director of Buildings and Grounds John Bruff. "The custodial crew at each school, the maintenance crew for the district, and the district's grounds crew all worked long and hard to overcome the consequences of Irene's visit to South Brunswick."

Dr. McCartney credited the hard work of staff members throughout the district for getting back up to speed last week when faced with horrific driving conditions and power outages that delayed preparation work for the new year. All in all, he said the damage from Irene could've been much worse than it was.

"There was no serious damage," he said. "There was a tree at Greenbrook that fell near the school, we had some roof leaks, but the damage didn't hold us up at all. There was some work that needed to be followed up on where there was water on the floor. We needed to get some tree work done, but these are issues that were taken care of right away. Our staff puts in so much work to get the schools in sparkling shape for the new year, so this was some additional work, but it's nothing they couldn't contend with."

At South Brunswick High School, there were a few small problems, including minor water damage and some downed large tree branches, but all routes to the school have been cleared and SBHS is ready to go Tuesday.

"We were reassured that we should have no issues getting students to us and no worries about opening the building," said Assistant Principal Peter Varela. 

In an effort to make the SBHS campus safer for students, the tennis court entrance to the school off Stouts Lane is now one-way only during the morning drop-off period.  Parents will not be able to drop off students in the bus area that is parallel to Stouts Lane.  

Parents entering the one-way entrance by the tennis courts can drive around the building to drop off students at the athletic area entrance before exiting the campus at the front of the building.  Drivers are prohibited from turning around to re-enter the now one-way path by the tennis courts. Parents are also asked to refrain from making U-turns on the campus during the morning and afternoon high-traffic periods.

Dr. McCartney said one of the biggest changes for the upcoming year are , which is something parents need to be cognisant of as the new year progresses. The law requires the district to implement a 22-page anti-bullying policy, appoint a site coordinator at each school and one for the district, expand the requirements for reporting incidents of bullying and provide training for faculty, board members and administrators.

Under the new state law, schools will now be required to include harassment and intimidation in reports on bullying. Single incidents – as opposed to patterns of bullying- will also be reportable under the law.

"We've been working really hard to get everybody trained and we want to get parents to do some training with the PTO," Dr. McCartney said. "It's going to be crucial that everyone focuses on the behavior of students and is able to discern what is harassment and intimidation. This policy is one of the most important differences from last year as this year starts."

There will also be an additional presence from South Brunswick Police at district schools this week to ensure the safety of students and to keep motorists aware that a new year has begun.

"Every year the South Brunswick Police Department provides an additional presence around all the schools as we get started," Dr. McCartney said. "I can't say enough good things about our police department, they do everything they can to work with us."

As the new year begins, Dr. McCartney said the freak occurrences of an earthquake and a hurricane during the final week of summer were much less problematic for students and parents than it would've been during the opening week of school.

"While there were certainly inconveniences, we're fortunate to have the support that we do," he said. "I applaud the efforts of everyone involved with the storm cleanup. Had the storm happened a week later things could've been more difficult, but we're fortunate it happened when it did and we had time to get everything in ship shape. With an earthquake and hurricane, if there was a checklist for these kinds of things and we checked those two off and got them out of the way, I'd be happy with that."