In response to some residents questioning who paid for sidewalk work that was recently completed at the John Adase Early Childhood Center (ECC), the Roselle Park Board Of Education (BOE) stated at their April 25th meeting that the Roselle Park School District (RPSD) paid to have the sidewalks, blacktop, and driveway repaired at the ECC.
The work is due to an agreement that the board signed with the ECC to restore the center to its original condition. This contract was originally agreed to over a decade ago with a previous BOE and administration.
The work was contracted out so the final bill was not available at the April meeting but the estimate for all work done to restore the center – including the sidewalks and driveway – to its original condition is between $20,000 and $25,000.
According to the BOE, the driveway was repaired then seal-coated and the sidewalks, as well as all the blacktop up to the sidewalks, were repaired.
BOE member Loren Harms stated, “The administration met with Mr. Adase and went over everything and he agreed to it.”
This is the final chapter in the district’s involvement with the ECC as a location to house the district’s pre-kindergarten program. After more than a decade and over $1.4 million in rent paid, negotiations to continue using the private facility located at the corner of West Webster Avenue and Laurel Avenue ended earlier this year without any agreement. The BOE has since instituted a plan that will have the district’s pre-kindergarten program housed in its three elementary schools.