Winter Weather Cancels School, Delays Construction in Princeton

Candace Braun

With the spate of cold weather and snow in Princeton since early December, and the worst prediction Monday from Punxsutawney Phil, Princeton Regional School District is facing a difficult time keeping ahead of the game.

Construction has been delayed all over due to snow and frozen ground, and the final day of school was moved to June 15, already four days behind the anticipated last day of the school year.

"When the ground is frozen, it makes it harder to work on site," said Gary Weisman, director of plant operations. He said the weather "is the one thing we can't control."

School Board officials said they are hoping for the best, despite the Groundhog's Day foreboding forecast, indicating six more weeks of winter.

"We're hoping he's wrong this year, and we won't have more snow," said Lew Goldstein, assistant superintendent for human resources, public information, and community relations for the district.

The January 27 snowstorm brought only four inches of snow to Princeton, according to the New Jersey State Climatologist and the National Weather Service. But on top of existing snow, sleet, and ice, it was enough to close schools last Wednesday.

It was the fourth closing Princeton Schools has had this school year, forcing school officials to postpone the last day of school to June 15, from June 9.

According to Mr. Goldstein, if the schools close more than four more days for weather or other circumstances, the district will be forced to start taking away holidays, so that summer vacation for the students doesn't start later than the June 18 deadline.

The first vacation day the district would take away would be President's Day, on February 16, said Mr. Goldstein. If snow days continue to occur, the district will begin taking days from the students' spring vacation, which is currently scheduled to take place April 5-9.

It is unlikely that four more days will be used, however, forecasts for the coming weeks show the weather is not expected to let up anytime soon.

While two of the days the schools closed were due to snow, one was due to Hurricane Isabel, and another was due to construction problems at the beginning of the school year, which led to the district opening one day late. Unmet building code requirements on the five schools under construction forced the four elementary schools and middle school to hold off on the start of classes.

The high school, which did not begin construction until early December, was also closed an extra day to keep in step with the rest of the School District

The $81.3 million bond referendum for construction on all of the district's schools was overwhelmingly approved in May 2001. Construction began in March 2003.

But only on Monday did permits to begin construction on the high school arrive at the district, said Mr. Weisman.

"Once we have the permits in hand, [construction workers] have the green light to do whatever they need to," said Mr. Weisman. "Site-wise they have managed to get a lot done, and now they can move full speed ahead."

The district did not award a bid for construction on the high school until early October, due to earlier bids coming in too high over budget. Site cleaning, fencing, and the construction of a temporary parking lot at the high school were all taken care of over the last few months before construction permits had gone through.

Construction is continuing on John Witherspoon, however, it is slow going on the elementary schools, due to the halting of all work while a $131,000 ventilation system was installed to prevent breathing problems during construction.

It is due to start back up again soon, said Mr. Goldstein.