Pinelands Regional High School Shuttered Indefinitely After Construction Mishap, Air Quality Issues

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - After weeks of problems related to roof construction, Pinelands Regional High School will be closed indefinitely, school officials said at a special meeting on Friday night.

District officials have been grappling with asbestos-related problems and air quality since a roofing project began at the school. The decision to close the school indefinitely was made after a roofing screw apparently fell on a student, Acting Superintendent Cheryl Stevenson said, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

More than 200 parents packed the junior high school's cafeteria Friday night for an update.

"All students and staff will be relocated to the junior high school building," high school Principal Sahun Banin said.

The high school will stay closed until the roofing project is done, Stevenson said.

The short term solution is split sessions for both junior and high school students.

Junior high students will report to school on Monday, while high school students will do their work online at home. On Tuesday, high school students will report to the junior high school, while junior high students work from home online.

After that, officials hope to set up split sessions and use the junior high school on Wednesday for all students.

High school students will probably do the first four-hour session and junior high student will do the second session.

“The schedule will be used as necessary throughout the remainder of the construction project. Details will be communicated as soon as they are finalized,” Banin said. “We don’t know how long this will be.”

District officials plan to hold another meeting next week for parents, Stevenson said.

To see the tentative schedules on the district website, click here.

To read the entire story, click here.

Image: Patch file photo.