Critical Improvements To Chatham School Needed, Officials Tell Borough

CHATHAM, NJ — A local Chatham school with approximately 170 students with special needs, primarily autism, Down syndrome, and multiple disabilities, is in desperate need of improved facilities.

ECLC of New Jersey, a school on Lum Avenue in the former Chatham High School building, celebrated a major milestone this year by reaching a century of operation. ECLC has been based in that building for the last 34 years of this century.

Due to its age and dated design, the school building, which is owned by Chatham Borough and leased by ECLC, is increasingly in jeopardy. ECLC is currently collaborating with borough council members and the borough administrator to find a solution that will allow ECLC to remain a major organization in the borough.

"The immediate concern is the age of the heating system and the inevitability of a failure that jeopardizes our ability to avoid an extended closure that would result in a disruption to the educational program of the 170 students we serve in that building. The initial steam heating system was replaced in 1942 with the current system, now in its 81st year of operation," Peter Petrou, the Executive Director for ECLC, said.

Jason Killian, the current principal of ECLC, has particularly close ties to the Lum Avenue school. His father graduated from that facility when it was known as Chatham High School and his twin brothers, Nick and Chris, both have intellectual disabilities and attended the school as ECLC students.

"Our current location on Lum Avenue is ideal, with its proximity to the train station and walking distance to local businesses and government offices. We are able to teach them how to shop in local stores, order food in local restaurants, utilize the services of the library and post office. We also work cooperatively with local businesses to provide job sampling for our graduating students, enabling them to become productive members of society," Killian said.

While the replacement of the heating system is the most pressing issue with the Lum Avenue building, Killian also emphasized the need to modernize the facility in order to better utilize the space for the services it provides.

The majority of therapy services are provided in poorly ventilated, noisy rooms carved out of closets and storage spaces. Killian believes that improved sensory areas will help students de-escalate and refocus on instruction, and that improved conference room areas will better accommodate IEP meetings and student evaluations.

Another major concern, according to Petrou, is the need to improve security by making appropriate changes to the entrances and modifying the windows, particularly those at eye level for an outside passerby.

School officials expressed concern that ECLC is not immune to school violence, citing the fact that many recent tragedies were committed by people with no ties to the schools involved.

Chatham Borough Council Member Jocelyn Mathiasen and Borough Administrator Steven Williams are looking into funding options for the necessary changes.

"The integration of ECLC into our community has enriched our citizens through daily interaction with ECLC’s students and staff. We believe it is a partnership that has served our community and ECLC’s students well," Mathiasen said. "While it may be easier to consign that facility to redevelopment, in this instance the Borough gains more by maintaining this partnership."

Mathiasen noted that the current arrangement allows ECLC to use the building's surrounding parking lot, playing fields, and playground during the school day while leaving these available for use by Chatham's numerous athletic teams in the evenings and on weekends.

She also mentioned that the building's rent contributes significantly to the borough's annual revenue, amounting to more than $600,000 per year.

However, if ECLC were to leave the current facility, the borough would be left with few options other than selling the property or taking a massive budget hit.

The ECLC and the borough are both actively seeking grants to help fund needed improvements, as well as loan mechanisms, and the ECLC is considering a capital campaign to raise donations.

According to Mathiasen, any effective solution will almost certainly require the combination of all three of these mechanisms.

"ECLC and Chatham Borough have an extraordinary, symbiotic relationship and it would be a huge loss for both of us if this relationship came to an end," Chatham Borough Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz said.