Wayne Preakness Library Branch To Close Friday

WAYNE, NJ — It is the end of an era Friday. The Preakness Library Branch will close at 5 p.m., more than 40 years after it was first opened at the Preakness School Annex.

"It's bittersweet. We've gotten used to this place," said Doreen Shoba, the library's acting director. "We understand though, that the Board of Education needs this facility."

There will be a party there Friday as a final send off for the branch and the staff there. The staff will transfer to the main branch at the Municipal Complex. Many books and other materials will also be integerated in to the main branch's collection.

Many of the Preakness branch's patrons are senior citizens. The township has already changed its senior shuttle route and takes older residents to and from the main branch.

The town has leased the annex from the Board of Education, but district officials are repurposing it and the former Preakness School building as part of a plan to bring full-day kindergarten to the district, the last one in Passaic County not to have it. The buildings will accommodate preschool classrooms beginning with the 2020-21 academic year. Full-day kindergarten would begin with the 2021-22 school year at the district's elementary schools.

Roberta Loniewski, president of the Library Board of Trustees, told NorthJersey.com she was "very surprised" by the district's decision.

"We're using the school for a school, which is its intended use. The annex has everything you need for modern elementary classrooms, including sinks and toilets," Superintendent Mark Toback previously said. "After really thoroughly thinking about how we could bring full-day kindergarten to the district, after considering all the budgetary implications, it got voted down twice. The community believes that full-day kindergarten is important, but they don't want to go beyond the 2 percent cap."

Related:

• Wayne Preakness Library Fate Sealed With School Budget Approval
• Wayne Board of Ed Moves to Bring Full-Day Kindergarten
• Wayne Votes Down Full-Day Kindergarten — Again

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com