More than 300 students who were expecting to attend classes at Public School No. 3 in Paterson, New Jersey, will be starting the school year elsewhere after part of the first-floor ceiling in the 124-year-old building collapsed.
NJ.com reports that Public School No. 3 will be closed until further notice while the Paterson district carries out asbestos abatement in the facility.
The abatement project will cost an estimated $2.1 million and involve all 21 classrooms and hallway ceilings. It is scheduled to be completed by the first week of January 2024, the district says.
prompting a planned 16-week asbestos cleanup, district officials said.
The partial ceiling collapse was discovered July 28.
The district plans to send the 302 students to three other schools. Students in grades K-2 will be moved to the Dale Avenue School and grades 3-8 to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Complex. A class for 12 students with mild cognitive impairments will be moved to School 28, officials said.
In addition, officials said that 55 students who were mistakenly enrolled at Public School No. 3 will be enrolled in their neighborhood schools.
Public School No. 3 dates to 1899. The district, in its overview, describes the building as “educationally inadequate,” and notes that it does not have a standard gym, cafeteria, media center and separate restrooms for employees.
