P.S. 234's Annex to Open Next Year Good news arrived at P.S. 234 last month. The much needed school annex will open next September. “It’s very exciting,” said Lisa Rippirger, P.S. 234 principal. Ripperger said she heard late last month from Councilman Alan Gerson, as well as from a Department of Education official, that the addition to the school would be ready in time for next school year. The 10,000-square-foot annex will be located on the third and fourth floors of a new residential condominium tower to the west of the school. The annex en- trance will face the back yard of the school. There are expected to be five classrooms. Recently the Department of Education (DOE) said the annex would not be ready until 2008, a year later than originally announced. That left P.S. 234 parents and teachers worried that with the school already over capacity, it would become even more crowded next year, especially as thousands of new apartments in the area become occupied. Early last month the school construction authority revised the date to say the classrooms would be ready by September 2007, but that the entrance would not be accessible until November, because the building’s developer would be completing the restoration of the playground in back of the school. David Feiner, an aide to Gerson, said he contacted the developer and was told the playground work would actually be completed in the spring. Within days the School Construction Authority said the annex would be opening in September, according to Feiner. The Department of Education would not confirm any change in the annex schedule. The current enrollment of the school is 695 students, according to Ripperger. That is over the stated capacity, but about 25 students less than the projected enrollment for the year. The school has become squeezed for space in recent years. Two years ago the computer room was eliminated and last year the school was forced to eliminate pre-K classes. It was likely that the science or art rooms would have been lost next year if the annex were not ready. Ripperger said they are planning to move the five kindergarten classes to the annex. She is hoping that by having more classrooms available in the main build- ing next year, they can add another 5th grade class and reduce class sizes. Ripperger said it is too soon to know if pre-K can be reinstated.
|
