New Jersey taxpayers are footing the bill for a new high school in Perth Amboy that officials say will alleviate overcrowding.
Dignitaries broke ground on a new 576,000 square-foot, three-story Perth Amboy High School on Monday. The school, estimated to cost $283.8 million, will accommodate up to 3,300 students in ninth to 12th grades.
In addition to classrooms, the school will include “specialized educational spaces,” including an automotive lab, culinary arts lab, a world languages classroom and a daycare center. It will also include “1:1 student technology.”
“This school will not only relieve overcrowding in Perth Amboy Public Schools, but also provide a state-of-the-art facility that will foster learning and success for Perth Amboy students,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in an announcement.
State officials said the new school would be LEED (United States Green Building Council – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. They also touted the “good paying union jobs” the project will support.
The “groundbreaking event for this important project is another step toward addressing the educational facility needs that exist in Perth Amboy and throughout the state, especially those that address district-wide overcrowding,” New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) CEO Manuel Da Silva said in an announcement.
The school will be the sixth SDA-built capital project in Perth Amboy since the school construction program started in 2000. The SDA has already spent about $150 million in school projects in Perth Amboy, including the Rose M. Lopez Elementary School, which opened in 2019.
Representatives for Murphy and the SDA did not immediately respond to a request from The Center Square for more information.
