Schools

Wyckoff Schools Win $345K State Grant

Money will help pay for $864,000 worth of improvements to three township schools.

A $345,700 state grant will help pay for over $800,000 worth of facilities improvements at three Wyckoff schools.

Earlier this month, the Christie Administration announced $57 million in schools facilities grants to help fund over 200 buildings projects in 49 Bergen County school districts.

Wyckoff Business Administrator Alan Reiffe announced at a Board of Education meeting Monday that the district had applied for grants to help fund three different projects – a boiler improvement project at Sicomac, and electrical improvement projects at both the Coolidge and Washington Schools.

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The district has already gone out to bid on the boiler project, which Reiffe said will cost over $300,000. The district estimates the cost of the electrical upgrades to be about $250,000 per school.

The boiler project will require asbestos removal as well, which will be an additional cost, he said.

Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We had asbestos removed from pipes at Sicomac last summer, and now we will have the asbestos removed from the boiler," he said. "That work will go out to bid as well."

The total cost of all of the projects, Reiffe said, is estimated at $864,250. Over $500,000 will be paid locally, out of the district’s capital reserve funds.

The district cannot accept the bid or enter into contracts for the work until the state approves its acceptance of the grant money and plan to carry out the upgrades, he said.

Board members said they were pleased with the grant money. Board member and facilities committee chair John Carolan commented that the three projects "have been at the top of the [district's] long-range facilities plan" and that it "makes the most sense for taxpayers" to complete them with the help of the grant money.

District officials said they are hoping to carry out the improvements over the summer.


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