PERTH AMBOY – Construction of the new $283.8 million, 576,000-square-foot, three story Perth Amboy High School began on Convery Boulevard Monday with a groundbreaking ceremony.
The school, which will serve about 3,300 students in grades 9 to 12, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. It is one of the largest school construction projects undertaken by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, according to the governor’s office.
“We are committed to ensuring that every child in New Jersey has access to a high-quality education,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a release. He was joined at the event by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) CEO Manuel Da Silva, Perth Amboy Public Schools Superintendent Dr. David Roman and city students. “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,” Murphy said.
In addition to classrooms and science labs, the school will include specialized educational spaces such as an automotive lab, culinary arts lab, black box studio, dance studio, ROTC classroom, world languages classroom, life skills lab and a daycare center. The school also will be equipped with 1:1 student technology and energy efficiency systems.
“Today’s 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,” said SDA CEO Manuel DaSilva said in the release.
The school is being built on an 11.63-acre site that formerly housed the Delaney Homes federal housing complex. Perth Amboy Public Schools purchased the land from the Perth Amboy Housing Authority for $7.4 million in 2016 and then the district demolished the pre-existing structures on the site.
“Today’s groundbreaking moves us forward on the promise to ensure all of our students in New Jersey have access to the high-quality public education they need to find success,” said Assembly
Speaker Craig J. Coughlin, D-19th District. “Twenty years in the making, not only will generations of future Perth Amboy High School students benefit from the new school’s facilities, but this construction project is going to be tremendous for the community and local economy through its creation of good paying union jobs. Alleviating the resource stress on the current high school, this is what a successful investment into our children’s futures looks like.”
The Middlesex County Building Construction and Trades Council will be working on the project with the Schools Development Authority, Donald Dinallo and General Contractor Terminal Construction Corp. The project will support more than 2,000 construction and other jobs.
Once completed, the school will be the sixth capital project built by the SDA in Perth Amboy since the inception of the school construction program in 2000. The SDA previously invested more than $150 million in Perth Amboy projects including the Rose M. Lopez Elementary School opened in 2019.
