NEPTUNE, NJ, (October 11, 2008) - New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) and Neptune Township School District officials hosted a dedication today for the formal opening of the Midtown Community Elementary School, which is expected to receive a Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating – the highest level of sustainable design certification awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Students, parents, teachers, residents and area officials attended the event. Tours were conducted of the school, which accommodates 550 students in pre-kindergarten through 5^th grade, and classes for special education and children with disabilities. The ceremony was part of Neptune’s Homecoming Day, which featured a parade and athletic events.

The Midtown Community Elementary School is the eighth school project the SDA has completed in the district.

Superintendent David A. Mooij remarked, "Once again, the Neptune Township Board of Education in partnership with the SDA and New Jersey Department of Education takes the lead in bringing to its students the real world of caring for the environment all in the context of utilizing the school facility as a living textbook. It is being submitted to USGBC for Platinum LEED certification, the first such public school in North America."

Scott Weiner, CEO of the SDA, said, “On behalf of everyone at the SDA, I'd like to say we are very proud of the productive collaboration with the Neptune School District, school board and community that has resulted in the award-winning Midtown Community Elementary School as well as seven other school facilities completed in this township. Together, these projects underscore the core mission of the SDA to build high-performance, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly schools for the benefit of the students and faculty while offering positive resources accessible to the entire community.”

Weiner continued, "Unfortunately, unexpected obstacles resulted in this school being delivered a year later than we promised. Our policy at the SDA is to complete the school first, and deal with any disagreements later with the firms that we hired. We are pleased that SSP Architectural Group, the project designer, and Turner Construction, the general contractor, acted as partners to ensure this school was delivered for the 2008-09 school year and also accepted their share of the financial responsibility for the delay."

Neptune Community Elementary School

The Midtown Community Elementary School opened to students last month. It was delayed for a year due to the development of mold in the exterior walls. The exterior walls and brick façade were torn down and rebuilt to remove the mold. The SDA has recovered a combined $6.5 million from Turner and SSP for errors for the cost of the additional work. Additional funds are being sought through litigation from the project management firm (PMF), Gilbane Building Co., which the SDA ultimately terminated for failing to meet its contractual oversight obligations. Gilbane was terminated from all other SDA projects as well; the SDA determined that it had fundamental differences with the company regarding the role and responsibility of a PMF.

The three-story, 149,000-square-foot facility on Corlies Avenue provides core curriculum subjects as well as innovative opportunities for students in science, math and technology. The school has 38 classrooms, a gym, cafeteria and a rooftop outdoor science lab. The school, geo-thermally heated and cooled, is designed to be a “3-D Textbook.” It features Plexiglas sections of floors, walls and ceilings to reveal aspects of mechanical and other inner workings for students to study as part of the curriculum. It will be a destination for intra-district field trips and provide special instruction, programmed activities and learning experiences for all Neptune students. Community-oriented features include intergenerational tutoring – senior citizens and students working together – a police substation that features the Cops in Schools Program and a health services center.

Aside from the Platinum LEED, the Midtown Community Elementary School also has won two other design awards. Another SDA project in Neptune, Summerfield Elementary School, earned Gold LEED certification. The USGBC LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM is a voluntary standard that defines high-performance buildings, which are healthier, more environmentally responsible, and more efficient and sustainable structures. They are the first public schools in New Jersey to receive such LEED recognition – received by only a few other public schools in the country.

Besides Midtown and Summerfield, other projects completed by the SDA in Neptune include an Early Childhood Center, the Neptune High School Annex and the expansion of Neptune High School, Shark River Hills, Green Grove and Gable elementary schools.

Overall, the SDA has completed 44 new schools and 41 major renovations and additions, along with nearly 500 health, safety and other projects in SDA (formerly Abbott) Districts. An additional 18 are under construction. In addition, the SDA completed 19 projects in Regular Operating Districts, with seven under construction.