New high school building awaits start of school year Circa 1926 building will house special needs students BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - The new state-ofthe art $70 million Long Branch High School building will open for students this September at its new Indiana Avenue location. The new building was constructed on a 47-acre campus that now encompasses both the high school and middle school, according to Superintendent of Schools Joseph M. Ferraina. "Since 1999, we have built and replaced almost every school in the district," said Ferraina, who added that there are 11 schools and approximately 5,000 students in the Long Branch school system. "I feel awesome about it," he said. "I am excited and blessed that I have been able to be here for all of this." The new school was designed to accommodate today's technologies, Ferraina said. It will have the capacity to hold 1,500 students and the classrooms were constructed to be larger than the original classrooms at the old high school in order to accommodate the special needs of students, according to Ferraina. "There are more students with special needs today," Ferraina had said in a previous interview. "Classrooms were once built all one size, now we can accommodate different needs." The school has four stories and each floor will be dedicated to a different grade, Ferraina explained. The original old high school on Westwood Avenue was built in 1926 and was able to hold 600 students. The old structure was renovated throughout the years and enlarged to hold 1,100 students, but the student body was at capacity in the building, according to Ferraina. The old high school will remain intact and plans call for the building to be renovated to a state-of-the-art special needs school, Ferraina said. The school was completely funded by the state, according to Ferraina. According to the New Jersey Schools Construction Corp, the state authorized about $246 million to the construction of new schools throughout the state. Of those funds, about $167 million was awarded to Long Branch. PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff A brand-new state-of-the-art Long Branch High School awaits students at the start of the new school year. The $70 million building has features including spacious classrooms, hi-tech science labs and a fully equipped auditorium and gymnasium.