Metuchen board construction report: high school addition on track, contingency funds drawn down

The Metuchen Board of Education—s construction committee reported progress on district building projects at its Oct. 14, 2025, meeting, saying most interior HVAC work at Metuchen High School is installed, the cafeteria addition is complete and a gym addition is expected to be finished around December.

The update came during the construction committee report delivered to the full board by Mister Glassberg, who said that "most of the interior HVAC is installed" at the high school and that "the cafeteria addition is complete, although still may not be used at the moment" because of ongoing configuration work. He told the board the gym addition—s framing and rough electrical work are in place and that translucent glass will be added in October, with the addition expected to be complete around December.

Committee members said the new electrical service for the high school is scheduled to be installed during Jersey Week (election week), weather permitting, and that once the electrical work is complete the air-conditioning systems should come online shortly afterward. The committee also reported that soils that should have been removed previously "should be removed at this point," and that the project will require system commissioning after construction finishes.

Why it matters: the projects are intended to restore and expand instructional and community space; delays or budget overruns could affect when spaces are available for school and community events.

The committee also reviewed progress at other schools. At Moss Elementary, the interior courtyard playground construction has begun and full-day kindergarten is operating; the committee said the Moss structure should be completed in time for grade realignment next year. At Edgar, unit ventilators are operating, though a handful of rooms still need motor replacements and system balancing, which may cause some rooms to be colder than others until completed. At Campbell, unit ventilators are working and the cafeteria shades were reported as functioning.

The committee spent part of its closed session discussing budget concerns and said the district—s referendum contingency funds are "essentially used up at this point." Mister Glassberg said the committee hopes to schedule public events at completed school spaces so the community can tour the work when it—s ready.

Committee members also discussed additional work not included in the referendum. Board members agreed to level further drainage areas at Campbell—s outfield after hearing public feedback about drainage issues, and the committee noted continuing work on landscaping and garage doors at Campbell. "That was not part of the referendum, but it is something that we agreed to do after the fact because we found that it would be worthwhile to level out the back field," one board member said during committee discussion as the group described continued follow-up planning.

The committee noted discussion of the ESIP (energy savings) program as a way to evaluate options to reduce district energy costs, and it said school security near construction zones remains a focus. The committee listed its next meeting as Nov. 17 and the next public meeting on Dec. 15.

Quotes from participants were limited to the committee report and the superintendent—s remarks welcoming construction updates; for example, a committee speaker said, "We hope to be able to get in a couple games in January or some type of events in January, to make use of that space." The board did not take any formal votes on construction items at the Oct. 14 meeting.

Ending: The board—s construction committee indicated the projects are moving toward completion, but flagged that contingency funds are nearly exhausted and a small number of system fixes and balancing tasks remain before spaces are fully operational.