Board advances renovations and early‑childhood plans for 777 Bloomfield Ave and John H. Walker Middle School

Nutley schools officials told the Board of Education they are moving ahead on facilities changes intended to expand preschool capacity and reconfigure space at John H. Walker Middle School for the coming year.

Superintendent Bania said renovation work at 777 Bloomfield Ave is in its final two weeks and that furniture deliveries are expected soon, positioning the site to welcome more than 130 preschool‑age students in September. The superintendent thanked the board president and the township for assistance on parking and traffic safety at the site.

The facilities work at John H. Walker Middle School includes clearing former board office space on the ground floor and converting it into two classrooms for the 2026–27 school year, and the board has gone out to bid for media center renovations. The finance committee update likewise reported bids for the middle‑school classroom conversion project and discussed potentially using a cooperative purchasing process (a co‑op) to manage those procurements.

Why it matters: the changes reallocate district facilities to expand early‑childhood offerings and address space needs at the middle school; bids and shared‑service agreements will determine timelines and costs.

Committee members reported additional facility items under review including Lincoln hallway floors, a temporary middle‑school library, digital signage at the high school and middle school, and moving pre‑K classrooms. The finance committee also discussed a shared‑service agreement with the township for the 777 Bloomfield Ave building and the possibility of subleasing the district’s current board office at 371 Franklin Ave.

The board approved finance resolutions as a slate; the finance committee report stated the bid packages for the middle‑school project are under review and that next steps include evaluating bids and deciding whether to use cooperative purchasing. The committee also has begun interviews for a treasurer of school monies position and continues to monitor insurance and cafeteria income statements through June.

Discussion versus decision: the administration provided progress reports and the board accepted the finance committee’s recommendations when it approved the finance slate (decision). Specific renovation contracts and bid awards were not reported as awarded at this meeting (discussion/next steps).

Clarifying details: 777 Bloomfield Ave early‑childhood center is expected to serve “over a 130” preschool‑age students (as stated at the meeting) and renovation work was described as entering the final two weeks. The ground‑floor board office at John H. Walker Middle School has been cleared to create two classrooms for school year 2026–27. The finance committee noted bids for the middle school conversion and that a cooperative procurement option is under consideration.

Speakers quoted in this article come from the meeting record and are attributed to the speakers who made the statements on the public record.