Village Elementary School (Montgomery Township, NJ)

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Village Elementary School is located in Skillman, New Jersey. It is part of the Montgomery Township School District. Currently, as of 2006, it is serving 3rd and 4th graders. A few years ago, the school was serving 1st through 4th graders. The school was built in 1999. More information on the website[1].

[edit] Environmental Concerns

Despite being part of an elite school district, the Village School is situated in one of the most disturbing settings of any non-urban elementary school in the United States. It sits squarely in the middle of a tract known as the North Princeton Development Center, a 200-acre campus that, up until the late 1990s, served as a psychiatric facility for severely affected patients. The Village School was constructed in the middle of the campus surrounded by more than 100 abandoned buildings, many of which are dilapidated, boarded up and vandalized. To access the school a visitor must drive at least a 1/2 mile through the vacant grounds -- a creepy ride even during broad daylight.

The property is owned by the state of New Jersey, which has been negotiating its sale to Montgomery Township since 2005. The sale is expected to be completed in 2007, with the township planning to transform the property into a town center, replete with residences, businesses and civic centers. However, there is widespread concern in the township over known (and unknown) environmental hazards and contaminants on the property -- including those in close proximity to the Village School. The fear is that construction activities on the property will disturb those contaminants and endanger not only the 900+ students and staff at the Village School, but also the township's new high school, which sits across the road from the site.

*Source used: http://www.mtsd.k12.nj.us/montgomerytsd/site/default.asp

Some background about the North Princeton Development Center (including photos):
http://robbieknobbie.tripod.com/skillman/skillman.html

Interesting article on the property:
http://www.lizsteiner.com/hauntednj.cfm

News article on the school:
http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/NEWS/701210308/-1/NEWS06