Several parents have asked the question, "Why Not Use Trailers?" to house the grade 7 and 8 students during the middle school renovations. This option was explored, but there are several factors that cause classroom trailers not to be a viable option.
First, there would need to be a considerable amount of classroom trailers in order to house students for classroom work for the entire 2011-12 school year. In order to deliver the current instructional program to students in grades 7 and 8 there would need to be approximately 25 classroom trailers.
Classroom trailers would only work well at a site where there is a present school facility and enough space to locate the trailers in an appropriate location. There would need to be additional space for a cafeteria, gym, office, and, of course, adequate restrooms. Housing classroom trailers at the current middle school site is simply not an option as it is too crowded, and the building would not be available during the renovation process.
Additionally, there must be access to adequate utilities such as electric, waste/sewage, etc. in order to accommodate a large number of classroom trailers. The site would also need to be developed to ensure proper and safe access for bus and other vehicular traffic. Providing such a site is not only difficult to find, but the cost of the trailers, the site development, tap-in-fees for utilities/water/sewage, site-work for traffic, and, of course, the rental of any additional facilities such as an office, nurse, gymnasium, cafeteria, etc. would make this option extremely expensive. There would also be significant issues related to student safety and security. Finally, zoning would be another major hurdle as a borough or township would have to grant permission for a "classroom trailer park" site.
