For some Paterson, N.J. students, first day of school meant an entirely new location
PATERSON, N.J. -- On this first day back to school, hundreds of Paterson students were forced to relocate to other schools after their school's ceiling caved in over the summer.
There's always those back-to-school jitters, but the feeling is doubled when, last minute, you have to go to another school not in your neighborhood because your original school was deemed unsafe.
One by one, school buses pulled up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School on East 28th, but a couple of them arrived with a group of new kids and parents from another school.
"Something scary. It's a huge school, but I am confident about the teachers and and the principal," parent Graciela Tatis said.
Back in July, Public School No. 3 on Main Street was temporarily closed after its ceiling collapsed.
"I can tell you quite honestly when the ceiling collapsed, I just shut everything down," Paterson Schools Superintendent Laurie Newell said. "My biggest concern was the safety and security of our students."
Newell said the administration scrambled to alert parents that their kids would be sent to other schools.
"They didn't notify us until the last week. It was a stressful process for me," Tatis said.
Her son said it's a change, but he's excited.
"I was in my school where I knew it everywhere. But the school is going to be so big," he said.
In all, 302 students K-8 from Public School No. 3 were broken into groups. Special Ed students are going to School 26, K-2 students to Dale School, and 3-8 to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School.
"We are keeping them in their cohort so kids who are at School 3 are staying in 3, and the teachers are staying with their students from School 3. So there's not going to be commingling," Newell said.
There's no word yet on how long it will take to fix Public School No. 3.
"Some of the minor repairs are already underway. Some of the major repairs ... wouldn't be able to give you a timeline just yet," school board commissioner Manny Martinez said.
So now some parents at MLK are worrying about space long term.
"They have nowhere to go. We have to take care. There's going to be a lot of kids," parent Olga Sanchez said.
Her daughter, Ariana, is excited about a whole other group of students.
"Kids, new kids that I didn't know before," Ariana said.
There's also the question about who is paying for the estimated $2.1 million in repairs. CBS New York reached out to the state. The New Jersey Schools Development Authority responded in a statement saying "The Paterson School District can determine how best to utilize the Fiscal Year 2024 Capital Maintenance and Emergent Funding."
It's estimated students from P.S. 3 will be at MLK for at least four to five months.
