Woodbridge School Board Clears Hurdle for New Hopelawn Elementary School
The board formally approved construction plans Thursday, triggering state review of a project Mayor John McCormac has been publicly building a case for since March.
A Google Street View image of 90 Clyde Ave, in Hopelawn, the planned site for Elementary School #10. (Google Street View)
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Chris Howell | June 19, 2026
The Woodbridge Township Board of Education voted Thursday to submit plans for a new K-5 elementary school in Hopelawn to the state Department of Education for review. The board also authorized a $57,228 payment to the state, a required step before construction can move forward.
The school would be built at 90 Clyde Avenue. Mayor John E. McCormac’s State of the Township address put the target opening at September 2028.
In that March address, McCormac said Hopelawn has not had its own elementary school for more than 40 years and that children in the neighborhood ride buses for more than half an hour each way to attend schools in other parts of the township. He said the commute prevents students and parents from participating in after-school activities.
McCormac also laid out the funding structure. He said the project would be paid for through the township’s PILOT program — payments made by developers of warehouses, power plants, retail centers, and residential complexes in place of traditional property taxes — and not from money collected from everyday property taxpayers.
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The mayor specifically cited the new HMH MetroPark office building and the Brookfield warehouse project on the Perth Amboy border as the sources expected to generate enough revenue to cover debt service on the school and roughly $78 million in broader district construction work scheduled through 2028.
The land itself came through a swap, according to McCormac. The township transferred the Clyde Avenue Park property to the board for the school site. In exchange, McCormac said, the board gave the township the parcel where the former School No. 14 once stood, which will become a handicapped-accessible playground, along with unused acreage on either side of Lynn Crest School No. 22 in Colonia, which McCormac said would remain open space.
The architect is Parette Somjen. The board is also seeking state funding to offset construction costs.
The school would be the 10th elementary school in the district, which McCormac referred to as School #10. Thursday’s vote was taken without discussion as part of a larger block of finance items. No board members commented on the project.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.