Company gets $17.5M to demolish school
New facility to rise in place of Passaic high
By: Matt Fagan
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
.....Nearly 79 yeas after Passaic High School opened, it is on the verge of demolition. The New Jersey Schools Development Authority has awarded a $17.5 million contract for demolitions and early site work, marking a significant step toward construction of the district's new $328 million high school.
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The state agency awarded the demolition and early site preparation contract to APS Contracting Incorporated of Paterson.
..... The Paulison Avenue campus opened in May 1957, and local officials deemed it to have outlived its usefulness several years ago. It will face the proverbial wrecking ball later in August [2026] if all goes according to plan.
....."The advancement of this contract will allow for the demolition of a building that no longer meets the district's needs, paving the way for future construction of a modern school facility that will provide the enhanced educational space serve student needs to reach their full academic potential," said Manuel DaSilva, the CEO of the Schools Dev elopement Authority.
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The approved contract's scope includes the abatement, demolition and removal of the former 313,000-squaer-foot high school and all associated site work to prepare the site for construction of a new high school in the Passaic public school district.
..... The school has been vacant since the summer of 2025 as students were assigned to attend other schools in the district until the new high school is ready to open. School administrators said the majority of students attend either School 8 on Fourth Street or School 9 on First Street, both on the city;s east side. Both schools were vacant and were retrofired to welcome high school students in fall 2025.
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Abatement and demolition work will occurs on separate sections of the old building simultaneously, state officials said.
..... The new high school will be an approximately 490,000-square-foot facility designed to to educate a maximum of 2,823, students in grades 9 to 12. completion of demolitions and early site preparation activities is projected to take 14 to 16 months.
..... The state agency anticipates issuing an advertisement for design-build services for the new high school in spring or summer of 2027, state officials said.
Reason for the demolition
..... It makes more sense to demolish the old school, which is undersized and educationally inadequate, and build a larger one, said a February 7 [2026] memorandum about the project from the Schools Development Authority.
..... A review of the existing facility found that "the site is inadequate to further expand the existent structure and significant renovations would be required to address both education program needs and replacement of existing building systems that are either at or near the end of their useful life," the memorandum said.
What will the new school offer?
..... The new five-story building will house tow separate high schools: Passaic High School and the Passaic Academy for Career and Technical Education. The general education art of the high school will allow for a maximum capacity of 1,278 students, and m the Passaic Academy for Career and Technical Education will allow for a maximum of 1,626 students.
..... the designs show 15 shared spaces, including the gyms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, an outdoor growing area, a library/media center, and visual and performing arts spaces.