At a recent board of education meeting in Fort Lee, New Jersey, school officials made a space and cost-effective case for spending $170,000 a year for 12 full-size modular classrooms to accommodate the additional 100 students expected this coming fall. Four small classrooms at a nearby church the school board has been renting for special needs pre-schoolers has been $692,000, and to retrofit other churches and/or community centers would cost $400,000, not counting staff, utilities and other fees that could drive the cost up to $1 million a year, as northjersey.com informs MHProNews.com. While some parents in this high-end community across the Hudson River from Manhattan express disdain at the use of modular classrooms, school officials maintain it is the only feasible alternative until voters agree to fund a 12 room extension of the school building. ##

(Photo credit: Joe Bryksa/winnipegfreepress.com–modular classroom in Canada)