Private school gains approval
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

HOWELL - A private high school to be known as the Monmouth Academy of Scientific Arts will be coming to Howell.

The Planning Board recently approved an application from Bruno DeVinck to build a private high school that is expected to accommodate about 130 students.

According to a report prepared by CME Associates, the school will sit on 20 acres with 725 feet of frontage on Ford Road. The site is about 1,100 feet west of the Ford Road-Route 9 intersection in an ARE-2 zoning district. The property is bordered along the south by the North Branch of the Metedeconk River which serves as the municipal boundary between Howell and Lakewood. The site is encumbered by portions of a 340-foot wide JCP&L easement which traverses the site along the North Branch of the Metedeconk River stream corridor, according to information provided in the report.

The Monmouth Academy of Scientific Arts will be equipped with five classrooms, a laboratory, administrative offices, reception area, library, resource room, gymnasium, cafeteria, 200-seat auditorium and an open play area at the rear of the building.

According to project architect Anthony Zero, the design of the school is non-traditional.

"The school was designed to have a fun setting, where students would want to come and not be intimidated. The

structure is designed in a form follows function [way] and is kept at a low profile to fit with the site," Zero said.

DeVinck said the purpose of the school means more to him than just a business venture. He said he wants to enhance and add to Howell's academics.

"The purpose of the private academy is a specific purpose in science and college preparation. I am a product of a private academy, so I can appreciate and understand the format," DeVinck said. "The purpose of the private academy is to provide quality specific education that will be an asset to Howell."

Voting in favor of the application were board members Christopher Estevez, Russell Bohlin, Township Councilman Michael Howell, Michael Morello, Paul Sayah, Curtis Vislocky, Marlene West and Chairman Paul Schneider.