Now the shelters are applying for a state grant to pick up the slack. The grant application was endorsed at a public hearing Wednesday. The director of the Women's Help Center says they're still working with the federal government to restore the lost funding. That's the decision the Phillipsurg Oscelea School District faces about its 9th Street Elementary school. Architects estimate a new elementary school would cost over six million dollars, while renovations to the present school would only cost 4 and half million.
Many parents say the school is too deteriorated for renovations.
School officials admit some asbestos still remains under floor tiles. But a large portion of residents are on fixed incomes and worry a new school would mean higher property taxes they couldn't afford. Either way, at Wednesday night's meeting many parents said they'd like to see the school board make a decision soon. Some local residents say they don't want their town to be a dumping ground. They took their fight to the Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday night.