Board takes first step toward a new $498 million, 30-year lease for a new Ironbound elementary school

What happened

The Board of Education authorized Newark Public Schools to seek state approvals for a 30-year lease at 56 Freeman Street in the Ironbound for a new Riverfront Elementary School, sized for about 667 students in a 151,295-square-foot building. The district's own public hearing notice put the estimated cost of the lease at $498,397,000, funded with district funds. This is the first step in a multi-year approval process, not a final commitment; the board still must give final approval of lease terms once state reviewers (the Commissioner of Education, the Local Finance Board, and the State Comptroller) sign off, and the school is not expected to open until fall 2028.

Why it matters to families

This is one of the largest facilities commitments the district has taken on in the past year, tied to real enrollment growth in the Ironbound, and it will shape a 30-year budget obligation and a new school option for East Ward families years before it opens.

The evidence

The district's own public hearing notice for the proposed facility lease states the estimated cost as $498,397,000, and its press release describing the March 25, 2026 hearing and March 30 board authorization gives the location, size, capacity, and 2028 opening target.

The source