The Week Ahead: Brookside School and Squad Building Reopen; State Aid; Learn 'How to Patch'

Here's a look at some of the stories patch is working on for this week.

Posted Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 1:04 am ET|Updated Sat, Feb 25, 2012 at 1:06 am ET

The will receive $2.2 million in state aid for the 2012-13 school year, which represents a 25 percent increase. We'll break down the numbers and reveal how the additional state aid will affect the school budget and taxpayers' wallets in the coming year.

will welcome students back to the building, which was closed in August as a result of extensive damage due to Hurricane Irene. Improvements to the building including new flooring, walls, electrical systems and a paint job were completed. Students will return to the building in two groups over the course of the next week.

The met recently to discuss flodding issues in the township, as well as on a regional basis. The committee restated its support for the Township Committee to implement stabilization of the river levy-this remains a dangerous situation all know about. In 2011 the Township Committee made this a priority and engineering work was commissioned. Funding and allocation is now required.

After months of not being able to occupy its "squad house," due to flood damage from Hurricane Irene, the Cranford First Aid Squad returned to its headquarters Sunday. Local, state and county officials joined the volunteers for a rededication ceremony and an open house to allow members of the public to tour the renovated building. Our story will reveal the work that went into the upgrades and reactions from the public.

Cranford Patch will host its first How to Patch Night. the event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at , 26 Eastman St. in downtown Cranford. The event will give business owners an opportunity to learn how Cranford Patch can help them promote their business. Patch staff will explain how to claim listings in our business directory, how to make the most of social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and FourSquare, and how to upload photos to Cranford Patch. For information about How to Patch night, contact Local Editor Toniann Antonelli at Toniann.Antonelli@patch.com or 908-380-1403.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here