PHILLIPSBURG | It's a cause for celebration that even the governor of New Jersey finds worthy of a trip to Warren County.

Monday's groundbreaking ceremony for the new Phillipsburg High School in Lopatcong Township will feature Gov. Jon S. Corzine among the dignitaries, according to Phillipsburg Superintendent Mark B. Miller.

Corzine has made a habit of attending most new school groundbreakings across the state, Miller said.

"He was the force behind it," Miller said of the school funding approval.

The approximately 330,000-square-foot facility is due to open in 2013. The school's $174.4 million price tag is among the most expensive for the more than 50 projects approved for funding by the School Development Authority in the summer of 2008.

Miller said the groundbreaking ceremony, open to the public, is a well-deserved treat for those parents, alum and staff who have been waiting for a new building.

Actual construction on the site will begin Tuesday, he said.

"It means a lot for us," Miller said. "This district well before I got here has been waiting a long time for this school. This district deserves and needs a new school and it's finally happening."