Funding Alert

In September 2006, the Governor’s Interagency Working Group for School Construction published their Third Report describing reform proposals for the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC). Since then, many of those proposed reforms have been realized in legislation passed by both houses of the state legislature. The pressing issue now becomes how the State will fund this reformed process by providing the resources required to build the schools our children need.

The new authority will be named the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) and will be "in, but not of the Department of the Treasury." Previously, the SCC was housed within the NJ Economic Development Authority.

The Working Group’s report also contained a funding recommendation for $3.25 billion dollars contingent on "improved management capabilities and systems to responsibly administer the additional recommended funding" and "substantial legislative changes" in the schools construction process. The SCC resolved many of the management and system issues, which were plaguing the construction process. These were presented to the Joint Committee on the Public Schools in February of 2007. Now, with the passage of A4336 and S2796, the legislative changes have largely been accomplished also.

The next step for the Legislature and the Governor should be the approval of funding to support the projects put on hold by the SCC in April of this year due to the lack of funding. On the heels of new funding to restart pending projects should be the establishment of a stable and significant funding stream for needed school construction projects in Abbott and non-Abbott districts in the state.

Although many of the needed reforms have gone forward, there remain areas of concern. At recent State Assembly and Senate hearings, testimony on these issues was presented by the Education Law Center, the Association for Children of New Jersey, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Statewide Parent and Advocacy Network and others. During the Senate Education Committee hearing, poignant testimony was given by some mothers and grandmothers concerning the distressing and shameful conditions some of New Jersey’s children face when attending school. Issues put before the legislature for further action included providing pre-K facilities for all Abbott children, involving Abbott districts as partners in school construction, making emergency repairs, and increasing capacity to make capital improvements. Unfortunately, the bill was being whisked through before the summer recess and these issues were not adequately addressed before its approval.

The recently passed State budget did not include new funding for school construction projects. In May, the New Jersey Supreme Court had directed the Education Law Center to wait until the State budget was adopted before pursuing additional funding for school construction through the courts. (More info here.)

Unless a State plan to provide the required funding is developed soon, advocates are likely to return to the Court.

While the Governor, legislators, and state administrators go round and round about the funding and structure of the construction process, the stories of children who continue to suffer from the lack of adequate educational facilities often gets sidelined. Below is a poem from one student who moved into a new facility about the change it is making for her: