Governor Jon Corzine's School Construction Working Group released its third and final report on September 14th. The report recommends that the Legislature authorize an additional $2.5 billion for school facilities projects in New Jersey’s urban or "Abbott" districts, along with $750 million for projects in suburban, rural and other districts across the state.

The report, however, conditions the new funding on the adoption of a "Strategic Plan" by the state School Construction Corporation (SCC), the state agency charged with implementing the program. In addition, the Governor wants legislative action on reforms to the Abbott district program, and completion and final approval of all districts’ 2005 Long Range Facilities Plans.

Among the legislative reforms called for by the Governor are:

• A new State Authority to manage the school construction;
• More Abbott school district involvement in the school design and construction;
• Greater involvement of Abbott municipalities in land acquisition;
• Improved collaboration between the State, Abbott districts and municipalities in the project approval process;
• More flexibility in the mechanisms used to build Abbott schools; and
• Regular progress reports to the Legislature.

The report also presents a new method for prioritizing Abbott projects for funding, including those now stalled because of a lack of funds. The report calls for more local stakeholder involvement in the prioritization process to ensure that the most urgent facilities needs are in line for the new funding.

The report also suggests changing the way in which state funding for construction would be allocated to projects in non-urban school districts. The report recommends the Legislature consider moving from guaranteed grants covering at least 40 percent of a community's construction costs to annual aid for debt service on local bonds.

David Sciarra, Executive Director of Education Law Center, called the report "a solid framework for restarting the school construction program in urban districts," and he urged the governor to move quickly to draft legislation to implement his recommendations. Mr. Sciarra raised concerns about changing state support for non-urban districts from grants to annual debt service aid.

Lynne Strickland of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents largely suburban districts, also expressed serious concern about a move to debt service aid. "This proposal is similar to "how it was before the schools construction act, when 239 of the non-Abbott districts did not qualify for aid," she said.

The statewide coalition advocating for more construction funding, Building Our Children’s Future, is gearing up to inform the public of the need for action on the Governor’s proposal, and to press the Legislature to follow through.

Prepared: September 25, 2006

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