Estimate
to finish up school job: Add $13B
State report on projects says
prices can only rise
Friday, February 17, 2006 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL •
Star-Ledger Staff
State taxpayers, who have already paid
$6billion for a court-ordered overhaul of public schools in
needy communities, would have to spend about $13billion more
to finish the job, state officials say.
The Department of Education yesterday
gave the Legislature its estimate of what it would cost to
complete all 313 school construction and renovation projects
awaiting work under a state Supreme Court
mandate.
The department puts the tab at
$12.8billion -- at today's prices. Figuring that the costs
of everything from land to labor will keep going up, it
projects the total would grow by about 7.5 percent each year
the work is delayed, topping $29billion 10 years from
now.
Lawmakers, facing a multibillion-dollar
budget gap, a transportation fund gone bust and a severely
underfunded pension system, reacted warily.
"These figures underscore why the
Legislature needs to move cautiously before authorizing any
further financing for a statewide school construction
program," said Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts
(D-Camden).
Officials with the education department
and the Schools Construction Corp., the agency set up to
manage the building program, warned that the estimates are
"very speculative." They said some of the construction plans
are being updated, while some might turn out to be
unnecessary.
"It's hard to take these numbers and
suggest they should form the basis for really thinking about
the exact amount of funding that is needed," said Barry
Zubrow, recently appointed by Gov. Jon Corzine to head the
SCC.
But David Sciarra, the attorney who has
pressed the long-running Abbott vs. Burke school funding
case before the Supreme Court, said the cost estimates give
lawmakers enough information to act on a new source of
funds.
Sciarra noted the report says it would
take about $5.3billion to complete 96 school projects that
were already in design when the first $6billion allocated to
the program was tapped out last summer.
"The Legislature and governor now have
all the information they need to act," said Sciarra. "These
needs presented in today's report are urgent, are not going
away, and require immediate funding. We must not let our
children wait any longer for safe and adequate
schools."
Roberts and Senate Education Committee
Chairwoman Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) both called the new
construction estimates "sobering."
"It will be difficult to provide a new
wave of construction funding until efforts are undertaken to
account for previous expenditures and stronger safeguards
are put in place to ensure that future construction dollars
are not wasted," Roberts said.
The program has been in near-suspension
for about a year, since the SCC revealed it was running out
of the $6billion it was given to build and fix schools in 31
needy districts.
The Star-Ledger reported last year that
the first six schools built by the corporation cost 45
percent more than 19 schools built at the same time without
state involvement. An investigation by the state inspector
general found that mismanagement at the SCC had led to
"waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers dollars."
That prompted a series of reforms, but
meanwhile the fund ran dry with hundreds of projects undone.
Corzine has set up a special committee to review SCC
operations, assess the projects awaiting state funding and
report to him by March 15 with options for revamping the
program.
A Republican lawmaker yesterday called
for legal action to overturn the entire Abbott case and
relieve the state of the obligation to pay for the school
building.
"There are alternatives to the Supreme
Court decision that must be explored -- including a legal
challenge to the court's mandate," said Assemblywoman
Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Bergen). "While I recognize the
state's obligation to provide a quality education to all our
children, I disagree vehemently with a court-mandated
expenditure of billions of dollars as the only solution
available to us."
Three other prominent Republican
lawmakers called on Corzine to appoint a special prosecutor
to investigate evidence of criminal mismanagement, waste and
fraud in the schools program. Anthony Coley, a spokesman for
Corzine, said that is not needed. "The wheels of reform are
already in motion," he said.
Yesterday's tally was the first update
since 2000, when lawmakers approved the statewide school
construction program in response to the state Supreme
Court's order. At that time, the 31 communities covered by
the order submitted plans to build 200 new schools and
refurbish 260 more at a cost of $7.3billion.
Six years later, the state has committed
the entire $6billion the Legislature authorized, but will
complete only 71 new schools and renovate another 67. The
estimate in yesterday's report would represent a tripling of
the original funding.
"It's a more accurate reflection, which
we didn't get in 2000," said Sciarra. "What we're getting
now, finally, is a realistic assessment of overall
need."
Corzine's spokesman said the governor is
reviewing the report while waiting for his committee to make
recommendations for reform: "He looks forward to working
with the Legislature to ensure the program delivers schools
that meet the needs of our children at the best possible
price."
The 313 schools included in the cost
projection include 142 new schools or classroom additions,
49 major renovations and repairs to 117 more.
Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may
be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.
© 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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