State cash could go to field upkeep Monday, June 05, 2006 • The Express-Times In May, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled the state must pay the extra costs associated with opening the schools it is building in Abbott districts, the state's poorest school districts. The court said those costs could mean increasing aid to some districts. Phillipsburg School District Superintendent Gordon Pethick said he didn't know if the ruling applied to maintaining the new athletic fields at Phillipsburg's proposed new high school. The fields were completed as part of the high school's preliminary site work. Richard Shapiro, a lawyer representing Phillipsburg and 15 other Abbott districts, said he thinks the state would have to fund the field maintenance. The state has until June 14 to provide school districts with funding allocations. © 2006 The Express-Times. Used with permission.