High court won't act on Abbott school construction -- for now Friday, May 25, 2007 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff The state Supreme Court has denied a request to immediately force the state to revive court-ordered school construction in the state's 31 poorest urban districts, although it did leave open the possibility of future action. Lawyers for schoolchildren in the districts falling under the court's Abbott v. Burke rulings had asked the court to demand that the Corzine administration and Legislature devise a plan to come up with needed funds for new construction by June 30. Starting with $6 billion five years ago, the beleaguered program under the New Jersey Schools Construction Corp. ran out of money for any new construction in the last year, leaving scores of court-mandated projects unfinished. But the court, in a one-page ruling yesterday, declared it would not step in before June 30, saying it would be "premature" to intervene before the setting of the next state budget, which also has a June 30 deadline. Still, the unanimous decision appeared to put the state on notice by also saying the court would not make the "assumption that (state officials) will fail to comply with their constitutional obligations to provide a thorough and efficient educational system." The court denied the request "without prejudice," leaving the plaintiffs the option to refile. The Education Law Center, which filed the action on behalf of the schoolchildren, sought to put the best face on the decision, even if it did not gain the immediate intervention it had sought. "The court has sent a clear signal that it expects the governor and Legislature to provide urgently needed school construction funds in the (fiscal 2008) budget," said David Sciarra, director of the law center. "We're ready to work with the legislators, officials in the Governor's Office and NJ Schools Construction Corporation, and other stakeholders to make sure this gets done, and to avoid future legal action," Sciarra said in a statement. Gov. Jon Corzine's office said he remained committed to meeting the court's ultimate order to provide safe and adequate school buildings in these districts, but repeated that it would need an ongoing source of revenue to do so. "We appreciate the court's decision today, which acknowledges that it is premature to address this issue," read the statement from spokesman Brendan Gilfillan. "The administration has demonstrated its commitment to this program and continues to work to identify a recurrent revenue source that could support the program in the future." Gilfillan would not say whether that funding source would be identified in time for the next budget. John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548. © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.