Governor's School will open this summer, thanks to fundraising effort Wednesday, May 17, 2006 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff With the help of some of New Jersey's largest corporations and at least one big mystery donor, the Governor's School of New Jersey has been saved from the budget ax and will proceed this summer, officials announced yesterday. Gov. Jon Corzine stood yesterday with Ruthi Zinn Byrne, the woman chiefly responsible for the private fundraising, and announced the full $1.9 million amount and more had been raised and the summer programs for talented high schoolers would see their 22nd year. "We still have a little collecting to do, but I believe we have done the things needed to continue the schools so that our brightest students will have this opportunity," said Corzine, standing alongside Byrne, the wife of former Gov. Brendan Byrne. Corzine this spring cut $1.9 million in funding to the programs, prompting outcry from organizers, alumni and prospective students, many of whom at the time were waiting word on their applications. Yesterday, he made no commitments to future public funding and said the fundraising would continue. The six programs next year likely will charge tuition for those who can afford it, he and others said. The annual programs serve 600 students, picking from an applicant pool of about 2,400. The full cost would be $3,500, although officials stressed admissions would not consider applicants' ability to pay. But this year the program will remain tuition-free, thanks to the donors, a broad mix of individuals, corporations and foundations. The larger ones were a who's who of the prominent corporate benefactors, including Sovereign Bank, Prudential Financial, PSE&G, Verizon New Jersey, the Amelior Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The single largest gift of $725,000 came from an anonymous donor, Byrne said. She said half of all the $1.93 million raised so far came from anonymous sources. When asked whether Corzine himself gave to the program, neither the governor's office nor Byrne would comment. But Byrne said Corzine was not the $725,000 donor. Yesterday's event at the stately Mead Hall on the Drew University campus was a giddy celebration of the popular programs. Several of the donors were on hand, as were some of the students who would be attending the Governor's School's science program at Drew this summer. Byrne, with her husband in the audience, served as the grande dame of the event, announcing the benefactors and modestly deflecting praise for her fundraising acumen. "I suspect the governor asked me to do this because I have a pretty good Rolodex, but the enthusiasm was so high," she said. "All I had to do was make a few phone calls, and everybody was fabulous about saying yes." Also among those speaking was Laura Bilodeau Overdeck, a Short Hills graduate of the program who with her husband, John, donated $200,000. Overdeck stressed the need for programs to serve the state's most talented, especially at a time when so much focus under the federal No Child Left Behind act is on lifting the lowest-performing students. "Challenging talented students is seen as a luxury and not essential ... that the kids at the top can do it on their own," she said. "But that's not true. If they are not challenged in school, are bored in the classroom, they will just drop out. "That would be a real loss, and that's why programs like this are so important," she said. The budget cut that started the whole saga was mentioned several times, and Corzine conceded that the deluge of complaints afterward was surpassed only by the reaction to another recent controversial proposal. "Other than self-service gas, I never was hit by anything that drew more fire," he said. "There was a lot of passion, about 6,500 graduates out in the community, and people feel very strongly about it." Even with the new money in hand, however, not all the programs will run as initially planned this summer. The science school at Drew will take 85, not the usual 100 students, largely due to the difficulties hiring enough faculty and staff through all the uncertainty. "But it's nice to know we're going," said David Miyamoto, a biology professor who directs the Drew program. "The future beyond that is a little unclear, but I understand the issues. We'll take it a day at a time." John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548. . © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.