SCC
chief quits troubled agency
With $6B nearly gone, schools
unfinished
Friday, August 19, 2005 • BY STEVE CHAMBERS •
Star-Ledger Staff
The embattled head of the New Jersey
Schools Construction Corp. resigned yesterday, leaving
behind an agency nearly broke and under fire for its
spending practices and hundreds of broken
promises.
Jack Spencer, an experienced construction
engineer, took the reins two years ago, as the SCC was
belatedly starting to deliver schools to the state's poorest
districts. But he spent the past six months defending his
agency at testy legislative sessions and delivering bad news
to frustrated superintendents.
The SCC was designed to answer a state
Supreme Court mandate to replace crumbling and obsolescent
schools in 31 struggling districts. Lawmakers approved
$6billion for the task, throwing in an additional $2.6
billion to subsidize construction in wealthier
districts.
But with the money nearly gone and
hundreds of urban projects unfinished, Spencer became the
most public face of the debacle. His resignation is
effective Sept. 7.
Some were hopeful yesterday that the
abrupt departure of the chief executive officer would cool
tempers and move lawmakers closer to what they consider an
inevitable debate: determining how much money is needed to
get the schools built, and where to find it.
"Placing blame doesn't accomplish much,
but if some critics feel this is a significant part of a
'fix,' then perhaps it will help," said Raymond Lindgren,
assistant to Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden. "I've seen
nothing in any discussion that implied Jack Spencer did a
negligent job or was involved in anything
inappropriate."
Others scoffed at the notion the
controversy could die down.
"This goes much, much deeper than Jack
Spencer," said Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington), a
member of both the education and budget committees. "He
probably got fed up because it was out of his control. This
thing was run like a political campaign, and they milked a
cash cow dry in two years."
Spencer was not asked to resign, but
critics and supporters said he was unlikely to survive the
ongoing shakeup that has followed the state inspector
general's finding of mismanagement and possible misuse of
state funds.
A spokeswoman for acting Gov. Richard J.
Codey declined any comment on the job Spencer had done,
willing only to confirm his resignation had been
accepted.
Alfred C. Koeppe, the former president of
Public Service Electric & Gas who was brought in by
Codey to oversee massive reforms of the SCC, praised Spencer
for his skills as an engineer. But he also said he had been
"coaching" Spencer on other aspects of the job and conceded
serious internal discussions were under way to "upgrade" the
staff.
Koeppe said a decision has not been made
on Spencer's replacement but would be made soon.
"Clearly, we will lose some continuity,
but I don't see it as a bump in the road," Koeppe said.
"We've got a pretty good plan in place. We're moving
forward."
Koeppe specifically noted the addition of
Peter E. Maricondo in May as the SCC's first chief financial
officer.
Supporters were quick to point out
Spencer inherited the system just two years ago, and they
praised his honesty throughout a trying six
months.
"It's a loss," state Sen. Ron Rice
(D-Essex) said. "I don't care what anyone says. He has
always been upfront. He inherited one hell of a lot, and he
had bosses to answer to."
Rice said a replacement must be named
quickly and urged his colleagues to move forward with more
funding. He has introduced legislation that would provide $2
billion more for poor districts and $1 billion more for
wealthier ones.
As Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper
investigated and the SCC pledged serious reform, work on new
projects began to slow, then ground to a halt as officials
tried to figure out which projects they could actually
complete.
Last month the SCC board announced it had
the money to finish 59 projects for a total of 132. That
left hundreds of others in limbo. In some cases, land had
been partially acquired, while other projects were still in
the design phase.
The Education Law Center, a Newark group
that filed the lawsuit that established the funding program,
has gone back to court seeking more money.
Spencer began fighting criticism in
February, after a report in The Star-Ledger documented
questionable spending on professional services and cost
overruns. The newspaper found SCC schools were costing 45
percent more to build than those completed by wealthier
districts.
Codey directed Cooper to investigate, and
her scathing report in April found glaring gaps in oversight
and accountability that led to millions of dollars in
questionable spending.
Among other things, the report found the
SCC approved $22.9 million in extra construction costs made
necessary by architectural design errors, and paid local
governments $67 million for publicly owned land.
"The agency is not properly equipped with
the internal management, financial controls and personnel
necessary to ensure that the money is properly and
appropriately spent," Cooper concluded.
Spencer said he will return to New York,
where he worked with the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey for 33 years before taking the SCC job in 2003. At
the time he left the Port Authority, he was its deputy chief
engineer, the No. 2 man in a mammoth engineering
operation.
In an interview yesterday, Spencer said
he will be involved in the gargantuan effort to rebuild
Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror
attacks.
"That is something that is very close to
me," he said. "I lost a lot of friends on 9/11."
Spencer acknowledged the past six months
have been difficult, but he said he believed the reforms
have created a leaner, more efficient organization. He said
he is hopeful lawmakers will see fit to replenish the
fund.
"Starting from nothing four years ago, we
got up to doing billions of dollars in construction," he
said. "We've delivered a lot of schools to kids. Was every
decision that got made the best? In retrospect, anyone can
always second-guess us. But I am proud of what we were able
to get done."
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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