N.J.
in hole for $53M after vote on schools
Funds promised for
construction
Thursday, September 29, 2005 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
• Star-Ledger Staff
A $2.5 billion fund set up to help
suburban communities build public schools is running on
empty after voters approved 21 construction projects that
would draw almost double the amount of money remaining in
the fund.
That leaves state officials facing a
thorny math problem: How to cover $113.4 million in promised
payments with $60 million in available funding, a $53.4
million shortfall.
Kevin McElroy, spokesman for the New
Jersey Schools Construction Corp., the agency overseeing the
school building program, said representatives from the
governor's office, the Department of Education and the state
Attorney General's Office are meeting to prioritize how the
$60 million will be doled out.
"There's going to be some (districts)
that are pleased and unfortunately some that are going to be
disappointed," he said.
Lynne Strickland, executive director of
the Garden State Coalition of Schools, a lobbying
organization for more than 100 school districts, said she is
not convinced the fund is tapped out.
"They can find the money," said
Strickland, citing the history of accounting problems that
have dogged the schools corporation. "It's pretty
irresponsible of the state to let the districts go on
without any certainty."
In the 21 communities where voters
approved school building proposals on Tuesday, local
officials said they expect state officials to make good on
the promised support.
"We certainly are anticipating we are
going to get the money up front," said New Providence
superintendent Ann Marie Inzano, noting she keeps the letter
confirming the award of $3.2 million in state aid. "It's a
wait-and-see situation. But we're going to hold onto our
letter. It's right on the top of my desk."
In addition to the 21 voter-approved
plans, Summit's Board of School Estimate approved a $16.9
million package of additions and renovations, of which $4.3
million would be eligible for state funds.
In some communities where voters rejected
school building proposals in elections held Tuesday,
disappointed local officials laid part of the blame on
uncertainty surrounding the status of the state
aid.
In Blairstown, for instance,
superintendent W. Michael Feeney said local voters who
turned thumbs down on an $18.8 million construction plan
were troubled by the state's decision to pull the plug on a
$95 million high school project planned for nearby
Phillipsburg.
"There were people in our community who
questioned whether the SCC was ever going to come up with
that money," said Feeney, who counted on $2.9 million in
state funding. "They reneged on their promise to
Phillipsburg and others, so why wouldn't they renege on
their promise to Blairstown?"
Of the construction projects presented to
voters on Tuesday, only 55.1 percent were approved, the New
Jersey School Boards Association said. That is the lowest
rate of approval since 2000, when state officials set up the
$2.5 billion aid fund -- which has paid for 2,250 school
projects since its inception.
In the past, state officials have said
that if they can't cover the promised aid with an immediate
grant, local officials should borrow the funds on the pledge
the state will cover a portion of the payments as they come
due each year.
That drew mixed reactions from local
officials.
"It's been the plan all along to lobby
for the full amount," said South Hunterdon schools business
administrator Julie Mumaw. Voters there approved a $20.8
million building plan with $5.4 million in state aid. "We
were informed that our share was there."
Earl Kim, superintendent in Verona, said
he appreciated voters' approval of his $34 million
construction plan, but said uncertainty over how the state
would provide its $8.7 million share probably contributed to
the narrow 10-vote margin of victory.
"One way or another we intend to get our
$8.7 million," Kim said. "It's kind of like winning the
lottery. In the SCC case, we get a lump sum payment. In the
annuity case we get it on a yearly basis. ... Either way, we
fully expect the Legislature to do the right
thing."
The shortfall in the school aid fund
mirrors the dilemma state officials faced in the summer,
when a $6 billion pot of aid for urban communities was found
to be oversubscribed.
Then, the SCC targeted 59 projects for
completion, and shelved more than 200 others.
Supporters of the program have introduced
legislation that would authorize almost $3 billion in new
borrowing to replenish the urban and suburban funds. But
prospects for new funding is dimmed by the fact that the SCC
is in the throes of a top-to-bottom reform prompted by an
Inspector General's report that found the agency riddled
with waste and mismanagement.
That report followed an analysis in The
Star-Ledger that found the six schools built by the SCC
cost, on average, 45 percent more than 18 schools built
without SCC involvement at the same time.
Staff Writers Nyier Abdou, Jonathan Casiano, Gabriel
Gluck, Chandra Hayslett and Lisa Sparks contributed to this
report.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
|