School
costs deadline set
Tuesday, December 20, 205 •
P'Burg District PLEASED. State must figure out by Feb. 15
how much it will cost to complete projects. • FROM
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
PHILLIPSBURG | School district officials
said Monday they're pleased the state now has a firm
deadline to report school construction project estimates --
a move aimed at getting specific information to
lawmakers.
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday
the state must figure out by Feb. 15 how much it might cost
to complete all necessary school construction projects in 31
poor school districts.
That includes Phillipsburg's proposed new
$88 million high school that was left in the lurch when the
state agency overseeing construction announced it would not
fund the project.
"The facilities issue is coming alive
again, and we have to keep our focus on it," Phillipsburg
Superintendent Gordon Pethick said during Monday's board of
education meeting.
Pethick urged community members to
continue rallying behind the district's quest to restore the
project's funding. The overcrowded district has been
operating out of 41 trailers and desperately needs the new
school, officials have said.
While board of education members were
encouraged by the new schedule, some said it was long
overdue.
"It's about time," board Vice President
Stanley Hughes said.
School districts must report to the state
on their needs by Jan. 15.
"We will comply with the court order and
we are appreciative of the adequate time the court has given
us to comply," said Ron Rice, a spokesman for the state
Education Department.
The Education Law Center, engaged in a
long legal duel with New Jersey on behalf of children in the
impoverished areas, took the ruling as a victory.
Last summer, the Schools Construction
Corp., a state agency in charge of school building in the
poor districts, said it was nearly out of money. The agency
said it would pay for 59 more projects with its remaining
funds. That decision left hundreds of other projects in
limbo, including Phillipsburg's.
State officials had told the court it
would take beyond February to get together estimates of
building costs, in part because the SCC is being reorganized
and also because most school districts missed an Oct. 3
deadline to tell the state about their facilities'
needs.
"(Monday's ruling) sets a clear timetable
for trying to get this matter before the legislature with
specific funding amounts," said attorney Richard Shapiro,
who represents Phillipsburg and 12 other Abbott school
districts. "It is substantially shorter than the indefinite
(time frame) that the state was arguing for."
Shapiro had petitioned the Supreme Court
in September on behalf of the 13 districts he represents,
and the court heard arguments Nov. 7.
"We'd been waiting for a decision since
it was argued in November; I'm pleased that the court has
acted on this," Shapiro said.
The Supreme Court forced the state to pay
to rebuild and repair schools in the poor cities in a 1998
ruling.
The state borrowed $6 billion for that
purpose, but because of rising construction costs,
difficulty finding land and -- according to some -- waste,
the money fell far short of paying for all the projects the
state Education Department had approved.
It seemed likely when the initial $6
billion ran out that the court would force New Jersey to
replenish it. Monday's ruling gives a first glimpse, though,
of how fast it might be forced to move.
"The reality is, with every month of
delay, it is costing the state huge amounts of money because
the cost of construction is going up by 15 percent per
year," said Joan Ponessa, research director at the Education
Law Center. "You're talking big money with the delays in all
of these projects."
© 2005 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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