School construction chief sees P'burg's plight Wednesday, May 09, 2007 • By DANIEL HAUSMANN • The Express-Times PHILLIPSBURG | Scott Weiner stood at the end of a road to nowhere, at the foot of where the new high school should be, and donned a garnet Phillipsburg cap. "I love it up here. It's a wonderful site," Weiner said, standing on the mound of dirt overlooking the Lehigh Valley. Weiner, the chief executive officer of the Schools Construction Corp., spent Tuesday afternoon touring the existing high school and the land north of Belvidere Road slated to be the home of the new school. He is the highest level SCC official to visit Phillipsburg since the high school project stalled nearly two years ago. The SCC pulled the plug on the construction, along with hundreds of other New Jersey schools, after the agency mismanaged $6 billion earmarked for new schools. Weiner, named the SCC boss in January, toured the 31 trailers where 40 percent of the 1,700-plus high school students spend their day. He praised administrators for doing the best they can with what they have. He said the solution to getting a new high school begins and ends with more money from the state Legislature. "No one questions the fact that there is a need," Weiner said. "There is a need for facilities all across the state." Some answers to Phillipsburg and other districts' problems might come if the state Legislature approves $3.25 billion in funding for the SCC. Seventy percent of that money would go to the state's 31 poorest districts. That money would finish 32 projects. The balance would go toward new projects, whose eligibility would be determined by an analysis of the districts' Long Range Facilities Plan. Because of the shortfall in funding, in July 2005 officials deemed 59 of 350 projects statewide as those being completed. Phillipsburg was scrapped from the list. At the beginning of April, SCC nixed 27 more projects. The state completed about $16 million in site work on the nearly $100 million high school project. Weiner was hesitant to say if that, plus the fact Phillipsburg has finished plans in place, gives the project an advantage. "It's certainly a factor coupled with the educational need," Weiner said, adding he hopes to see the money before the end of 2007. Superintendent Gordon Pethick has helped guide a parent-driven public demand to get the project completed. He called Weiner's visit a positive sign for Phillipsburg. Weiner acknowledged the community outcry and said it's a bit more organized than similar efforts across the state. School board President Paul Rummerfield joined the tour and said he was pleased to welcome Weiner to Phillipsburg. "It's a positive step, (Weiner) seeing what Phillipsburg's needs are," Rummerfield said. Reporter Daniel Hausmann can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at dhausmann@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used with permission.