School building chief warns new funding is needed soon Thursday, September 28, 2006 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL • Star-Ledger Staff The newly appointed head of the Schools Construction Corp. told the agency's board of directors yesterday construction projects already approved will have to be mothballed if new funding isn't approved soon. Scott Weiner said lawmakers will have to come up with new funding or the SCC will have to begin identifying which projects to shelve, so they do not begin work they cannot finish. "Not in one month, not in two months," Weiner said, "but certainly sooner than six months, if there is not an indication that there is additional funding we are going to have to develop a contingency plan." Weiner made his comments at the regular monthly meeting of the SCC board, which approved a $20.6 million contract to refurbish and expand the Victor Mravlag Elementary School in Elizabeth. The project was among 59 jobs the SCC selected last July for completion with the last $1.4 billion remaining from what lawmakers authorized for the program six years ago. Since then, contracts worth $248 million have been awarded to begin construction of 11 of those schools. But rising costs and more detailed construction estimates since last year have left the agency at least $500 million short of what it needs to complete the remaining 48 jobs, SCC officials said in a report to Gov. Jon Corzine earlier this month. In that report, members of a task force assigned to recommend reforms and options for the SCC called for another $3.25 billion to wrap up work on the 59 projects and to renew work on 100 jobs suspended for lack of funds last summer. Weiner said he has had "preliminary discussions" with lawmakers and Corzine about legislation for additional funding. "I think the momentum will start picking up over the next couple of weeks," he said. Anthony Coley, a spokesman for Corzine, said the governor is committed to working on new funding legislation. "We understand that additional funding for outstanding needs should be coupled with additional reforms to make sure the school program is run efficiently," he said. Weiner, who was appointed special counsel to help overhaul the scandal-plagued school construction program in February, was formally named chief executive officer of the Schools Construction Corp. yesterday. Weiner was commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection and chief counsel for former Gov. Jim Florio in the early 1990s and had recently worked at Rutgers University as director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy. Barry Zubrow, chairman of the Schools Construction Corp., said Weiner was selected over several competing nominees, and that his range of public and private work experience in New Jersey gave him the edge. "It's clear that Scott's the right person for the job," Zubrow said. Weiner will earn $195,000 with possible performance bonuses. He will be the fourth CEO to direct the schools corporation since it was set up less than four years ago to manage an $8.6 billion overhaul of public schools. The agency has been under intense scrutiny since last year, when former officers announced they had used up the entire $8.6 billion, but completed barely one-third of the improvements the state Supreme Court demanded. Reviews of the corporation revealed millions of dollars in waste through mismanagement, excessive professional fees, change orders and the purchase of land eventually not needed for school projects. Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.