Justices asked to make N.J. fund school building Abbott advocates say effort has been stalled Wednesday, October 03, 2007 • BY JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff With the other two branches of government not yet moving, the state Supreme Court has again been asked to force Gov. Jon Corzine and the Legislature to revive New Jersey's troubled school construction program. For the second time this year, lawyers for New Jersey's urban schoolchildren yesterday filed a motion with the court to order that needed funding be provided for the vast building program, this time by Dec. 31. The building program for the state's impoverished cities was ordered as part of the Abbott vs. Burke school equity rulings, but has been stalled for lack of money since 2005. The program appropriated $6 billion, but ran out of cash amid allegations of waste and mismanagement, leaving more than 300 school projects in various stages of design and development. "We file with the court today as a last resort, out of frustration with the continuing lack of action in Trenton to provide the funding necessary to restart long-overdue and urgently needed building projects," said David Sciarra, the Education Law Center's executive director. This is the center's second trip to the court to force the state's hand, with justices last spring ruling that Trenton could have more time as it developed a budget for the new fiscal year. But since then, no additional funds were earmarked. A state report said about $3.25 million was needed to finish 27 pending projects and continue the New Jersey Schools Development Authority's work on the remaining projects for another three or four years. The SDA replaced the previous Schools Construction Corp. Included in that total also is $750 million for non-Abbott districts. But administration officials and legislative leaders have maintained that the state cannot afford such a sum at this time and instead is looking to a long-term financing plan for this and several other pressing needs. "The administration recognizes that the need for school facilities across the state is great, and we are working to identify a revenue source that will begin to address this and other capital needs in New Jersey," Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in a statement. Sciarra said yesterday he hopes the court will have less patience than it did in its last decision. "Pretty much it's the same situation as last time," he said. "But we've made a concerted effort to work cooperatively with the administration, and we were unable to get from them any agreement or even any plan of action." He added that nobody has contested the state's responsibility to fund the projects, and those costs will only rise with each lost month. "Of course we need long-term financing, but we need to move this forward," Sciarra said. John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548 © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.