|
OAL DKT.
NOS. EDU 03246-01S, EDU 04029-99S, EDU 04030-99S, EDU 04113-99S,
EDU 04436-99S, EDU 05356-99N, EDU 05358-99N, EDU 05799-99N, EDU
05804-99N, EDU 05873-99N, EDU 07157-99N, EDU 07158-99N, EDU 07456-99N,
EDU 07914-00N, EDU 09462-00N
|
|
not
provided in those years, except to the extent that there may be
enforceable rights based upon
approvals already given, such as Perth Amboy claims. The more
immediate issue is the provision
of temporary facilities to allow for the maximum
enrollment of preschoolers during the interim period until the
permanent facilities are in
place. The Supreme Court's mandate, as expressed in Abbott
V , is absolutely clear.
The necessary funding for needed temporary facilities must be
supplied. If the DOE disputes
the need for space in any district, then the parties must, if
they cannot resolve their dispute,
seek resolution through the administrative hearing process. If
the need is not disputed, then
there is no warrant for delay in providing the funding or the
facilities themselves. The key,
of course, is the need for realistic assessment of the needs of
the several districts for temporary
facilities. Counsel for Passaic and Elizabeth has strongly
asserted that the number of modular units the Department proposes
to supply through the EDA is
insufficient to serve the needs of the districts, perhaps grossly
so, pointing out at argument
that the two districts he represents will themselves need a significant
percentage of the proposed modules.
The record here does not allow for a
determination of this question, which is inextricably tied to
the individual needs of specific
districts, but the Sztuk certification proposes that the number
being obtained will suffice,
and the Department has presumably based that number upon a full
evaluation of the needs of the
districts. In that regard, much said already in this decision
as to the absolute need for
DOE oversight and careful assessment of the districts' needs bears
repeating. To the extent that
individual districts allege that they will not have the
needed temporary facilities in place for the start of the new
school year, or that they do
not now have them and could actually use them at this time to
fulfill Abbott mandates
if in place, the districts may
seek relief from the Commissioner, although of course it is the
Commissioner's right to determine
whether they present proper grounds for a contested
case. It is hoped, as the Court urged, that the parties will resolve
these issues without the need
for hearings.
|