A bill establishing a Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the State’s school construction program was recently approved by the New Jersey Assembly and will soon be voted on by the full Senate. The prime sponsors of the bill are Assemblyman Craig Stanley and Senator Ronald Rice. ELC is urging the Senate to quickly approve the bill and Acting Governor Richard Codey to sign the legislation.

The legislation empowers the "School Construction Review Commission" to thoroughly examine the performance of the Department of Education and the Schools Construction Corporation in implementing all aspects of the program since 2000. The review includes school construction in all school districts, not just the urban or "Abbott" districts. Based on this review, the Commission will recommend to the Legislature changes to the "Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act," and to the operations of the DOE and SCC, that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the program.

"Now that we have almost five years of experience with the state school construction program, it’s time to consider what’s worked and what hasn’t," said David Sciarra, ELC Executive Director. "Given the enormous benefit of this program to taxpayers, communities and schools across the state, it is critical to have an informed, deliberative and timely discussion about how the Legislature can improve the program moving forward," Mr. Sciarra added.

The Commission will study the adequacy of the state funds authorized under the "Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act," and determine what additional state funding is required to meet school facilities needs of all school districts, as established in the new long-range facilities plans currently being prepared by the districts.

Prepared: April 6, 2005