Quote: "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."– Mark Twain
3-15-06
'Crisis at School Agency Reflects Missteps, Trenton Says'
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03-14-06
'Mayor Blames Trenton Agency for Expense of School Site'
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03-09-06
'Corzine gives grim statistics at Shore forum'
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/9/06
BY MICHELLE SAHN COASTAL
MONMOUTH BUREAU WEST LONG BRANCH - The state's use of one-time revenues to pay for recurring expenses is almost like "taking out a mortgage to buy this week's groceries,'' acting state Treasurer Bradley Abelow said. Abelow and Gov. Corzine continued their public discussion of the state's "severe budget crisis'' Wednesday night in front of several hundred at Monmouth University. It was the second of three public mettings planned by Corzine before he presents his budget March 21. He has said the state is facing a $4.5 billion shortfall. "We have a very big but very simple problem,'' Corzine said. "We spend more than we take in.'' On Wednesday, he said the state will look into buying generic drugs and prescription drugs in bulk for state Corrections Department inmates and other state programs, a move that could save the state millions. On Tuesday, he warned that local schools and municipalities should not expect additional funding from the state this year. Some 73 percent of the state's expenditures goes to state aid as well as grants for education and other programs at the county and local levels, Abelow said. Abelow said the state's budget problems began in the late 1980s and continued under administrations of both political parties. In 1997, the state spent $16 billion, but in 2005 it spent $28 billion, he said. Margaret Graf and Andrea Bakst, two school board members in Fair Haven, asked the governor about state law 1701, which forces districts to reduce surplus and give the balance to municipalities for property tax relief. Corzine said that he will not ask for the repeal of that law but that exceptions for costs, such as energy, should be considered. He also suggested considering allowing districts to use reserve funds for capital improvements. In Neptune, where officials expect to introduce a budget at the end of the month, Republican Mayor Thomas J. Catley said in a telephone interview that news of the state's financial outlook is disappointing. He said he hoped the governor would "turn his attention to slashing the bloated bureaucracy in Trenton.'' Catley said that not increasing state aid to municipalities will leave Neptune officials faced with the choice of cutting services or raising taxes. Neither is acceptable, he said. "We depend on state aid to reduce the impact on our taxpayers,'' Catley said. "And obviously, if state aid is going to be frozen or reduced, we have to pass that along to our residents, who already feel they are already overtaxed.'' "We are looking at no increase in state aid to municipalities and no increase in state aid to public schools,'' Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari said by phone. "If Trenton once again freezes aid to towns and school systems, it will amount to a tax increase on residents.'' Brick Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said by phone that, like municipalities statewide, Brick will have to make difficult decisions. The most difficult, he said, will be how much the municipality should use from its surplus and how large the tax increase should be. "After all is said and done, the burden is back on the town,'' Scarpelli said. "Pensions are up, gasoline and salaries are up, and because the state isn't helping to cover those costs, the burden is on the backs of Brick's residents.''
Feb 16, 2006
'US/Eastern Agency Says $12 Billion Is Needed For NJ Schools'
(AP) TRENTON, N.J. The state agency responsible for building new schools in poor districts on Thursday said that it would cost at least $12.8 billion to complete 313 projects suspended last year after it had burned through its $6 billion budget. Officials cautioned that the estimate by the Schools Construction Corp. was speculative, noting that no work had been done on 133 of the projects, so little is known of their true cost. In addition, the estimate is based on the unrealistic assumption that all work would be done this year. Extended to five years, the SCC estimate rises to $19.2 billion, and would hit $29.2 billion in 10 years. The figures are disclosed in an annual report from the SCC and state Department of Education. "It's neither a blueprint for which schools will get built, or how many schools the state and the local districts will be able to afford," said SCC Chairman Barry L. Zubrow, appointed last week to head the troubled agency by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. Meanwhile Thursday, three Republican members of the Assembly Education Committee asked the governor to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate findings by the state Office of the Inspector General of possible fraud at the SCC. "It's fair to say that $6 billion is on the table that may have been misspent," said Assemblyman Bill Baroni, R-Mercer and Middlesex counties. Legislators may not be eager to provide more money without a criminal probe, said Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean. "I don't know how we can move forward until this is cleaned up," Malone said at a GOP news conference in the Statehouse. "There is an embedded rat's nest within that organization that has to be burned out." Asked to respond, Corzine press secretary Anthony Coley said, "The governor wants to make certain that the right controls are in place to ensure that the program delivers quality schools that meet the needs of our children at the best possible price, and his rhetoric matches the reality." Corzine has directed the attorney general to help the SCC review all contracts and projects and seek the recovery of overcharges, Coley said. In appointing Zubrow and six new SCC board members, Corzine also named a special counsel to the agency who would report directly to the governor. Corzine also directed a group of Cabinet members to review all SCC procedures and report to him on how to fix the SCC by March 15. The SCC was created in 2002 by then-Gov. James E. McGreevey to speed construction and repair of schools in the state's neediest areas, known as Abbott districts, which now number 31. It has managed nearly 600 school projects. When the SCC had spent nearly its entire allocation by mid-2005, it suspended all work, aside from 59 projects in Abbott districts. Those projects are not included in Thursday's estimates. Although lawmakers may be leery of spending more money, the state Supreme Court is unlikely to give them any alternative. The estimates revealed Thursday are partly in response to a court order issued in December. At the time, the state's highest court did not say it would demand they all be funded, but its track record suggests it would want some action. The order was one of a series of rulings, stemming from the Abbott v. Burke case in 1981, finding that the state Constitution requires New Jersey to provide a "thorough and efficient" education for all children. In 1998, the court found that the state was required to improve the physical conditions of schools in poor districts. Ref: http://www.gscschools.org/gsc/S1701%20Information/3-9-06%20Governor%20speaks%20to%20S1701%20at%20town%20meeting.html/_top
