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Commissioner Librera resigns to take Rutgers post; School Construction funds almost dry; GSCS Meetings Calendar 2005-2006.
GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS/GSCS
EMAILNET 7-29-05
609 394 2828 fax 609 396 7620
Go to: www.gscschools.org for info & to sign up for GSCS Parent Network
Commissioner William Librera has resigned his education post to head up institute at Rutgers Graduate School of Education this fall. At this point, no announcement of a successor has been released, although recent news articles have cited high education officials saying that Assistant Commissioner Richard Rosenberg is the likely candidate to step into the commissioner position until the new Governor weighs in after the elections in November.
While his years of clear dedicated service have been coincidental for difficult years for many school districts across the state, GSCS wishes the Commissioner well in his new endeavor and thanks him for the elevated stature of education leadership he brought to his office, his hard work to enhance education in New Jersey overall, and his outreach and accessibility to education stakeholders that brought credibility to the office. His demonstrated respect for local district experience has been particularly appreciated. Commissioner Librera is to be applauded for adding a dimension of civility to public discourse. Here are some related articles:
Philadelphia Inquirer 7-29-05 State Education is Latest N.J. Cabinet Member to resign
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jersey/12251749.htm
Star Ledger 7-29-05 Librera Leaving Under Mixed Reviews
http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-0/1122614222119280.xml&coll=1
School Construction fund’s thinning resources result in the School Construction Corporation [SCC] announcing a ‘cut list’ this Wednesday for Abbott districts. Suburban district funding not included on agenda at all.
Public information is needed now for suburban districts:
In the recent past, the SCC has said that the $2.5B fund for the more than 540 regular operating districts in the state is nearly drained. In a glaring omission, the SCC chose not to inform the public on any specifics of what remains in store for these districts. With over 900 non-Abbott facilities project applications on the Department of Education’s desk, the SCC did not include this critical issue on its agenda.
GSCS has learned that as of May 31, the state had committed $2.308 billion of the non-Abbott funds (excluding Vo-Tech-s $100 million) as of May 31, 2005. This means that $191,449,527* remain of that original $2.5B fund set up for the state regular operating districts. However, the SCC has recently stated that this fund holds only about $80M.
*This information is drawn from the SCC’s monthly report prepared by the SCC's newly appointed chief financial officer.
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/times/index.ssf?/base/news-0/112262432919071.xml&coll=5
“One day after the announcement of which school projects in poor districts will get the last of state funding, mayors promised to press for more money, lawmakers demurred and suburban officials asked what's left for them. …While lawmakers are looking at the past, school officials in suburban districts, which have had 40 percent of their construction projects funded through the SCC are wondering about their fate. “
Star Ledger 7-29-05 $178M invested in now-shelved school projects
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1122615938119280.xml&coll=1
Gannet 7-28-05 School Construction Corp hands out last of money
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050728/NEWS0301/507280601/1008
Excerpt from Education Law Center 7-27-05 Press Release re: SCC ‘CUT LIST’ “…Hundreds of needed projects in non-urban districts will likely not proceed as well. SCC has announced that the 2.6 billion allocation of construction funding for those districts is running out.”
“…In separate rulings in 1998 and 2000 in the Abbott v. Burke case, the Supreme Court has ordered the State to fully fund all of the facilities projects needed in the Abbott districts. "The SCC action today clearly violates the letter and spirit of those rulings," said Sciarra.”
GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS BOARD MEETING CALENDAR 2005-2006
Unless Otherwise noted, Board Meetings will be held on the second Wednesdays of the month, 4:00 – 5:30 p.m., at the East Brunswick Board of Education, 760 Rt. 18 South [3 + miles south on Route 18 just off the Turnpike, Exit 9], 732 613 6705 (East Brunswick superintendent’s office).Meetings are open to member, simply RSVP ‘gscs2000@gmail.com’ in advance.
Month Day
September 14
October 19 [3rd Wednesday]
November 16 [3rd Wednesday]
December 14
January 11
February 8
March 8
April 5 [1st Wednesday]
May 10
July 12 [morning]
TO BE CONFIRMED
1 GSCS hosted Conference: PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION [fall]
2
3 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: Wednesday evening Feb. 8
4 ANNUAL BREAKFAST MEETING: Wednesday May 31