The facilities planning office of the Newark School District is lined with renderings of buildings unrealized. They are elegant structures of glass, steel and brick that sit beside immaculate, spacious playing fields.

In a corner, a pile of shiny shovels used for groundbreakings gathers dust, a forlorn reminder of the trouble swirling around the state's Supreme Court-mandated plan to build and update school buildings in impoverished districts across New Jersey.

Five years ago, following a 1998 court ruling, the state approved $6 billion to catapult substandard school facilities in poor districts into the 21st century, but the money has only funded about 120 of the 530 schools districts say are needed. The state agency running the construction program, the Schools Construction Corporation, suspended work on hundreds of projects in July when it determined that the money had run out.

Newark and 30 other impoverished districts across New Jersey are demanding lawmakers produce more cash to get hundreds of planned schools built. Newark alone says it needs another $3 billion, and the statewide price tag might approach another $14 billion.

As legislators begin what is likely to be a bruising debate over more money -- with a focus on the failings of the SCC -- some critics have begun to raise a central concern: That the SCC is only part of the problem. The Department of Education failed to properly scrutinize the proposals, these critics argue, and may have approved more schools than are really needed.

"The SCC is definitely culpable, but I think DOE has some culpability too," said Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington), a sponsor of the bill that provided the initial $6 billion. "They have not exercised the proper oversight."

Urban advocates, pointing to problems such as Civil War-era buildings and severely overcrowded classrooms, counter that the needs are real and suburban legislators are simply trying to shirk their court-ordered responsibilities.

Malone and other key Republicans looking into how the SCC managed to spend or commit $6 billion in three years said they will not support new spending until a detailed justification for each proposed school is provided.

Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon) said taxpayers should be asked to vote on any new borrowing, something Gov.-elect Jon Corzine said during the campaign that he, too, would support.

The system that produced the voluminous list of proposed schools was devised by the state when it decided to assume control of the building program back in 1998. Despite suspicions that urban officials couldn't be trusted with the flood of cash, districts were given a huge role in determining their needs, with DOE overseeing the process and granting projects final approval.

DOE officials insist they scrutinized district requests for new schools, studying demographic trends and evaluating the conditions of ancient schools. But they also concede that when it came to approving specific projects, their focus was on "educational adequacy" rather than cost.

Under the approval system, districts determine their own educational needs, a key driver in building design. Newark, for example, argues that its large special-needs population requires a room for physical and occupational therapy in every school. Newark also says it needs elevators nearly everywhere, because the district doesn't want to risk lawsuits over access by handicapped students.

For example, when Newark complied with an SCC request to shrink the site for a new Speedway Avenue Elementary School by using nearby Vailsburg Park as a playground, the district demanded that an expensive pedestrian bridge be constructed over busy South Orange Avenue.

But David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark, which prompted the Supreme Court decision by suing the state, argues there is no evidence educational palaces are going up in poor districts.

In fact, because the legislation approving $6 billion for cities included $2.5 billion more to partially fund construction in wealthier districts, Sciarra suspects the opposite is true.

"The formula (for what is needed in the cities) seems to be driven by what is being built in Alpine," he said. "That is an impossible bar to reach. At some point, the Supreme Court or someone has to look at the resources available. How far does it go?"

Schools built before the automobile have long since seen their tiny playgrounds turned into parking lots. But both parking and recreational space are now requirements. The SCC has spent tens of millions of dollars expanding old school sites or buying larger new ones.

Occasionally, DOE has been stymied on basic calls. When the DOE questioned why a new middle school was needed in Gloucester City -- a place where the population fell between 1980 and 2000 and a high school expansion was already underway -- district officials angrily lobbied with the help of local politicians to have it returned to the list of proposed projects.

(Linda Lathrop, a district spokeswoman, confirmed that DOE officials asked pointed questions about the middle school, but she said the district justified it by pointing to proposed residential development expected to swell student population.)

All year, as lawmakers asked about the rapidly disappearing construction fund, there were whispers about extravagances. Critics often point to West New York Middle, with its glass pyramid in the lobby and elaborate terrazzo floors, as an example of abuse.

A perusal of dozens of completed SCC schools, however, indicates a number of fairly pedestrian buildings. Many are early childhood centers designed for 3- and 4-year-olds, but they seem more like brick warehouses with small windows.

Flipping through pictures of these schools one recent morning, Raymond Lindgren, executive assistant to Newark Superintendent Marion Bolden, said the district wouldn't stand for buildings that shortchange students.

"Sixty percent of our graduates will not go on to finish four-year colleges," he said. "We have to recognize that and tailor our program so that they are prepared for a good career."

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has given the SCC until Feb. 15 to provide an estimate of how much more money is needed. No one knows what the justices have in mind, but if history is a guide, the spending is not yet over.

Steve Chambers covers land-use issues for The Star-Ledger.

Can fees charged by townships aid schools?

Developers targeted. Districts, by law, can't put price on impact. Local man with plan gets municipal input tonight.

By Michelle Pittman

The Express-Times

January 9, 2006

A Lower Mount Bethel Township resident is gaining officials' support for a plan to lessen the impact of new building on the Bangor Area School District by charging developers $20,000 to $30,000 per home.

Don Dal Maso suggests Upper Mount Bethel, Lower Mount Bethel and Washington townships should join forces with the school board and pass statutes designed to assess developers for the full cost of school construction resulting from new development.

According to Dal Maso, new development means new students have to be placed in classrooms for the duration of their education. The cost of expanding schools falls to the community in the form of higher property taxes, he said.

School districts in Pennsylvania currently don't have the authority to charge developers for such costs. While townships and boroughs do have the authority to impose impact fees, they are usually designed to pay for road, sewer and emergency service costs associated with new homes.

Dal Maso and others pointed to LTS Developers' proposed 159-lot development in Lower Mount Bethel as an example of new development that would cost the school district. The project could bring as many as 125 new students, they said.

"We're looking at a cost of $27,000 for each new elementary student," Bangor Area School Board member Kevin Pruett said Thursday at the Lower Mount Bethel Township Supervisors meeting. "The last thing I want to do is raise taxes, which might sound odd coming from the school board."

Pruett said Dal Maso's idea of charging $20,000 to $30,000 per home to offset the cost borne by the district is a step in the right direction. There are many legal obstacles to such fees but that doesn't mean the board won't consider it, Pruett said.

Dal Maso and the school board members aren't the only ones with plans to ease the impact of development on individual districts. State Rep. Rich Grucela, D-Northampton, said he has been working with the Pocono Builders Association to develop legislation allowing school districts across the state to levy impact fees while providing incentives for builders to create energy efficient, low-impact housing.

"The board could charge, say, $2,500 for every bedroom over one, because that's where you're dealing with children entering the district," Grucela said. "But there would be reductions too. Developers could save $500 for every acre not developed or saved. You're paying the developer to be environmentally sensitive and energy efficient."

"Enacting something like this would inevitably end with a court fight, a developer challenging. But it would create a precedent," she said. "And the cost of challenging these fees in court, spread out over three townships, would be far less for homeowners than floating a bond issue for construction" of new schools.

Nutley school project about to begin

$23.7 million renovation to transform 77-year-old Franklin Middle

In nine months, he said, by the time a new batch of middle-schoolers enters the building, the mount will be no more. Instead, new classrooms, a music room and a state-of-the-art gymnasium will be built.

More than a year after voters approved a $14.9 million bond financing renovations to the 77-year-old school, construction will soon begin. New roofing and windows will be installed, the plumbing, heating and ventilation and electrical systems will be updated, and the floors will be refinished.

Additional science labs, computer rooms, a library and media center and new cafeteria also are part of the project, along with an assortment of cosmetic improvements including painting lockers and walls and landscaping. The district's board offices will move from the Radcliffe School to the new building.

"We are very excited about this project." Zarra said. "Middle school is such a crucial part of the children's education, and we want to make sure we give them the best facilities during their transition from elementary to high school."

Though eighth-grader Joseph Dispoto won't be around to experience the newly renovated school, he said he's glad the kids that come after him will have a nicer, more modern building.

"We're looking at all of our buildings and trying to prioritize the needs and come up with a common sense approach as to how we can accomplish needed repairs and how we can afford them," he said.

Kasi Addison covers Nutley, Bloomfield and Belleville. She may be reached at (973) 392-4154 or kaddison@starledger.com.

New Jersey Assembly

Editorial | Much to do on last day

Philadelphia Inquirer

The New Jersey Assembly should wrap up its session today by passing bills to ban smoking in public places, study death-row justice, and expand college scholarships.

It's the least legislators could do, given the issues they've ducked the last two years.

New Jersey should join New York, Delaware and at least seven other states that have outlawed indoor smoking to protect the health of restaurant and bar patrons and workers.

(An exception would be made for casino gaming floors.) Bans elsewhere are working without destroying business.

The Assembly also should impose a yearlong moratorium on executions and set up a study on whether capital punishment is fair and worth the cost. The last execution in New Jersey was in 1963. Acting Gov. Richard Codey has been pushing for an official moratorium since 2004.

Given the rising cost of college tuition, the Legislature should further assist the state's best graduates by adding aid to New Jersey STARS (Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship). The program would help students attend community college and then go on to four-year schools. It's one idea former Gov. James McGreevey had right.

Legislators should finish up these bills and avoid their usual costly "lame duck" mischief today, because they've left a long "to do" list for their next session. The Assembly put off a number of the state's pressing problems and avoided several of Codey's top priorities, including his $350 million bond proposal to invest in stem-cell research.

Assembly Democrats say they want more time to study legal issues surrounding the cutting-edge science and sway new members next session. But starting the legislative process from scratch and competing with a flurry of other issues won't give this controversial initiative an easier ride. Politicians should stop stalling and give voters their say through a ballot question.

New Jersey scientists are losing important momentum in an increasingly competitive field.

Besides, legislators have other work to do. Beyond a $5 billion projected budget deficit, New Jersey faces the bankruptcy of the Transportation Trust Fund in July. The federal government will be looking for answers by March on how the state will match its future contribution to fix roads, bridges and transit. Some legislators are finally facing the reality - apparent since 2003 - that they'll have to raise the state's gas tax, among the lowest in the nation. They also agree they'll have to dedicate proceeds solely to transportation. Diverting transportation dollars to the general fund must stop.

Also looming is the tough question of whether to dismantle or continue to fund the fiscally irresponsible Schools Construction Corp., given the New Jersey Supreme Court mandate to fix crumbling buildings in the state's 31 poorest districts.

Then there's the perennial question of lowering the highest property taxes in the nation. Repeated calls for a constitutional convention or special session of the Legislature have failed. Pennsylvania is making more progress toward tax reform, even though New Jersey has studied the problem far longer.

The Assembly has the chance to pass some useful bills to finish this session, but as is often the case in New Jersey, the tough problems must await solutions for another day

Contractor gets 5 years in Edison school construction fraud

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) _ A former Somerset County school construction contractor was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for stealing nearly $1 million that was to have gone toward school building projects in Edison.

Manny Bana, 38, a former Roselle Park resident who now lives in Hollywood, Fla., also must pay $106,000 restitution and a $10,000 fine.

"Our office continues to aggressively investigate and prosecute persons and companies who steal from school districts and others involved in public works contracts for school construction projects," said Attorney General Peter Harvey.

Bana owned Somerville-based Icon Construction Corp., which was hired by the Edison Board of Education in December 2002 to act as primary contractor on nine different public school construction projects.

The projects were funded in part by the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation.

A state investigation determined that Bana stole by accepting payments as primary contractor for the work, then withholding payment to six subcontractors hired to help with the work while asserting that he had paid the subcontractors.

In March 2004, Bana and his company were barred by the state from receiving public works contracts in New Jersey.