LAND ACQUISITIONS: Towns may have to ante up

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/4/06

BY JONATHAN TAMARI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — School districts and cities may have to bear more of the burden, and possibly expenses, for costly land acquisitions and environmental cleanups for new buildings and renovations, the new chairman of the state school-building agency said Friday.

"Local school boards cannot be mere takers of the facilities," Schools Construction Corp. Chairman Barry Zubrow said in a speech to the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. "Perhaps the responsibility going forward should be shifted back to local government to provide sites for the school rather than viewing this as a state function."

The SCC, which has been vilified for spending $8.6 billion meant for school projects with few financial controls, has spent over $328 million buying land. School districts often chose locations that required expensive environmental cleanups paid for by the state or forced the state to pay for property the local governments already owned.

Zubrow indicated that those days could be over.

He stopped short of saying local school boards will definitely have to pay to help clean contaminated sites or buy property where they want to build, but indicated that boards that do not cooperate with the state may not receive top priority for funding.

"I think part of the hammer is going to come from the question of who should pay for the land and who should have the responsibility for some of the ancillary costs, such as the cleanup and other remediation costs," Zubrow said. "There obviously has got to be clear incentives to make sure that these shared responsibilities are shared responsibilities and are not just being dumped on the state."

The state could even go back to the drawing board on schools that haven't worked closely with it, if the projects have not yet been started, Zubrow said.

The SCC has adopted procedures in the past year requiring governments to donate land for construction when feasible, according to a January report by the state inspector general.

New Jersey is required by a state Supreme Court order to upgrade facilities in school districts covered by the Abbott vs. Burke funding-equity lawsuit, but the SCC has already committed the $6 billion allotted for that.

Short on cash, it has also put off the purchase of more than 700 sites identified as future school locations by districts.

The SCC has also committed $2.6 billion in matching funds for suburban projects without nearly meeting demand.

Zubrow, a former Goldman Sachs executive tapped by Gov. Corzine to head the SCC, gave no indication of when more state funding for school projects may become available, saying reforms must be put in place before more money is paid out.

"It doesn't make sense to begin down the road of new funding until we can be certain that we have an effectively organized program that has addressed the historical issues that I've articulated," Zubrow said.

He cited a history of poor management and "decisions at the highest level of the government" that led to the cost overruns that plagued the SCC. Zubrow said creating new "lines of accountability is not rocket science," but will take time.

School officials praised Zubrow's call for reform and cooperation, but hoped the state will move quickly to help pay for new projects.

Timothy O'Halloran, principal of Somerville High School, said a $5.5 million set of projects, which was supposed to receive 40 percent state funding, has been on hold since December 2004 because of the lack of funds.

He said he hoped the state could "expedite it as quickly as possible. Do what you have to do, but at the same time realize that there are a lot of districts that are in my situation that need to move forward."

Jonathan Tamari: jtamari@gannett.com