Credit: (Edwin J. Torres/ Governor’s Office: CC BY-NC 2.0)With Gov. Phil Murphy’s and legislative leaders’ agreement last week to jump-start the state’s court-ordered school construction program for its neediest districts, the question now is where the new money will go.
It’s not as if there are not plenty of professed needs in the districts, but the state’s Schools Development Authority — the agency overseeing the work — will have the next say, and it has already provided some clues with its latest strategic plan, which cites top-priority projects that address the greatest needs in terms of student overcrowding and have the land readily available to proceed.
Here’s a list of those districts and their specific projects cited by the SDA:
- Elizabeth: New pre-K-8 school
- Garfield: Two new pre-K-5 schools
- Bridgeton: Two new additions/renovations pre-K and grades 6-8, and new high school
- Trenton: New K-5 school
- Passaic City: New high school
- Paterson: Addition/renovation, grades 9-12
- New Brunswick: Addition/renovation, grades 6-8
- Perth Amboy: New K-5 school
- West New York: New pre-K-8 school
- Pleasantville: New pre-K-5 school
- Jersey City: New preschool center
- Newark: New pre-K-5 school, new pre-K-8 school
The next step will be for the agency staff to make recommendations to the SDA board of directors, based on the strategic plan, Edythe Maier, the authority’s spokeswoman, said. Then comes the question of how much the $1.55 billion allotted will cover, when construction costs for a new school these days can exceed $100 million.
“As done previously, the SDA will look to this Statewide prioritization [in the strategic plan] to advance capital project recommendations to the SDA Board of Directors,” said Maier in an email.
“Total estimated project costs for each project is developed after project validation and scope determination. The SDA is engaging in this process with the school districts identified in the 2022 Statewide Strategic Plan.”
This will not be districts’ only chance for such funding, as Murphy has said that he plans to make similar investments in the SDA fund in the next two budgets as well. His own administration has estimated overall needs at more than $5 billion.
