State
pays average of $4.6M to gain land for
schools
With 224 more sites needed, needy districts'
overhaul could exceed $1B
Thursday, November 04, 2004 • BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
• Star-Ledger Staff
The price tag for acquiring land for new schools in 31
needy districts could top $1 billion if the state continues
to pay for sites at the current rate, state officials
said.
According to a report by the Schools Construction Corp.
task force, the state already has spent $141.7 million to
acquire sites for 31 schools, or an average of about $4.6
million a site. Acquisition costs include the purchase of
land and other actions such as relocating property owners
displaced by the new construction.
Under development plans submitted by the needy districts
four years ago, the state would need to acquire 224 more
sites to complete New Jersey's massive school construction
program. If the $4.6 million average holds up, the bill for
buying the new sites would total more than $1 billion.
"There's an awful lot of variables, but at the most
simplified, you could make that assumption," said Jack
Spencer, chief executive officer of the Schools Construction
Corp. "If the long-range plans that come in next year still
require that number of sites, you could potentially be at a
figure that looks like that."
In light of the imposing land costs, the corporation's
Land Acquisition Task Force recommended that state officials
take steps to limit land needs, such as "placing a greater
emphasis" on renovating existing school buildings rather
than replacing them with new structures on newly acquired
property. It also suggested construction of multistory
buildings to cut down on how much land is needed for the new
projects.
The report, adopted by the Schools Construction Corp.
last week, also recommends using roadways adjacent to new
schools for fire lanes and parking to keep land costs
down.
In addition, the task force said districts that abandon
old schools for new buildings should be required to turn the
vacant buildings over to the state so the corporation can
sell the sites to help cover building costs.
Districts like Newark have proposed selling vacant
schools and using the funds to pay for extras like swimming
pools and media centers in new buildings -- items the state
will not pay for under the program.
"What we're trying to do is leave no stone unturned (to)
manage the cost and amount of land acquisition," Spencer
said.
Based on land costs so far, the total bill for site
acquisition could end up accounting for more than one-sixth
of the $6 billion lawmakers authorized for the court-ordered
overhaul of decrepit school buildings in the state's
neediest communities.
Details on the land costs have emerged at the same time
lawmakers are examining the ballooning costs of the school
building program.
State Sen. William Gormley (R-Atlantic), an author of
the legislation that set up the school construction program,
said lawmakers will have to review the land acquisition
process as they determine how to bankroll the school
building program moving forward.
"Obviously, when we talk numbers of this magnitude I
assume the Legislature would want to thoroughly review
them," Gormley said. "Even if it's appropriate, you have to
find where you can find the money."
Lawmakers set up the school construction program four
years ago, in response to the state Supreme Court's landmark
Abbott vs. Burke ruling involving state funding for public
schools in the state's neediest communities.
In their 1998 ruling, the justices said "crumbling and
obsolescent" buildings in poor communities deprived students
of the opportunity for the thorough and efficient education
the state constitution requires lawmakers to provide.
They accepted a state plan to coordinate a massive
rebuilding effort in the poor communities that at the time
was projected to cost less than $2 billion.
Lawmakers expanded that plan to include $2.5 billion in
grants for the nearly 600 school districts not included in
the court order; $100 million for vocational-technical
school districts; and $6 billion to meet the mandate for the
31 needy communities covered by the court case.
Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He can
be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609)
989-0341.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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