P'burg on list for new school

TRENTON | Phillipsburg's long-awaited high school is among some 50 schools proposed for construction with $3.9 billion in newly approved state funding, officials said Monday in advance of an announcement expected today.

The list of funded schools is subject to a vote today by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.

If approved, the state would pay the entire cost of a new high school in Lopatcong Township, according to those with knowledge of the details. It was most recently estimated at $105 million.

"Everybody's going to be able to sleep a lot easier," said Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow, R-Warren/Hunterdon.

Karrow said she received a call from an official at the Schools Development Authority late Monday who told her the Phillipsburg School District was on the list of funded schools to be finalized today.

Phillipsburg Council President David DeGerolamo, who said he received the information Monday from a state official, said the past 10 months of working to secure funding paid off.

"We have finally realized that the light at the end of the tunnel was actually the funding for our high school," he said.

Students attend the school from Phillipsburg, Alpha and Bloomsbury and Greenwich, Lopatcong and Pohatcong townships.

Pohatcong Township Mayor Doug Steinhardt said it was encouraging to see that Phillipsburg is finally getting recognized.

The existing high school was built in 1929, with an addition in 1960. Due to overcrowding, students attend classes in 31 trailers on the school property.

District officials in the former Abbott district have been waiting for the court-mandated funding for a new high school since the Schools Construction Corp., the state entity previously charged with overseeing construction projects, ran out of money in 2005 amid waste and mismanagement.

Recently, Gov. Jon S. Corzine promised the state Supreme Court that he would provide an additional $2.5 billion for projects in some of the 31 districts heavily subsidized by the state.

The Legislature approved a heftier proposal of $3.9 billion: $2.9 for construction in some of the former Abbott districts and $1 billion for projects in suburban districts. The new round of funding is expected to pay for the cost of constructing 27 schools in former Abbott districts previously deferred by the state and 20 to 25 new schools in those districts.

The measure passed both houses of the Legislature by slim margins. Legislators who voted against the bill said the new debt should be sent to voters for approval.

Phillipsburg School District acting Superintendent George Chando said late Monday he had not heard official word from Trenton but that he was anxiously awaiting notification of approval.

"If that comes to fruition, it will certainly be a great day for the school district, the students and the town," he said.