Stepping into the boy’s room on the second floor of Washington Community School on March 6, Gov. Jon Corzine traveled back in time.
This was not a matter of nostalgia or a fond looking back at a better bygone era. Ancient urinals, cracked tiles, and toilet stalls with squeaking wooden doors greeted him and his staff.
Aging schools such as this one are a problem throughout the state, he said later during a press conference elsewhere in the school, and he had come to Bayonne to look over the problems firsthand and offer ways to deal with the situation.
Washington School is one of hundreds of schools throughout the state that are near or exceed 100 years old, and his plan to upgrade them will not only provide a better learning environment, he said, but also help serve as a job generator at a time when the construction industry is seeing massive unemployment rates due to the downturn in the economy.
Corzine walked in and out of classrooms, looking over windows in need of repair and pausing to talk with children and teachers.
“What do you need? What lessons are you learning today?” he asked.
In one class, students were in the middle of a lesson on China, and Corzine recalled his trips to China prior to his becoming governor and talked briefly about the world economy.
In another class, the teacher talked to Corzine about the need for increased technology, such as Smart Boards, which are computer-generated instruction display boards.
Corzine used this tour to announce that more than 130 New Jersey school districts are eligible to receive approximately $180 million for capital maintenance and construction projects under the first round of School Development Authority (SDA) regular operating district grant allocations.
For Bayonne, this means a $6 million matching grant that covers about 60 percent of the needed $10.6 million to make the upgrades to Bayonne High School and nine of its elementary schools.
Corzine said round three of the $3.9 billion approved by the state last summer is in addition to, but not funded by, the recently passed federal stimulus package. It is part of a state initiative to help improve schools while also kick starting the economy by creating jobs.
Corzine said it is unlikely New Jersey schools will see much from the federal package, and the state must generate its own repair effort.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Patricia McGeehan said while Bayonne is a non-Abbott district (urban districts which are seen as in need of additional state aid), Bayonne has many of the same needs as those schools but does not get the same level of state help. But she did note that last year, the state kicked in an additional $8 million in aid to help rectify some of these issues.
Aid per school
The construction aid from the state will dedicate about $2.2 million to Bayonne High School, $1.5 million for Washington School, $1.25 million to Wilson School and about $1 million to Robinson School for repairs.
“School construction is a vital need statewide and affects all of our children.” – Gov. Jon Corzine
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Overall, 133 districts applied for funds for 400 projects. The total estimated cost of the projects to be funded in this first round is $447,182,565.
“School construction is a vital need statewide and affects all of our children. The funding opportunities announced today will both benefit future generations of New Jersey students and create much-needed jobs to stimulate the economy in these unprecedented times,” said Kris Kolluri, School Development Authority CEO.
The Department of Education (DOE) established processes for district applications, project evaluations and prioritization and aid eligibility. The grant awards announced represent the first of multiple rounds of funding opportunities.
Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy noted that it is much more difficult for children to succeed academically when they are being taught in an overcrowded building or in a building in need of repair.
“It is difficult for children to learn in an old school with crumbling plaster, broken lights, sagging ceilings or inadequate bathrooms,” the commissioner said.
In order to receive the state share for their projects, district officials must secure their local shares through referendum or budget approval. Fifty-seven projects in 18 districts require referendums, all of which are scheduled for April 21, 2009.
This is why the state has delayed the second round until summer in order to allow those districts which require referendums to get local approval for their matching portions.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.