State Unveils New School Projects

Education and Labor Commissioners Announce School Construction Plans to Invest $115 Million in Trenton, New Brunswick

Trenton, NJ (October 29, 2003) - Department of Labor Commissioner Albert G. Kroll and Department of Education Commissioner William Librera joined the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) today in unveiling new school construction projects that will tie urban redevelopment to community-oriented education in the cities of Trenton and New Brunswick.
 

New Twilight Alternative High School, Trenton

In Trenton, the proposed $17 million demonstration project calls for a new Twilight Alternative High School at East Hanover & Montgomery streets in the "Old Trenton Neighborhood." It includes 37,710 square feet of new construction linked to 47,010 square feet of renovated space in two vacant buildings. Tailored to adult students, the school will be part of an urban campus with such community-based learning institutions as the Public Library, Mercer County Community College and YMCA. SCC estimates the project will create an average of 45 construction jobs a day - to a high of 120 at peak periods - over the course of a 22-month construction schedule.

"These demonstration projects represent the perfect marriage of twokey components of our economic development plans- urban redevelopment and workforce development," Kroll said. "Thesecommunity-oriented schools will bring jobs and increased economic activity to our cities. And the educational opportunities provided by these schools- for children and adults- will help to create the highly trained and highly skilled workforce that businesses demand."

In New Brunswick, the proposed $98 million demonstration project is a new 2- and 3-story, 380,000-square-foot high school to be built on a 32-acre site in the city's Route 27 "Renaissance Area" where proposed housing and commercial redevelopment activities are under way. The school would accommodate 1,750 students in two educational wings separated by a central core structure housing indoor athletic facilities, gymnasium, auditorium and other common and administrative spaces. SCC estimates this project will create an average of 130 construction jobs a day - to a high of 320 at peak periods - over the course of a 38-month construction schedule.

New Brunswick High School

"We are so very pleased to join the SCC and Department of Labor in announcing these projects," Commissioner of Education William L. Librera said. "Such endeavors are precisely what the DOE continues to strive for. We encourage diverse and multiple paths to success and programs like the ones in Trenton and New Brunswick are surely part of that mission."

On Thursday, the SCC will hold a special board meeting to recommend the school proposals in Trenton, New Brunswick and four other cities to the State Treasurer for preliminary designation as demonstration projects. The other proposed projects are in Union City, East Orange, Camden and Vineland.
 

Left to right: DOE Commissioner, William Librera, DOL Commissioner Albert Kroll, Jerry Murphy, SCC Managing Director, Policy & Planning, New Brunswick School Superintendent Dr. Ronald Larkin, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora

Demonstration projects are school projects incorporating community design features (for example, a gym, playground or library accessible to students and residents alike). State investment in new school construction is leveraged by the city to bring in private investment and facilitate municipal redevelopment efforts, such as housing. While the school serves as an anchor, the SCC does not manage the project but provides funding to a city-named development authority.

Last month the McGreevey administration announced the remarkable progress that had been made on the School Construction program, since the SCC was created in July 2002. Most notably, in the past year the SCC has:

• Cut the timetable for projects from five years to three.
• Completed over 90% of the necessary Health and Safety Renovations, with the remaining 10% to be completed by the end of 2003.
• Opened 95 new schools and school additions this year, and 159 next year.
• Purchasing 100 new sites for schools in the districts that need them most, a twelve-fold increase from previous years.
• Put almost $1 Billion towards construction contracts, eight times what had been spent between 2000 and 2002.

In total, the Administration is building 21st century classrooms in over 1,300 schools around the state.

Aware of the need to create good jobs for working New Jerseyans and to promote all forms of economic development, the McGreevey administration and the Department of Labor are making school construction projects like these a central priority. The Department of Labor is also making workforce development its central priority. That includes consolidating workforce development and job training programs under a new "Department of Labor and Workforce Development." It also involves educating workers and potential workers, providing easy access to job counseling services, and protecting workers who may be exploited or shortchanged. For further information, visit the department's web site at www.state.nj.us/labor

The demonstration project is one of the many initiatives Governor James E. McGreevey, Commissioner of Education William L. Librera and the Department of Education encourage for both teacher growth and innovative lessons for students in the state.

Specifically, the program is an example of the DOE mission statement: "The New Jersey Department of Education will provide leadership for a superior education by utilizing multiple and diverse paths to success for all children in New Jersey. In September 2002, the Governor and Commissioner hosted an Educational Summit in Trenton, where they outlined the Administration's 21-point plan for educational reform. The 21-point plan is available on the Department of Education's website: www.state.nj.us/education.

The four key components of the 21-point plan are: involving teachers at all levels of decision making; creating a more professional environment for teachers; better preparing teachers and administrators for the challenges they face in their classroom and in their schools and supporting them once they begin their work; and continued emphasis on recognizing and celebrating excellence.

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