The agency’s second Biannual Report on the School Facilities Construction Program was submitted to the Legislature, as required every six months under the August 2007 legislation establishing the SDA. Weiner was asked to testify before the committee on the report.

"Governor Corzine's visit last month in Newark at the Oliver Street School, one of six schools in the city’s Ironbound section dating to the 1800s, illustrated how too many students are learning in unacceptable conditions, even attending class in hallways or rooms meant as storage closets," Weiner told the committee.

"It is appropriate to scrutinize the actions of the SDA or any state agency. But comprehensive program reforms have been implemented during the Corzine administration, and now we must move forward to restart the program given the conditions of our schools and the tremendous need that exists. Among the many reforms, the agency no longer works on every project approved by the Department of Education without considering availability of funds. Now, projects are prioritized by educational need, and before a project can begin, a comprehensive budget and schedule must be approved by the SDA Board.

"Also, numerous change orders and unanticipated costs are no longer the norm because design no longer begins before land is acquired, and construction no longer begins before design is complete. Furthermore, the SDA has instituted an aggressive cost-recovery program that already has recouped millions of dollars for significant project errors by architects, contractors and project management firms."

One of the key developments highlighted in the report is the progress of the Project Charter initiative. Before this initiative, the SDA Board’s approval of projects was sporadic at times – generally limited to land acquisition and when awarding construction contracts. Now, before the start of land acquisition and the procurement of architects and contractors, the Board reviews and approves charters that provide a detailed project schedule and scope of work, and an all-inclusive budget. The SDA Board receives monthly reports on deviations in these data that may occur as a project progresses. All reports presented to the Board are available to the public prior to all Board meetings.

As of the report’s end date of March 31, 2008, the school construction program has completed 575 projects in the SDA Districts. These completed projects are broken down as follows: 39 new schools; 39 extensive additions, renovations and/or rehabilitations; 20 other rehabilitation projects; 354 health and safety projects; 121 grants for SDA District-managed projects under the former $500,000 cap; and two demonstration projects. Demonstration projects, funded by the SDA, and under its oversight, are managed by a municipal redevelopment entity and redeveloper and are designed to be the cornerstone of revitalization efforts. The SDA also has completed 14 school projects in Regular Operating Districts (RODs).

As of March 31, 2008, the SDA had 25 active construction projects in SDA Districts, four active demonstration projects and an additional eight projects ongoing in RODs. The SDA is forecasting the opening of 12 schools and the completion of four rehabilitations of schools in September 2008.

Given additional funding, the SDA would be able to build 27 projects that were approved for design completion but deferred for construction by the SDA Board in April 2007 when it was determined that the agency’s 2005 Capital Plan had been under funded from inception due to inaccurate project budgets and cost information. The SDA also could build 15 to 20 additional projects as determined by a statewide plan based on educational need that the Department of Education is completing.

The SDA strives continuously for enhanced accountability and efficiencies. The SDA is institutionalizing several cost-saving initiatives that proved effective in 2007. The SDA achieved overall savings of $35.2 million in areas including improvements to project management, in-sourcing information technology purchasing, in-sourcing safety services, proactive initiation of cost recovery actions, and claims mitigation.

The SDA is developing regulations that will allow for delegating the management of projects to SDA Districts (formerly known as Abbott Districts), as authorized by the Program and Governance Reform legislation of August 2007. Also under development are standards for assessing and building district capacity.

The SDA is developing an initial draft of a Real Estate Practices Manual, which when completed will serve as a comprehensive guide of best practices in evaluating, selecting and remediating school facilities project sites. Publication is anticipated in the third quarter of 2008.

The Biannual Report is available on the SDA website at www.njsda.gov.