Building for the Future

New Jersey's $8.6 Billion School Construction Program Well Underway

by Natalie Keith

The 3 R's aren't the only subject New Jersey students have been studying in recent years.

With the New Jersey School Construction Corp. overseeing an $8.6 billion school construction program, they've been learning about beam signings, ground breakings and dedication ceremonies.

"Work in going on in every county in the state," said Jack Spencer, chief executive officer of the NJSCC, during an April interview. "So far, we've executed 1,341 grants in 385 school districts in 21 counties."

The program was initiated with the passage of the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act of New Jersey on July 18, 2000. It is the largest public construction program ever undertaken by New Jersey and represents is one of the largest programs of its type ever undertaken in the United States, according to the NJSCC.

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Under the act, New Jersey's 30 special needs districts, known as the Abbott Districts, were awarded $6 billion of the construction dollars. Of the remaining funding, $2.5 billion was earmarked for non-Abbott Districts and $100 million for county vocational schools.

The NJSCC was formed in October 2002 as a subsidiary of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to oversee the program. The NJSCC manages all phases of construction activity including land acquisition, procurement of design professionals and construction contractors and day-to-day construction management.

Spencer was appointed chief executive officer of the NJSCC in October 2003. He replaced Alfred T. McNeill, who retired. Before coming to the NJSCC, Spencer worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, starting as an engineering trainee in 1970 and rising to the ranks of deputy chief engineer where he was responsible for managing the department's day-to-day operations, providing professional program management and engineering/architectural design and construction management services. Among high-profile projects Spencer has worked on include the $460 million project to restore PATH service to Lower Manhattan and the $1.9 billion JFK AirTrain project.

"(The New Jersey schools program) is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rebuild schools that, in some cases, haven't been renovated in 50 or 75 years," said Spencer.

Since the inception of the program, 295 design contracts have been awarded for 513 schools and 385 construction contracts worth $1.6 billion have been awarded. Health and safety projects worth $660 million at 344 schools were completed, according to the NJSCC.

"We're beyond the triage of health and safety work," said Spencer. "We're at the point of the program where we're designing and building new schools and renovations."

The NJSCC expects to award 100 design contracts and between 90 and 100 construction contracts worth $1 billion in 2004. By April, about 10 design and 25 construction contracts had been awarded. In 2005, the agency expects to award $2 billion in contracts, said Spencer.

Spencer said he is trying to get as many firms involved in the program, mainly because it makes good business sense. Competition keeps costs down and ensures that high-quality firms are getting jobs.

As part of the schools program, the NJSCC has established a workforce monitoring program with weekly monitoring of construction sites to enforce workforce affirmative action, initiated a statewide marketing and outreach campaign to MBEs and minority communities, set up a construction trades training program for women and minorities and implemented an owner-controlled insurance program, said Spencer.

"I want the NJSCC to be viewed as the agency of choice to do business with. I want firms to want to work with me," he said. "I'm firm, but fair with them."

Due to the amount of work that is being done, ceremonial events have become commonplace in New Jersey. Among recent events is a ground breaking event in Trenton to mark the start of construction of the new $25.8 million Dr. Martin Luther King Jr./Jefferson Elementary School. This marked NJSCC's seventh recent groundbreaking in Trenton where over $90 million in school projects are underway. They are:

• $20.5 million construction of the new Joyce Kilmer Elementary School
  
  
• $15.7 million construction of the new Christopher Columbus Elementary School
  
  
• $11 million addition and renovations at Parker Elementary School
  
  
• $7.6 million complete renovation of the Patton J. Hill Elementary School
  
  
• $7 million addition and renovations at Mott Elementary School
  
  
• $3.9 million addition and renovations at the Gregory Elementary School

NJSCC is also due to break ground later this year for construction of the new Roebling School and an expansion of Trenton Central High School.

"The Schools Construction Corporation projects in Trenton are truly extraordinary. They are harbingers of the city's rapid transformation and will provide state-of-the-art facilities for Trenton's children for decades to come," said Dr. James H. Lytle, Trenton School Superintendent.

The newest project will consolidate the student enrollments of the King Middle School, built in 1904, and Jefferson Elementary School, built in 1916 and expanded in 1950, into one facility. The new 119,825-sq.-ft., 2-story elementary school will comprise three distinct classroom wings - one for pre-K-2, one for grades 3-5 and one for grades 6-8. Overall, the wings will encompass 37 classrooms. The project also features a cafeteria, gymnasium, science and computer labs, a television studio, library, art and music rooms, faculty and administrative areas.

Another event was held earlier in the year in Manchester, where 1,100 students participated in a beam signing ceremony to mark progress of construction of an addition and renovations to Manchester Township High School.

The high school, middle school and Whiting Elementary School are undergoing extensive additions and renovations as a result of a $30 million bond referendum approved by township voters. The work is targeted for completion in 2005.

"It's been a great partnership," said Manchester School Superintendent Dr. William DeFeo, regarding working with the NJSCC. "We're just thrilled with the whole operation. It's worked out extremely well."

One challenge that school officials have faced is acquiring sites to build new schools, particularly in urban areas where available land is scarce So far, the agency has acquired 379 pieces of property for school projects.

Many municipalities are reluctant to build schools on land that could be used for retail or other commercial uses that bring tax revenue. Once land is acquired, the agency must relocate residents or businesses that were located there, said Spencer.

"As we move forward, that will be one of the major challenges," Spencer said.

To help address this program, the NJSCC has signed an agreement with the New Jersey Institute of Technology to ensure the environmental safety of potential school sites in a faster and more effective manner. Under the agreement with the institute's York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science, a new program will be developed modeled after the "triad approach," a nationally recognized environmental review process.

The new program will accelerate site acquisition by more effectively identifying environmental issues with land the NJSCC is considering for school construction. The three-pronged triad approach involves:

• an improved system with clear goals and uniform site activities to ensure thorough, effective and timesaving environmental reviews
  
  
• on-site decision-making for field project teams and clearer direction on how to handle environmental review activities
  
  
• better use of on-site equipment for rapid sampling and analysis of soil and other subsurface environmental conditions to eliminate time-consuming and costly off-site analysis

Environmental investigations typically required several site visits and can take months to complete.

"With triad, it all can be done in the field on one trip to determine the environmental conditions of the site," said Spencer. "The process usually can be completed within weeks."

With the renovation and rebuilding of new schools, New Jersey is hoping to spur economic development in six municipalities. With this in mind, Governor James McGreevey established the "Demonstration Projects" program whereby the state will work with Camden, East Orange, New Brunswick, Trenton, Union City and Vineland to attract private development.

Demonstration projects begin with the construction of schools that incorporate community design features, such as a gym or library accessible to students and residents. State investment in new school construction is then leveraged by the city to bring in private investment, such as housing.

Approved demonstration projects include the $39.9 million project at Dudley Grange Park in East Camden, the $89 million project in the Main Street redevelopment area in East Orange, the proposed $98 million project high school project in New Brunswick, the proposed $17 million for a new Twilight Alternative High School in Trenton, the $366 million high school project in Union City and the proposed $47.4 million pre-K-5 school project in Vineland.

"Nobody once said, 'a school is nothing more than four walls with the future inside.' At the end of the day, nothing is more important than building schools for our children," said Spencer.

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