Developments continue to unfold around New Jersey’s beleaguered school construction program.
John F. Spencer has announced he will resign as the executive director of the New Jersey School Construction Corp.—the state agency that oversees the construction effort—effective Sept. 7.
The unexpected departure comes amid criticism of the agency’s handling of the $8.6 billion project, which will run out of money before it can complete scores of projects planned in needy school districts as part of New Jersey’s long-running Abbott v. Burke school finance case. (“N.J. Facility Fund Dries Up, Scores of Plans on Hold,” Aug. 10, 2005.)
Meanwhile, the Education Law Center, which filed the Abbott lawsuit in 1981, is asking the New Jersey Supreme Court to force state lawmakers to ante up more funds for school construction for the poorest districts.
