$1.55 Billion In State Funds Earmarked For More Than A Dozen School Projects

NEW JERSEY, NJ — As part of Gov. Phil Murphy's fiscal year 2023 budget, the state allocated $1.55 billion to advance more than a dozen school construction projects in Schools Development Authority districts through fiscal year 2026, a state government news release said.

Murphy visited the Dayton Avenue Educational Complex in Passaic City last week to cut the ribbon on the $241 million SDA project, highlighting the significant school construction investments in the budget, the release said.

"We are so excited to see a 21st century modernized educational campus in this area, and we are even more excited for the students who will benefit from all that it will have to offer,” Passaic School Superintendent Sandra Montanez-Diodonet said.

The new 448,000-square-foot campus, which broke ground in 2018, will house four schools educating up to 3,000 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Those schools, and respective classrooms and facilities, include:

• Abraham Lincoln School (pre-kindergarten program) — 28 classrooms, three specialized rooms, and a courtyard play area.
• Mahatma Gandhi Elementary School — 33 general classrooms, five self-contained special education classrooms, three science labs, a media center, a music room, and a gym.
• Ellen Ochoa Gifted and Talented Academy (magnet school program) — 28 general classrooms, three self-contained special education classrooms, three science labs, an art room, a dance studio, a vocal music room, a media center, a cafeteria, and two learning areas for "Teach to One" tailored math instruction.
• Muhammad Ali Middle School - 27 general classrooms, six self-contained special education classrooms, three science labs, four project labs, three Teach to One Learning Areas, a gym, a cafeteria, and classrooms dedicated to the arts.

"Thanks to the governor and the state legislature, the robust funding allocated to the state's school construction program has allowed us to move ahead with projects identified in our 2022 strategic plan update." Manuel Da Silva, CEO of New Jersey Schools Development Authority, said.

An additional $350 million will go to facilities plans in regular operating districts. All of the funds will be appropriated through a debt defeasance fund established in 2021 and will not increase government debt, the news release said.

$10 million for charter and renaissance school facility improvements, and $75 million for capital maintenance and emergent projects will be funded through the Schools Development Authority and the New Jersey Department of Education.

"The necessary investments to SDA and DOE will see that our schools possess the proper infrastructure for students to thrive in their educational environments," Murphy said.