Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/28/07
The Taj Mahal of elementary schools — Neptune’s Midtown Community Elementary School, built at a cost of $42 million — has a “major” mold problem, officials say. And the building isn’t even finished.
The mold problem, blamed on “uncontrolled water intrusion” in rear walls, will delay the planned September opening of the school by another year and will cost another $5 million to $10 million to clean up. How did this happen? Where were the inspectors who should have been overseeing every phase of the project? How did the problem get to be “major” without anyone detecting it until now?
The head of the state Schools Construction Corp., Jerry Murphy, said the entire upfront cost of the repair work will be borne by the SCC. That means the cost will be borne by the state’s taxpayers until — and if — the state determines who is liable. Don’t hold your breath. There was little accountability for the SCC’s earlier fiascos, when some of those responsible were allowed to quietly resign. Monmouth County’s state legislators shouldn’t let that happen here.
New Jersey taxpayers already have paid dearly for that first bungled round of school construction at the hands of the SCC, which burned through nearly $8.6 billion while completing only about half the projects on its initial list. A scathing report from the state Inspector General said the agency’s lax oversight made it vulnerable to “waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
It doesn’t appear anything has changed. The Midtown project obviously didn’t get the oversight it needed if a school that’s still being built needs a “controlled demolition.” Meanwhile, the school district is looking at ways to make the extra year in the roughly 20 trailers behind the school more enjoyable for the 280 children affected. All the clowns in the world won’t make that place any happier come September.
The pricey Midtown school project itself is part of the ongoing problem of SCC waste — at taxpayer expense — conducted in the name of “education” that resulted in elaborate building plans, huge utility-consuming atria, fireplaces, pools and other extras.
School Principal Jerard Terrell said, “Everything has to happen when it happens.” Can he be less helpful? Sen. Joseph Palaia, R-Monmouth, whose district includes Neptune, serves on the Senate Education Committee. He should be voicing the indignation that’s missing in the school administration, and demand answers to what went wrong, how and why, and see that those responsible are held accountable.
