Cardinale: Governor Corzine Passes the Bill onto Future Generations

"This borrowing scheme is equivalent to asking elementary school children to take out loans to pay for their own education."

Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-39) criticized Governor Jon Corzine today after he signed legislation authorizing $3.9 billion to be borrowed for school construction without voter approval.

"Everyone can agree that our children deserve the best educational opportunities available, " stated Cardinale. "However, borrowing $3.9 billion, without voter approval is not the right way to go about funding anything the state provides, especially something as important as education. This borrowing scheme is equivalent to asking elementary school children to take out loans to pay for their own education."

The money is intended for school repairs and construction. However, $8 billion has been bonded and spent in the past on projects that were riddled with mismanagement and corruption, leaving many projects incomplete or never started.

"At the very least, local taxpayers should be contributing toward the construction of these schools, " Cardinale continued. "It is not fair, nor is it right to have the rest of the state pay for the construction of the schools in their communities as well as 100 percent of the cost of construction of schools in neighboring communities. Governor Corzine cares more about providing money to the corrupt city machine than he does about suburban taxpayers. The Governor has stated he is planning to run for re-election, but instead voters should send him back to Goldman Sachs and get him out of the taxpayers' pocket."

Included in the projects is a $2.9 million pedestrian footbridge to carry students to a new Paterson elementary school and a $130 million new high school in Newark.

"As elected representatives, we have a responsibility to keep the state's financial affairs in working order, " Cardinale concluded. "We should be able to cut wasteful and bloated state programs and use those savings to pay for school construction."