Alfred
T. McNeill, CEO, NJ Schools Construction Corporation Testifies before
the Public Schools Joint Committee and Schools Facilities Subcommittee
Trenton, NJ (October
29, 2002) - Alfred T. McNeill, CEO, NJ Schools Construction Corporation
(SCC) testified before the Public Schools Joint Committee and Schools
Facilities Subcommittee outlining plans of the corporation's streamlining
efforts that will facilitate the school construction program and accelerate
the progress of construction and financing of quality schools in New
Jersey. On July 29, 2002 Governor McGreevey issued Executive Order No.
24 directing the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to
create the new subsidiary corporation to accelerate development of school
projects. "The mandate is clear," said Al McNeill. "We need to improve
the delivery process and gets the kids behind the desks. It's that simple."
Al McNeill outlined
some of the corporation's procedural and administrative reforms to the
committee which include:
- The reorganization
of SCC staff
- Eliminate linear
path of projects; and overlap tasks concurrently rather than consecutively
- Streamlining the
land acquisition process
- Coordinate flow
of work
- Improve the MBE/WBE
program, including:
- Marketing to solicit interest
- Reduce forms and red-tape to become pre-qualified
- Better monitoring, including compliance monitoring
- Implement contractor training programs - resulting in jobs
- Translate SCC website into Spanish
- Revise standards
for design
- Implement a Design-build
delivery system
- Providing assistance
to contractors with the required State and SCC classification application
forms.
Committee members
were impressed with Mr. McNeill's presentation and were encouraged with
the progress of the program and supportive of the CEO's ideas. "I'm
impressed with you as an individual, and with the things you've said
today," said Senator Rice.
Under the Educational
Facilities and Construction and Financing Act, the EDA and its subsidiary,
the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation is entrusted with the
job of constructing and financing of all eligible school facilities
projects in the 30 Abbott Districts and for districts that receive more
than 55% in State aid, and responsible for providing grants to fund
the State share of school facilities projects approved by the DOE in
districts with a district aid percentage of less than 55%.
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