WyBlog

Gov. Christie vetoes latest round of school construction project cost overruns

Unlike his predecessor Governor Chris Christie will not be a rubber stamp for the education bureaucracy. He has now taken aim at the school construction boondoggle, and in particular a Burlington City High School project that was originally budgeted at $28.7 million and has already cost the taxpayers $46.4 million.

How? Change orders. The Schools Development Authority routinely approves them, and they add up fast. Not a single new school in New Jersey has come in on time or under budget. Not one. Time and again the educrats go back to the well, soaking the taxpayers for elaborate upgrades like swimming pools and "media centers". And Jon Corzine's administration never batted an eye.

But now that he's the governor, Chris Christie has veto power over the SDA's actions. Yesterday he exercised it.

Apologists for the cost overruns always point to "unforseen circumstances" which necessitate the change orders. I can see maybe a few minor problems needing to be addressed, but who botched the initial estimate so badly that an additional $17.7 million dollars wasn't sufficient? Come on, get real already. You're over budget by 61%.

As the saying goes, don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.

The more likely scenario is that "unforseen circumstances" were in actuality the result of somebody saying "wouldn't it be cool if we..." and what was once a pie-in-the-sky dream suddenly became an educational imperative simply because the money was free and no one ever said no.

Until now.

Posted at 12:43 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   | Trackback | Perm Link |
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