TRENTON – Senator Dana Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Chairwoman of the School Facilities Subcommittee of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Schools, issued the following statement today regarding Governor Corzine’s economic stimulus proposals, which were delivered in a joint legislative hearing in the Statehouse this afternoon:
“Particularly when State residents are worried about the nation’s long-term and short-term economic health, Governor Corzine today outlined a bold plan which will help New Jersey weather the worst of these uncertain times.
“I was especially interested to hear about the Governor’s public infrastructure goals, including $1.8 billion in immediate spending for urban and suburban school construction – nearly half of the total we approved earlier this year. Building these facilities will not only give students the state-of-the-art educational settings they deserve, but help generate jobs in an economy where people are concerned with rising unemployment.
“Last week, I held a School Facilities Subcommittee meeting in Camden, and I can tell you firsthand that local residents are desperate for the sort of educational and economic stimulus that building new schools will provide.
“We need to expedite construction and put people to work. The goals of a modernized, first-class education and job growth are not mutually exclusive. I look forward to working with the Governor in any capacity I can to help speed up the construction of schools and ease some of the pain caused by the national economic meltdown.”