Strong management helps avoid construction woes.

As New Jersey has learned, lax oversight of school construction programs can cause costly problems. But it doesn't have to be that way. Strong management by state agencies and local school districts can keep programs out of trouble, according to school and construction authorities. In New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine is reviewing a recommendation by an interagency working group that he abolish the state's School Construction Corporation and replace it with a new agency that will make major changes in the way construction projects are planned and carried out.

Corzine established the advisory panel after the state inspector general and auditor reported problems under the SCC, including creation of false documents that led to inflated billings, conflicts of interest, and other instances of "waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars."

The advisory group is expected to give Corzine a follow-up report with steps to implement its findings and recommendations for future funding and legislative changes.

"Putting together the right people is critical" to effectively manage construction programs, advises Bruce D'Agostino, executive director of the Construction Management Association of America.

He cites Ohio's School Facilities Commission, comprised of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Director of Budget and Management and Director of Administrative Services as the only voting members, with four non-voting legislative members and a professional staff.

"Projects get into trouble because people fail to recognize the early signs of problems and then they snowball to the point of no return," declares Roy Sprague, president-elect of the Council of Educational Facility Planners and senior director of facilities planning and construction in the Cypress-Fairbanks (Texas) Independent School District.

"We assign a manager at the beginning of a project and if we start seeing signs of trouble, we step up to the plate right away to solve the problem," Sprague says.

It's important, D'Agostino adds, to keep political connections out of the selection and management of construction vendors. "You have people in the community with relatives in the construction industry and they want a say. You need authorities who can say 'No,' " D'Agostino states.

School construction executives will discuss best practices in the field at a School Building Summit CMAA is sponsoring June 15-16 in Los Angeles.

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