School Construction Authority officials, meeting yesterday for the first time since Gov. Pataki’s investigative panel lashed out at $1.8 billion in school cost overruns, acted as if the furor didn’t exist.
Schools Chancellor Harold Levy – one of the SCA’s three trustees – made no mention of the massive shortfall or his efforts to solve the Board of Education’s capital spending problems.
SCA Chairman Howard Wilson, an appointee of Mayor Giuliani, didn’t bring up the matter.
Trustee Charles Stillman, who represents Gov. Pataki, also avoided the politically explosive topic.
SCA President and Chief Executive Miles Riverso – who provided damaging testimony against the Board of Ed in the state report released last week – also was mum.
The report scorched the board’s school construction planning as a “Ponzi scheme” marked by lies, cover-ups and bungling.
Levy and SCA officials said the construction budget woes were not an item on the agenda.
“We did the business of the SCA,” Levy said.
SCA spokesman Dan McCormack said: “It’s not for the trustees of the SCA to determine the Board of Education’s capital plan.”
But Levy’s number-crunchers are more closely tracking school construction costs – as evidenced by board budget director Beverly Donohue’s presence at the SCA meeting.
In its monthly report, the SCA did release – without discussion – updated figures on ballooning overruns for ongoing building projects.
Projected costs for nine projects started under the previous capital budget more than doubled from a total of $177 million to $365 million.
For all projects in design, anticipated building costs surged from $348 million to $684 million.
For example, projected costs to build a combined 534-student elementary and middle school at Queens College has ballooned from $24 million to $50 million.