

NEW BRUNSWICK — Nearly every major political, education, labor and industry group in New Jersey united Monday to urge voters to go to the polls next month to vote in favor of a historic ballot question that would authorize $750 million in state borrowing for building projects at the state's colleges and universities.

Leaders of the bi-partisan "Building our Future: Yes on 1" campaign said they have nearly 200 groups signed on to support the cause.

Their biggest opponent: the economy.

"There is always opposition ... because the economy is so bad," Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said as he helped launch the campaign at a rally at Rutgers University. "People are frustrated."

Supporters of the bond issue have less than a month to persuade New Jerseyans to put aside their worries about the economy and vote "yes" on Question No. 1 on the November ballot. If approved, the referendum would allow the state to borrow up to $750 million to split between nearly 60 public and private two- and four-year colleges to build classrooms and labs.

A poll due to be released this morning says the "Building our Future" campaign has a lot of work to do before Election Day. Though the vote is only a few weeks away, 87 percent of registered voters have heard "little" or "nothing" about the higher education bond question, according to the poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind.

Forty-eight percent said they would support the referendum, while 34 percent said they would vote against it and 18 percent were undecided, according to the poll of 790 registered voters.

"Our poll suggests that voters are in need of some basic information, at least as it relates to offsetting costs to higher education through the sale of state issued bonds," said Krista Jenkins, professor of political science and director of the poll.

College presidents, lawmakers and industry leaders gathered on the steps of Rutgers University’s Brower Commons Monday to make their case for the bond. They were surrounded by union workers, eager for the construction work the money would spur on college campuses, and students, who believe the bond will help hold down tuition.

"This is a moment that we have to seize. This is really about our future," said former Gov. Tom Kean, who kicked off the event.

The bond question has rare bi-partisan support, including the backing of Gov. Chris Christie.

New Jersey has not considered a higher education borrowing referendum since 1988, when voters overwhelmingly approved $350 million for the state’s colleges.

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College officials spent more than a decade lobbying lawmakers to put another question on the ballot, arguing New Jersey is one of the few states in the nation that has failed to spend any state money on higher education construction projects. Many higher education advocates were hoping for a new bond issue of $3.5 billion or more to replace aging buildings. But lawmakers came back with a more modest $750 million in borrowing, which they hope will be more palitable to voters.

If the bond is approved, colleges would be required to match 25 percent of the funding for the projects. The buildings would be restricted to academic and research facilities. Sports-related projects and administrative buildings would be excluded from the money. Princeton University, which has one of the largest college endowments in the nation, would also be excluded from getting any of the state funding.

The bond was not created to fund the higher education restructuring legislation signed by Christie over the summer. The cost of that plan, which would merge Rutgers and most of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has not been determined and it remains unclear who will cover the tab.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said lawmakers who support the bond are not hypocritical in pushing for the passage of $750 million in borrowing while also advocating for state spending cuts.

"This, we all view as investment," Oliver said of the bond issue. "This is going to enable our state to generate more revenue and to broaden revenue streams that come into the state."

Star-Ledger staff writer Matt Friedman contributed to this report.

Related coverage:

• Bi-partisan group launches campaign to pass $750M N.J. higher ed bond question



• N.J. voters to decide whether to approve $750M in higher education borrowing

• State to ask N.J. voters to bond $750M for college capital projects, sources say

