$654,205 For Each New Stockton Student Apartment In AC?
/Should Atlantic County Borrow Again So Stockton Can Build 107 New Student Apartments for $654,205 Each In Atlantic City?
The Atlantic County Improvement Authority (ACIA) today plans to borrow $70 million, so that Stockton University can build 107 apartments to house 416 students in Atlantic City. The average cost of each apartment is $654,205. Is this why colleges today are so expensive? Is this why unsustainable student loan debts are ruining the lives of so many young people for years?
The Authority announced its plans, and invited public comments just two days ago! The deadline for written comments was yesterday morning! Telephone comments will be permitted at 10 am today. The Commissioners will then vote this afternoon at 4 pm. The Authority was also supposed to vote to borrow another $97 million today for a Water Park in Atlantic City. However, that resolution was postponed until next week.
We think this is a very bad idea for many reasons. If you agree, please call and raise your objections today!
Spending $654,205 for a single four bedroom apartment to house college students is ridiculous! That is more than most luxury condominium apartments with swimming pools and ocean views!
Debt has already made college unaffordable for many, and has forced many students and their families to take out mortgage sized student loans. When Stockton University opened in 1971, a student could pay for a year of tuition, room and board with a summer of work on the Boardwalk. Today, the average student spends $26,000 per year to attend Stockton. Three quarters of Stockton graduates have an average of $30,000 of student loan debt when they graduate. Many experts blame the easy credit of student loans for the explosive increases in college costs. Before giving helping Stockton build student apartments for $654,205 each, should the Authority first ask Stockton to explore less expensive ways to house its Atlantic City students?
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8. How long will it take to pay off this debt? 20 years? 25 years? 30 years or longer?
9. What are the consequences if the project fails? What if Stockton can't find enough students to live in the Atlantic City campus?
A. Will Stockton simply let the apartments to empty, and raise tuition or cut back programs for other students to cover the loss?
B. Will Stockton rent the apartments out as "affordable housing" to the general public? Will they be used for rehabilitation programs?
C. Will Stockton become insolvent and stop paying?
D. What happens if Stockton stops paying and defaults on the bonds.
E. Will the State allow a default? Or will it force Atlantic County to raise property taxes to pay? Forget the language in the bonds! Did New Jersey ever allow any of its government agencies on its bonds? Didn't Governor Whitman force Atlantic County to bail out the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) when it could not pay the $82 million it borrowed for the incinerator it never built? Didn't Governor Christie and both Republicans and Democrats raise the gas tax many times to bail out bankrupt NJ Transportation Authority when it could not pay its bonds?
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