Camden, New Jersey

Scaffolding surrounding the 90-year-old Camden High School protects students and teachers from debris falling from the crumbling façade. ¹⁶ To combat the dangers of deteriorating school buildings a new agency, the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (NJSDA), was created in 2000 and is responsible for implementing an overhaul of the educational infrastructure of hundreds of schools in districts throughout all 21 counties of the State of New Jersey. The New Jersey Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act, which created the NJSDA, authorized $3.9 billion to modernize or replace schools like the “castle on the hill,” slated for reconstruction beginning in 2010. ¹⁹