Funding cuts have halved the duration, staff and enrollment of the Governor's School on the Environment. In 2006, eight instructors and 100 students spent a month at Stockton. This year, four instructors and 48 students met for two weeks. The future is uncertain for all schools; six in different subject areas meet statewide.

Enthusiasm, however, re-
mained high among students.

"We've accomplished so much in such a short time," said Jimmy Murphy, 17, of Cranford, Union County.

Murphy wore a T-shirt that read 'Eat Organic Veggies' as he related the subversion of environmentally sound practices to aesthetics and a "pro-development" mind set among leaders in his hometown, challenged by just one environmental watchdog.

At the Governor's School, Murphy was heartened to learn that environmental activity is not limited to "cleaning and yelling," he said. "There's actually work being done."

It's fitting that Stockton has always hosted the program, given that environmental science is the foundation of the college, according to college spokesman Tim Kelly.

It also creates "a Stockton connection" among high-achieving students as they choose a college.

Students also benefit from the bonds they form with "the best and brightest" students, according to Mike Suleiman, 17, of Galloway.

"I was actually challenged politically because in high school people don't really care about politics, but at Gov-
ernor's School, people challenged me," said Suleiman, a Rutgers-bound aspiring attorney and politician who at-
tended the Governor's School of Public Policy at Monmouth University last year.

Those advanced abilities can hinder fundraising, according to state Commissioner of Higher Education Jane Oates.

"I think there's a lot of folks who have a misperception that the programs are for rich, smart New Jersey kids. I can't say these programs are to help these kids go to college. If anyone's going to go, they're going to go," she said.

Suleiman said he understood why the state axed a residential program that generates no revenue and "only benefits a small group of students."

"It's hard for the state of New Jersey because we're billions of dollars in debt, but it's one of those programs it's too special to let slip by," he said.

Pages of Facebook groups dedicated to various programs and sessions as far back as 1993 speak to the bonds formed among program participants. About 6,500 have signed an online petition created in 2006.

Ruthi Byrne, wife of former Gov. Brendan Byrne, rallied enough donations to sustain programs that year.

Meanwhile, the Commis-
sion on Higher Education cut $300,000 in administrative costs from the program and wrote to potential private donors. Those contributions buttressed the $100,000 in state aid allotted in 2007 and 2008, Oates said.

Larry Downes, CEO of natural gas distributor NJ Re-
sources, donated the remainder of the money needed to run the governors school on the environment, Oates said.

The Stockton-based program had a $300,000 budget in 2001 and operated on $100,000 in 2008, according to Oates and Dennis Weiss, dean of natural sciences and mathematics at Stockton.

Faculty salaries decreased one-third to about $3,000 for the two-week session, according to Weiss and Kevin Wolbach, director of the Governor's School on the Environment.

Faculty worked longer hours in 2008 because classroom time was extended, Wolbach said.

Weiss and other administrators at host universities state-
wide have met with program directors to discuss how hosts' roles could change in the future, he said.

"We really at this point can't say what that support might be," Weiss said. "The school is also facing budget cuts. We don't know where we're going to be next year."

Time factored in some cuts, which included a three-day field data collection project that partnered students with college and Governor's School faculty, Wolbach said.

Such programs are likely to secure endowments from companies attracted to "some
thing with rigor, and that simulates a research activity," Oates said.

Food and housing comprise half of the operational costs at all Governor's School programs. Stockton also spends a significant portion on trips, which immerse students in the environment, Oates said.

"It's not a vacation. They're out there with professors, and they see first-hand the impacts of environmental change and government regulation," Oates said. Trips supplement evening lecturers, who include researchers, scientists, regulators, legislators and others. When students are not in the field, they are in one of four classes; they choose among writing, policy, land use, and smart growth courses.

Wolbach said he hopes to tap the program's 1,900 alumni for funding, maybe through a 20-year reunion.

"We've been demonstrated we can run it on a shoe string, but I don't see how we can cut the program any further and have it be as valuable," Wolbach said. "Two weeks is barely having an impact."

Students did say another week would be ideal. They also said they liked the historically free program enough that they would have paid to attend. Still, they expressed concerns about maintaining diversity among students if the programs start to charge tuition.

The board of commissioners will consider tuition and other options when it decides how to fund the 2009 program. That vote will take place by early September, according to Jane Oates, state commissioner of higher education.

A tuition-based model would be need-blind and offer scholarships to maintain economic diversity, Oates said.

E-mail Emily Previti:

EPreviti@pressofac.com