The grant awards, which were announced in April, are part of the first round of state higher education grants approved by voters in November through a $750 million bond issue.
Gov. Chris Christie last week signed the bill appropriating more than $715 million in state higher education grants that voters approved last year, but local colleges are still unsure as to when they'll receive their money.
One thing for certain is that an ACLU challenge of two grants approved for religious institutions won't affect the grant awards.
Colleges in Warren and Hunterdon counties are expected to receive a total of $19.6 million. Raritan Valley Community College is to receive the most at $16.42 million, with Centenary College in Hackettstown set to receive $2.27 million and Warren County Community College to receive $917,000.
The grant awards, which were announced in April, are part of the first round of state higher education grants approved by voters in November through a $750 million bond issue.
In June, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and Americans United for Separation of Church and State jointly filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that two religious institutions included on the list of recipients should not receive the $11 million in higher education grants they were expected to be awarded.
The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation in June asking the state to not award money to the religious institutions until a court decides to allow it.
"When New Jersey voters approved this money, they rightly expected that grants would be awarded only to institutions that are constitutionally eligible to receive public funds," Speaker Sheila Oliver, D-Essex, said at the time.
But the threat of legal action and its impact on the other colleges and universities receiving grant money appears to have been mitigated.
ACLU-NJ spokesperson Allison Peltzman said the state is free to distribute grants as it sees fit to every college and university with the exception of the two religious institutions in question.
Peltzman said the two sides reached a tentative agreement in which the state will give the ACLU two weeks notice before it distributes the grants to the two religious institutions. In exchange, the ACLU agreed to delay having a court rule on its motion until such a notice is given.
"We have not received any official information on when we might receive the funds," Lalevee said.
Donna Stolzer, spokesperson for Raritan Valley Community College, said the school received a letter two weeks ago from the state indicating that contracts were forthcoming, but officials have not received further correspondence.
When the grant money comes through, Centenary plans to use much of it for improvements to its science laboratories at the Trevorrow Hall science building. WCCC plans to use its funding for academic technology. RVCC has earmarked the money in part for an expansion of its Christine Todd Whitman Science Center.