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1999 SESSION

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HB 2317 Public school construction.

Introduced by: C. Richard Cranwell | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Public school construction. Revises various school construction funding and distribution mechanisms. The bill authorizes the Board of Education to issue Literary Fund loans to fund part or all of the costs for constructing, renovating, retrofitting, or enlarging school buildings; prohibits the denial or delay of a Literary Fund loan for part or all of the costs of construction for a school building solely on the basis that the applicant has applied for or obtained a grant; authorizes Literary Fund applications for part or all of the costs of construction or purchasing and installing educational technology equipment and infrastructure while simultaneously applying for a grant; and requires any school board making application for both a Literary Fund loan and a grant to notify the Board of Education of this request in its Literary Fund application. The bill authorizes, from such funds as may be appropriated, any notes or bonds, and the funds deposited into a Grants Fund, the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA) to distribute grant funds for school construction; authorizes the VPSA to handle the funds in the Grants Fund and to pledge or assign such funds for bonds or debentures; and empowers the VPSA to collect the principal and interest on any obligations relating to grants for school construction issued pursuant to the Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program. The Virginia Public School Construction Grants Program will be authorized to grant funds for the constructing, renovating, retrofitting or enlarging public school buildings and the costs of purchasing and installing educational technology equipment and infrastructure. The Construction Grants Program is already allowed to accept grants, bequests, etc., and appropriated funds; this provision dedicates 100 percent of the lottery revenues to the Virginia Public School Construction Program, on and after July 1, 1999.

Although previously allowed to develop guidelines, the Board of Education must promulgate regulations establishing application procedures and requirements, including, but not limited to, procedures for obtaining local governing body approval of the project, the application, and the conditions of application, components for applications which document financial need and local ability to pay for the construction, emergency needs resulting from natural or other disasters, classroom space need based on present population and projected growth rates, previous construction program commitment, the availability and pledge of local matching funds, the tax base within the jurisdiction and the tax rate as compared to other localities having similar demographics; procedures to ensure that the total amount of funding will not exceed 100 percent of the project costs; procedures for annual deadlines and submissions; procedures for determining priority for awarding grants; and certification of maintenance of local effort. The funds appropriated for financial assistance of the construction grants, pursuant to Item 554 of the 1998-2000 Appropriation Act as in effect on January 1, 1999, will continue to be apportioned as $200,000 in 1998-1999, with the balance distributed according to weighted average daily membership. All funds appropriated for the program pursuant to Item 554 of an amended Appropriation Act for 1998-2000, as enacted in 1999, for fiscal years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 and for subsequent fiscal years shall be apportioned and distributed among the school divisions in the following manner: 25 percent of such funds to be apportioned equally among all school divisions and distributed as so apportioned in the form of equal grants to every school division; 25 percent to be apportioned and distributed to all school divisions based on average daily membership adjusted by the locality’s composite index of ability to pay as set forth in the appropriation act; 25 percent to be apportioned and distributed to all school divisions according to a formula based on local growth rates as set forth in the appropriation act; and 25 percent to be deposited to the Virginia Public School Grants Program Fund.


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