§ 6-20-2507 - Academic Facilities Partnership Program. - Arkansas Statutes

6-20-2507. Academic Facilities Partnership Program.

(a) There is established the Academic Facilities Partnership Program under which the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation shall provide state financial participation based on a school district's academic facilities wealth index in the form of cash payments to a school district for eligible new construction projects.

(b) (1) In order to apply for state financial participation in a new construction project, a school district shall provide the division with a detailed narrative, description, and justification for the project, a drawing, and evidence of:

(A) Preparation for the new construction project as demonstrated by inclusion of the new construction project in the school district's facilities master plan;

(B) (i) The adoption of a resolution certifying to the division the school district's dedication of local resources to meet the school district's share of financial participation in the new construction project.

(ii) The resolution shall specify the approximate date that the board of directors of the school district intends to seek elector approval of any bond or tax measures or to apply other local resources to pay the school district's share of financial participation in the new construction project;

(C) (i) The total estimated cost of the new construction project that shall be a minimum of three hundred dollars ($300) per student or one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), whichever is less.

(ii) The division may waive the minimum requirement under subdivision (b)(1)(C)(i) of this section upon a recommendation by the Director of the Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation to the Commission for Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation for the minimum to be waived for cause and a majority of the commission votes to support the waiver;

(D) The new construction project's conformance with sound educational practices;

(E) The new construction project's compliance with current academic facilities standards, including without limitation, appropriate space utilization of the applicable school in the district as determined by the division;

(F) The allocation of project costs between new construction activities and maintenance, repair, and renovation activities if the new construction project includes improvements that could be classified as maintenance, repair, and renovation; and

(G) How the new construction project supports the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and improves the school district's ability to deliver an adequate and equitable education to public school students in the district.

(2) (A) The life-cycles requirement contained in the state facility assessment of 2004 is advisory only and shall not be sufficient to support the approval of those items in the list of approved projects or individual items within a project.

(B) The division shall require independent proof of the failure of the equipment or other item.

(c) The division shall use criteria to evaluate a school district's application for state financial participation in a new construction project, which shall include, without limitation, the following:

(1) How the school district's facilities master plan and current academic facilities do not address the following:

(A) Student health and safety, including, without limitation, critical health and safety needs;

(B) Compliance with current academic facilities standards, including, without limitation, appropriate space utilization of existing academic facilities in the district;

(C) Conformance with sound educational practices;

(D) Curriculum improvement and diversification, including, without limitation, the use of instructional technology, distance learning, and access to advanced courses in science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies;

(E) Multischool, multidistrict, and regional planning to achieve the most effective and efficient instructional delivery system;

(F) Reasonable travel time and practical means of addressing other demographic considerations; and

(G) Regularly scheduled maintenance, repair, and renovation;

(2) How the school district's facilities master plan and any new construction project under the facilities master plan address the following:

(A) Student health and safety, including, without limitation, critical health and safety needs;

(B) Compliance with current academic facilities standards, including, without limitation, appropriate space utilization of existing academic facilities in the district;

(C) Conformance with sound educational practices;

(D) Curriculum improvement and diversification, including, without limitation, the use of instructional technology, distance learning, and access to advanced courses in science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies;

(E) Multischool, multidistrict, and regional planning to achieve the most effective and efficient instructional delivery system;

(F) Reasonable travel time and practical means of addressing other demographic considerations; and

(G) Regularly scheduled maintenance, repair, and renovation;

(3) How the new construction project supports the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and improves the school district's ability to deliver an adequate and equitable education to public school students in the school district;

(4) How the new construction project has been prioritized by the school district; and

(5) The allocation and expenditure of funds in accordance with this subchapter and the Arkansas Public School Academic Facilities Program Act, 6-21-801 et seq.

(d) (1) The division shall notify the school district of the division's decision on the application and, if applicable, the estimated amount of state financial participation in the new construction project no later than May 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(2) The division's notice of its decision on a school district's application for state financial participation in a new construction project shall include an explanation of the evaluative factors underlying the decision of the division to provide or not provide state financial participation in support of the new construction project.

(3) The commission may withdraw committed funds if a school district had funding made available on:

(A) July 1, 2006, and does not begin construction, as evidenced by a signed construction contract, by January 31, 2010; or

(B) July 1, 2007, and does not begin construction, as evidenced by a signed construction contract, by January 31, 2011.

(4) If a construction project has not begun as required under subdivision (d)(3) of this section due to the failure of a school district to raise the school district's share of the project cost due to a failed millage election prior to June 1, 2009, the division may exercise its authority under 6-21-811.

(e) (1) If the division determines that the new construction project is eligible for state financial participation, the division and the school district shall enter into an agreement specifying the terms of the state's financial participation and the conditions that must be satisfied by the school district.

(2) At a minimum, the agreement shall:

(A) Identify the estimated amount of local financial participation and state financial participation in the new construction project;

(B) Define the method of and schedule for transferring state financial participation funds to the school district;

(C) Identify whether the new construction project includes any improvements that are classified as maintenance, repair, and renovation and how the project costs will be allocated between new construction activities and maintenance, repair, and renovation activities;

(D) Provide that changes to the plans for the new construction project shall be made in consultation with the division;

(E) Provide that the division or any person acting on behalf of the division may conduct on-site inspections of the new construction project as frequently as the division deems necessary to assure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds with regard to public school academic facilities;

(F) Determine how risk will be allocated between the school district and the state if the new construction project is not completed;

(G) Describe how changes in the school district's wealth index over the course of the new construction project will be treated; and

(H) Specify that the agreement is void and the state will have no further obligation to provide state funds to the school district for the new construction project that is the subject of the agreement if the school district does not raise local resources and apply local resources toward the new construction project as provided under the agreement.

(3) If a school district fails to adhere to the timelines as established in subsection (g) of this section, the agreement shall be void and the state will have no further obligation to provide state funds to the school district for the new construction project under the agreement.

(f) (1) (A) If a school district qualifies for state financial participation under this section, the division shall certify the amount of state financial participation to the commission.

(B) The amount of state financial participation under this section is limited to the amount resulting from the application of the academic facilities wealth index to the project cost promulgated by the commission to calculate the cost necessary to bring the academic facility into compliance with the Arkansas Public School Academic Facility Manual under 6-20-2509.

(2) (A) The commission shall certify the amount to the Department of Education for payment, less any withholding or reduction imposed by the commission under 6-21-114(d) for a school district's failure to comply with the commission's insurance requirements.

(B) For tracking purposes, the school district shall account for the funds received as state financial participation under this section as restricted funds and shall account for the funds in accordance with provisions of law, including without limitation, the Arkansas Educational Financial Accounting and Reporting Act of 2004, 6-20-2201 et seq., and rules established by the State Board of Education and the commission.

(g) (1) The commission shall establish compliance dates for the:

(A) Execution of the partnership agreement;

(B) Start of the project design; and

(C) Start and ending of construction.

(2) Projects not meeting the compliance dates may be cancelled by the commission, and the state's financial participation, in whole or in part, may be declared void after the school district has been provided:

(A) A notice of the failure to meet compliance dates; and

(B) An opportunity for a hearing before the commission.