SECTIONS 81600-81606 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 81600-81606

81600. The governing board of a community college district shall
manage and control school property within its district.

81601. The governing board of a community college district shall
furnish, repair, insure against fire, and in its discretion rent the
school property of its districts. The governing board may also insure
the property against other perils. The insurance shall be written in
any admitted insurer, or in any nonadmitted insurer to the extent
and subject to the conditions prescribed in Section 1763 of the
Insurance Code. Insurance on property of a district may be, in the
discretion of the governing board, of the deductible type of
coverage. By deductible type of coverage is meant a form of insurance
under which the insurance becomes operative when the loss and damage
exceeds an amount stipulated in the policy or policies.
The governing board, in their notice of bid for district
construction, may indicate that it may elect to assume the cost of
fire insurance by adding the coverage to the district's existing
policy and in such event bids made on such construction shall be made
in the alternative, with and without the fire insurance coverage
included, and the governing board shall make its election as to who
shall secure and pay for such insurance at the time of accepting the
bid. The deductible amount of fire insurance for any community
college district may exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each
occurrence.

81602. The governing board of a community college district may, by
resolution, establish a fund or funds, as designated by the
California Community Colleges Budget and Accounting Manual, for
losses, and payments including, but not limited to, health and
welfare benefits for its employees as defined by Section 53200 of the
Government Code, district property, any liability, and workers'
compensation, in the county treasury for the purpose of covering the
deductible amount under deductible types of insurance policies,
losses or payments arising from self-insurance programs, or losses or
payments due to noninsured perils. In the fund or funds shall be
placed sums, to be provided in the budget of the district, that will
create an amount which, together with investments made from the fund
or funds, will be sufficient in the judgment of the governing board
to protect the district from such losses or to provide for payments
on the deductible amount under deductible types of insurance
policies, losses or payments arising from self-insurance programs, or
losses or payments due to noninsured perils. Nothing in this section
shall be construed as prohibiting the governing board from providing
protection against such losses to district property or liability for
the payment of claims partly by means of the fund or funds and
partly by means of insurance written by acceptable insurers as
provided in Section 81601.
The fund or funds shall be considered as separate and apart from
all other funds of the district, and the balance therein shall not be
considered as being part of the working cash of the district in
compiling annual budgets.
Warrants may be drawn on or transfers made from the fund or funds
so created only to reimburse or indemnify the community college
district for losses as herein specified, and for the payment of
claims, administrative costs, related services, and to provide for
deductible insurance amounts and purchase of excess insurance. The
warrants or transfers shall be within the purpose of the fund or
funds as established by resolution of the governing board.
The cash placed in the fund or funds may be invested and
reinvested by the county treasurer, with the advice and consent of
the governing board of the district, in securities which are legal
investments for surplus county funds in this state. The income
derived from the investments, together with interest earned on
uninvested funds, shall be considered revenue of and be deposited in
the fund. The cost of contracts or services authorized by this
section are appropriate charges against the respective fund.
The governing board may contract for investigative,
administrative, and claims adjustment services relating to claims.
The contract may provide that the contracting firm may reject,
settle, compromise and approve claims against the district, its
officers or employees, within the limits and for amounts that the
governing board may specify, and may provide that the contracting
firm may execute and issue checks in payment of such claims, which
checks shall be payable only from a trust account which may be
established by the governing board. Funds in the trust account
established by the board pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall not exceed a sum sufficient as determined by the governing
board to provide for the settlement of claims for a 30-day period.
The rejection or settlement and approval of a claim by the
contracting firm in accordance with the terms of the contract shall
have the same effect as would the rejection or settlement and
approval of such a claim by the governing board.
The contract may also provide that the contracting firm may employ
legal counsel, subject to terms and limitations that the board may
prescribe, to advise the contracting firm concerning the legality and
advisability of rejecting, settling, compromising and paying claims
referred to said contracting firm by the board for investigation and
adjustment, or to represent the board in litigation concerning the
claims. The compensation and expenses of the attorney for services
rendered to the board shall be an appropriate charge against the
appropriate fund.
The contract provided for in this section may contain other terms
and conditions that the governing board may consider necessary or
desirable to effectuate the board's self-insured programs.
In lieu of, or in addition to, contracting for the services
described in this section, the governing board may authorize an
employee or employees to perform any or all of the services and
functions which the board may contract for under the provisions of
this section.
As used in this section, "firm" includes a person, corporation, or
other legal entity, including a county superintendent of schools.
Prior to funding health and welfare benefits pursuant to this
section, the community college district shall secure the services of
an actuary enrolled under subtitle C of Title III of the federal
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, to provide actuarial
evaluations of the future annual costs of such benefits. The future
annual costs as determined by the actuary shall be made public at a
public meeting at least two weeks prior to the commencement of
funding health and welfare benefits pursuant to this section.

81603. Nothing in the Education Code shall be construed as
prohibiting two or more community college districts subject to
Section 81601 from performing the powers prescribed in Section 81602,
through a joint powers agreement made pursuant to Article 1
(commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code.

81605. In community college districts situated within or partly
within cities having a population of over five hundred thousand
(500,000) as determined by the 1920 federal census any board of
education may establish a fund in the county treasury for the purpose
of covering fire losses to school property in lieu of carrying fire
insurance in admitted insurers as provided in Section 81601 of this
code. In such fund shall be placed such sums, to be provided in the
budget of the district, as will create an amount which, together with
investments made from such fund, will be sufficient in the judgment
of the board of education upon the advice of competent actuaries to
protect such board of education against losses by fire on all or any
part of the school property within its jurisdiction. Nothing
contained herein shall be construed as prohibiting the board of
education from providing protection against fire losses partly by
means of such fund and partly by means of fire insurance written by
admitted insurers as provided in Section 81601.
Such fund shall be considered as separate and apart from all other
funds of the district and the balance therein shall not be
considered as being part of the working cash of the district in
compiling annual budgets or fixing annual tax rates.
Warrants shall not be drawn on or transfers made from the fund so
created except to reimburse the district for losses by fire and then
only after resolution duly adopted by the county board of education
based upon findings by competent appraisers.
The cash placed in such fund may be invested and reinvested by the
county treasurer with the advice and consent of the county board of
education in securities which are legal investments for surplus
county funds in this state. The income derived from such investments
together with interest earned on uninvested funds shall be considered
revenue of and be deposited in such fund.
The county treasurer shall make quarterly reports to the county
board of education as to the condition of the fund, using as a basis
for such report the cost or market value, whichever may be the lower,
of the securities held as investments plus the cash in such fund.

81606. The governing board of any community college district may
grade, pave, construct sewers, or otherwise improve streets and other
public places in front of real property owned or controlled by it,
and also may construct in immediate proximity to any school or site
owned or controlled by the district, pedestrian tunnels, overpasses,
footbridges, sewers and water pipes when required for school or
administrative purposes, may acquire property, easements and
rights-of-way for such purpose, and may appropriate money to pay the
cost and expense of the improvements, whether made by the board under
contract executed by the board, or under contracts made in pursuance
of any of the general laws of the state respecting street
improvements, or under other contracts made in pursuance of the
charter of any county or municipality.