05/22/03 1657s

24jun03... 2116CofC

2003 SESSION

03-0172

04/09

HOUSE BILL 751-FN-LOCAL

COMMITTEE: Education

ANALYSIS

This bill creates an optional school building aid grant formula which shall be available to school districts beginning July 1, 2005, and establishes maximum cost and maximum size standards for the purpose of construction of school buildings or school administrative unit facilities.

The bill also authorizes high school vocational technical education programs which enter into a lease agreement for permanent space to be eligible for school building aid grants beginning July 1, 2003.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05/22/03 1657s

24jun03... 2116CofC

03-0172

04/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

296:1 School Money; School Building Aid Annual Grant Amended. Amend RSA 198:15-a to read as follows:

198:15-a Annual Grant for the Payment of Debt Service for School Construction. To aid local school districts in meeting the costs of the payment of debt for school buildings and educational administration buildings, including office facilities for school administrative units, and to meet the costs of leasing permanent space in a building which is used for the operation of a high school vocational technical education program, the [state board] department of education shall, from funds appropriated by the general court to carry out the provisions of this subdivision, pay annually to the school districts of the state, sums in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision or the alternative school building aid provisions under RSA 198:15-u through RSA 198:15-w, depending on which option a school district elects.

296:2 New Subdivision; Alternative School Building Aid. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 15-t the following new subdivision:

Alternative School Building Aid

198:15-u Definitions. As used in this subdivision:

I. "Median family income" means that income for each municipality using the most recent data available from the United States Bureau of the Census.

II. "Equalized valuation per pupil" means the average equalized valuation within the school district over the most recent 5 years divided by the current number of pupils within the school district expressed as an average from the most recent 5 years of available data collected by the department of education.

198:15-v Alternative School Building Aid Grants.

I. The amount of the annual grant to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, or any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, shall be determined as follows:

(a) Determine each municipality's equalized valuation per pupil by dividing the municipality's equalized valuation by the average daily membership in residence within each municipality. Assign each municipality a rank beginning with the municipality having the lowest equalized valuation per pupil ranked as number one, and continuing therefrom.

(b) Determine each municipality's median family income, and assign each municipality a rank beginning with the municipality having the lowest median family income ranked as number one and continuing therefrom.

(c) Add the rankings assigned in subparagraphs I(a) and I(b) and divide the sum by 2 to yield the building aid factor.

II.(a) The amount of the annual grant in this subdivision shall be a sum equal to a percentage of the amount of the annual payment of principal on all outstanding borrowings of the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district, for all approved costs of construction or purchase of school buildings and school administrative unit facilities, for which loans are approved after July 1, 2005 according to the following table:

Building Aid Factor Single District Preexisting District in a Cooperative

School District, Area School, or

Joint Maintenance Agreement

0-59 60 percent 60 percent

60-69 55 percent 60 percent

70-89 45 percent 55 percent

90-114 40 percent 50 percent

115 or greater 30 percent 40 percent

(b) The percentage once determined for a particular borrowing shall not thereafter be subject to change.

III. A cooperative school district, receiving district operating an area school, or joint maintenance agreement grant amount shall be determined by calculating the percentage of the average daily membership in residence represented by each municipality which has entered into the agreement and multiplying this percentage by each municipality's percentage of annual building aid eligibility under paragraph II of this section. This product shall be multiplied by the projected cost of the building project. The sum of the resulting products shall be the annual building aid grant for the cooperative school district, area school, or joint maintenance agreement.

198:15-w Alternative School Building Aid Grants; Procedures. The provisions of RSA 198:15-c through 198:15-h shall apply to any grant made under this subdivision.

296:3 School Building Aid; Amount of Annual Grant. Amend RSA 198:15-b, IV(c) to read as follows:

(c) Planning, construction, or both, of additions to existing buildings [to provide additional pupil capacity].

296:4 New Paragraph; School Building Aid; Cost and Size Standards. Amend RSA 198:15-b by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:

VII. In this paragraph, "new construction" means additional square footage but shall not mean the renovation of school buildings or school administrative unit facilities. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any school building aid grants made pursuant to RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w.

(a) The department of education shall issue annually maximum eligible cost standards for the construction of new school buildings or school administrative unit facilities, less site acquisition costs, qualifying for school building aid. These standards shall take into account the type, size, and location of the school or school administrative unit facility and shall be based on an appropriate construction cost index developed or adopted by the department which shall reflect cost differences in the several regions of the state. Maximum cost standards shall be computed and published annually and expressed as a maximum cost per square foot.

(b) Maximum size standards for new construction shall be as follows:

(1) Maximum gross square footage per pupil:

Student Population

under 250 250 and over

Elementary school 144 120

Middle or junior high school 168 140

Senior high school

(excluding vocational-technical centers) 192 160

(2) Maximum usable site size for new schools:

Elementary School 20 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils

Middle or junior high school 25 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils

Senior high school 30 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils

(c) For the purpose of calculating the total school building aid grants made under RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w, the final approved cost for school construction or school project shall not exceed the cost that would result if the project conformed to the maximum cost and size standards. The provisions of this section shall not preclude an eligible applicant from exceeding the maximum standards provided, however, the cost of the portion of the facilities which exceed the maximum standards shall not be eligible for school building aid. The maximum cost and size standards in effect at the time general contract work begins shall be used for the purposes of determining school building aid.

(d) The commissioner of the department of education shall have the authority to waive eligible cost and size standards for new construction for good reason shown.

296:5 New Section; School Building Aid; Grants for High School Vocational Technical Education Programs. Amend RSA 198 by inserting after section 15-h the following new section:

198:15-hh Annual Grant for Leased Space.

I. The amount of the annual grant for a lease to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, or any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the amount of the annual payment of the lease incurred, for the cost of leasing permanent space in a building or buildings not owned by the school district or school administrative unit which is used for the operation of a high school vocational technical education program, to the extent approved by the state board of education, provided that the amount of the annual grant in the case of a cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or a receiving district operating an area school, shall be 40 percent plus 5 percent for each pre-existing district in excess of 2 and each sending district, in excess of one, and provided further that no cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school, shall receive an annual grant in excess of 55 percent. For the purposes of this section, the amount of the annual grant for a lease to a vocational technical education center shall be calculated in the same manner as a cooperative school district. Such lease agreements shall be eligible for grants under this section, provided all of the following conditions apply:

(a) A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, which receives grants under this section shall remain eligible to apply for, receive, and expend moneys from other state or federal sources made available for the purpose of purchasing new equipment, materials, or supplies necessary for the operation of the program. Moneys received from such other state or federal sources shall not be used to make permanent upgrades or renovations to the leased space.

(b) A lease agreement for permanent space shall be adopted in the same manner as required by law for the passage of construction bonds in the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1.

(c) An initial lease agreement for a term of 10 years or less shall be eligible to receive grants under this section. Upon renewal, a lease agreement may remain eligible to receive grants, provided the commissioner of the department of education determines that the lease agreement represents an efficient use of state and local resources.

(d) In any fiscal year where the state pays a pro rata share of school building aid grants, the state shall pay the same pro rata share for lease agreements approved under this section.

II. Lease agreements for the use of portable or modular classroom space shall not be eligible for grants.

III. A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, shall submit details of the lease arrangement, including a copy of the proposed lease agreement, in writing to the state board of education on such forms as the state board may prescribe. Grant applications for leased space shall be submitted before January 1 of each year in order to be eligible for grants in the fiscal year following the year of submittal. The state board of education shall, no later than March 1, 2004, adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to procedures for grant applications for leased space. 296:6 Department of Education; School Building Aid Information. Beginning January 1, 2004, and every year thereafter, the commissioner of the department of education shall provide to the house and senate education committees, the house and senate finance committees, and the governor, information from the most recent 5 years detailing the total square footage of school construction projects for which school building aid grants were disbursed categorized by existing building size, size of the addition, new building size, and in each case the type of school and number of pupils served.

296:7 Effective Date.

I. Sections 5 and 6 of this act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

(Approved: July 18, 2003)

(Effective Date: I. Sections 5 and 6 shall take effect July 1, 2003.