15-2041

15-2041. New school facilities fund; capital
plan; report

A. A new school facilities fund is established consisting of monies appropriated by
the legislature and monies credited to the fund pursuant to section 37-221. The school
facilities board shall administer the fund and distribute monies, as a continuing
appropriation, to school districts for the purpose of constructing new school facilities
and for contracted expenses pursuant to section 15-2002, subsection B, paragraphs 2, 3
and 4. On June 30 of each fiscal year, any unobligated contract monies in the new school
facilities fund shall be transferred to the capital reserve fund established by section
15-2003.

B. The school facilities board shall prescribe a uniform format for use by the
school district governing board in developing and annually updating a capital plan that
consists of each of the following:

1. Enrollment projections for the next five years for elementary schools and eight
years for middle and high schools, including a description of the methods used to make
the projections.

2. A description of new schools or additions to existing schools needed to meet the
building adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011. The description shall include:

(a) The grade levels and the total number of pupils that the school or addition is
intended to serve.

(b) The year in which it is necessary for the school or addition to begin
operations.

3. Long-term projections of the need for land for new schools.

4. Any other necessary information required by the school facilities board to
evaluate a school district's capital plan.

5. If a school district pays tuition for all or a portion of the school district's
high school pupils to another school district, the capital plan shall indicate the number
of pupils for which the district pays tuition to another district. If a school district
accepts pupils from another school district pursuant to section 15-824, subsection A, the
school district shall indicate the projections for this population separately. This
paragraph does not apply to a small isolated school district as defined in section
15-901.

C. If the capital plan indicates a need for a new school or an addition to an
existing school within the next four years or a need for land within the next ten years,
the school district shall submit its plan to the school facilities board by September 1
and shall request monies from the new school facilities fund for the new construction or
land. The school facilities board may require a school district to sell land that was
previously purchased entirely with monies provided by the school facilities board if the
school facilities board determines that the property is no longer needed within the ten
year period specified in this subsection for a new school or no longer needed within that
ten year period for an addition to an existing school. Monies provided for land shall be
in addition to any monies provided pursuant to subsection D of this section.

D. The school facilities board shall distribute monies from the new school
facilities fund as follows:

1. The school facilities board shall review and evaluate the enrollment projections
and either approve the projections as submitted or revise the projections. In
determining new construction requirements, the school facilities board shall determine
the net new growth of pupils that will require additional square footage that exceeds the
building adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011. If the projected growth and
the existing number of pupils exceed three hundred fifty pupils who are served in a
school district other than the pupil's resident school district, the school facilities
board, the receiving school district and the resident school district shall develop a
capital facilities plan on how to best serve those pupils. A small isolated school
district as defined in section 15-901 is not required to develop a capital facilities
plan pursuant to this paragraph.

2. If the approved projections indicate that additional space will not be needed
within the next two years for elementary schools or three years for middle or high
schools in order to meet the building adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011,
the request shall be held for consideration by the school facilities board for possible
future funding and the school district shall annually submit an updated plan until the
additional space is needed.

3. If the approved projections indicate that additional space will be needed within
the next two years for elementary schools or three years for middle or high schools in
order to meet the building adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011, the school
facilities board shall provide an amount as follows:

(a) Determine the number of pupils requiring additional square footage to meet
building adequacy standards. This amount for elementary schools shall not be less than
the number of new pupils for whom space will be needed in the next year and shall not
exceed the number of new pupils for whom space will be needed in the next five
years. This amount for middle and high schools shall not be less than the number of new
pupils for whom space will be needed in the next four years and shall not exceed the
number of new pupils for whom space will be needed in the next eight years.

(b) Multiply the number of pupils determined in subdivision (a) of this paragraph
by the square footage per pupil. The square footage per pupil is ninety square feet per
pupil for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one
through six, one hundred square feet for grades seven and eight, one hundred thirty-four
square feet for a school district that provides instruction in grades nine through twelve
for fewer than one thousand eight hundred pupils and one hundred twenty-five square feet
for a school district that provides instruction in grades nine through twelve for at
least one thousand eight hundred pupils. The total number of pupils in grades nine
through twelve in the district shall determine the square footage factor to use for net
new pupils. The school facilities board may modify the square footage requirements
prescribed in this subdivision for particular schools based on any of the following
factors:

(i) The number of pupils served or projected to be served by the school district.

(ii) Geographic factors.

(iii) Grade configurations other than those prescribed in this subdivision.

(iv) Compliance with minimum school facility adequacy requirements established
pursuant to section 15-2011.

(c) Multiply the product obtained in subdivision (b) of this paragraph by the cost
per square foot. The cost per square foot is ninety dollars for preschool children with
disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one through six, ninety-five dollars for
grades seven and eight and one hundred ten dollars for grades nine through twelve. The
cost per square foot shall be adjusted annually for construction market considerations
based on an index identified or developed by the joint legislative budget committee as
necessary but not less than once each year. The school facilities board shall multiply
the cost per square foot by 1.05 for any school district located in a rural area. The
school facilities board may only modify the base cost per square foot prescribed in this
subdivision for particular schools based on geographic conditions or site conditions.
For the purposes of this subdivision, "rural area" means an area outside a thirty-five
mile radius of a boundary of a municipality with a population of more than fifty thousand
persons.

(d) Once the school district governing board obtains approval from the school
facilities board for new facility construction funds, additional portable or modular
square footage created for the express purpose of providing temporary space for pupils
until the completion of the new facility shall not be included by the school facilities
board for the purpose of new construction funding calculations. On completion of the new
facility construction project, if the portable or modular facilities continue in use, the
portable or modular facilities shall be included as prescribed by this chapter, unless
the school facilities board approves their continued use for the purpose of providing
temporary space for pupils until the completion of the next new facility that has been
approved for funding from the new school facilities fund.

4. For projects approved after December 31, 2001, and notwithstanding paragraph 3
of this subsection, a unified school district that does not have a high school is not
eligible to receive high school space as prescribed by section 15-2011 and this section
unless the unified district qualifies for geographic factors prescribed by paragraph 3,
subdivision (b), item (ii) of this subsection.

5. If a joint technical education district leases a building from a school
district, that building shall be included in the school district's square footage
calculation for the purposes of new construction pursuant to this section.

E. Monies for architectural and engineering fees, project management services and
preconstruction services shall be distributed on the completion of the analysis by the
school facilities board of the school district's request. After receiving monies pursuant
to this subsection, the school district shall submit a design development plan for the
school or addition to the school facilities board before any monies for construction are
distributed. If the school district's request meets the building adequacy standards, the
school facilities board may review and comment on the district's plan with respect to the
efficiency and effectiveness of the plan in meeting state square footage and facility
standards before distributing the remainder of the monies. If the school facilities board
modifies the cost per square foot as prescribed in subsection D, paragraph 3, subdivision
(c) of this section, the school facilities board may deduct the cost of project
management services and preconstruction services from the required cost per square
foot. The school facilities board may decline to fund the project if the square footage
is no longer required due to revised enrollment projections.

F. The school facilities board shall distribute the monies needed for land for new
schools so that land may be purchased at a price that is less than or equal to fair
market value and in advance of the construction of the new school. If necessary, the
school facilities board may distribute monies for land to be leased for new schools if
the duration of the lease exceeds the life expectancy of the school facility by at least
fifty per cent. A school district shall not use land purchased or partially purchased
with monies provided by the school facilities board for a purpose other than a site for a
school facility without obtaining prior written approval from the school facilities
board. A school district shall not lease, sell or take any action that would diminish the
value of land purchased or partially purchased with monies provided by the school
facilities board without obtaining prior written approval from the school facilities
board. The proceeds derived through the sale of any land purchased or partially purchased
with monies provided by the school facilities board shall be returned to the state fund
from which it was appropriated and to any other participating entity on a proportional
basis. Except as provided in section 15-342, paragraph 33, if a school district acquires
real property by donation at an appropriate school site approved by the school facilities
board, the school facilities board shall distribute an amount equal to twenty per cent of
the fair market value of the donated real property that can be used for academic
purposes. The school district shall place the monies in the unrestricted capital outlay
fund and increase the unrestricted capital budget limit by the amount of monies placed in
the fund. Monies distributed under this subsection shall be distributed from the new
school facilities fund. A school district that receives monies from the new school
facilities fund for a donation of land pursuant to section 15-342, paragraph 33 shall not
receive monies from the school facilities board for the donation of real property
pursuant to this subsection. A school district shall not pay a consultant a percentage of
the value of any of the following:

1. Donations of real property, services or cash from any of the following:

(a) Entities that have offered to provide construction services to the school
district.

(b) Entities that have been contracted to provide construction services to the
school district.

(d) Entities that develop land for residential use in that school district.

2. Monies received from the school facilities board on behalf of the school
district.

3. Monies paid by the school facilities board on behalf of the school district.

G. In addition to distributions to school districts based on pupil growth
projections, a school district may submit an application to the school facilities board
for monies from the new school facilities fund if one or more school buildings have
outlived their useful life. If the school facilities board determines that the school
district needs to build a new school building for these reasons, the school facilities
board shall remove the square footage computations that represent the building from the
computation of the school district's total square footage for purposes of this section.
If the square footage recomputation reflects that the school district no longer meets
building adequacy standards, the school district qualifies for a distribution of monies
from the new school construction formula in an amount determined pursuant to subsection D
of this section. Buildings removed from a school district's total square footage pursuant
to this subsection shall not be included in the computation of monies from the building
renewal fund established by section 15-2031. The school facilities board may only modify
the base cost per square foot prescribed in this subsection under extraordinary
circumstances for geographic factors or site conditions.

H. School districts that receive monies from the new school facilities fund shall
establish a district new school facilities fund and shall use the monies in the district
new school facilities fund only for the purposes prescribed in this section. By October
15 of each year, each school district shall report to the school facilities board the
projects funded at each school in the previous fiscal year with monies from the district
new school facilities fund and shall provide an accounting of the monies remaining in the
new school facilities fund at the end of the previous fiscal year.

I. If a school district has surplus monies received from the new school facilities
fund, the school district may use the surplus monies only for capital purposes for the
project for up to one year after completion of the project. If the school district
possesses surplus monies from the new school construction project that have not been
expended within one year of the completion of the project, the school district shall
return the surplus monies to the school facilities board for deposit in the new school
facilities fund.

J. The board's consideration of any application filed after December 31 of the year
in which the property becomes territory in the vicinity of a military airport or
ancillary military facility as defined in section 28-8461 for monies to fund the
construction of new school facilities proposed to be located in territory in the vicinity
of a military airport or ancillary military facility shall include, if after notice is
transmitted to the military airport pursuant to section 15-2002 and before the public
hearing the military airport provides comments and an analysis concerning compatibility
of the proposed school facilities with the high noise or accident potential generated by
military airport or ancillary military facility operations that may have an adverse
effect on public health and safety, consideration and analysis of the comments and
analysis provided by the military airport before making a final determination.

K. If a school district uses its own project manager for new school construction,
the members of the school district governing board and the project manager shall sign an
affidavit stating that the members and the project manager understand and will follow the
minimum adequacy requirements prescribed in section 15-2011.

L. The school facilities board shall establish a separate account in the new school
facilities fund designated as the litigation account to pay attorney fees, expert witness
fees and other costs associated with litigation in which the school facilities board
pursues the recovery of damages for deficiencies correction that resulted from alleged
construction defects or design defects that the school facilities board believes caused
or contributed to a failure of the school building to conform to the building adequacy
requirements prescribed in section 15-2011. Attorney fees paid pursuant to this
subsection shall not exceed the market rate for similar types of litigation. The joint
committee on capital review shall conduct an annual review of the litigation account,
including the costs associated with current and potential litigation.

M. Until the state board of education and the auditor general adopt rules pursuant
to section 15-213, subsection I, the school facilities board may allow school districts
to contract for construction services and materials through the qualified select bidders
list method of project delivery for new school facilities pursuant to this section.

N. The school facilities board shall submit electronically a report on project
management services and preconstruction services to the governor, the president of the
senate and the speaker of the house of representatives by December 31 of each year. The
report shall compare projects that use project management and preconstruction services
with those that do not. The report shall address cost, schedule and other measurable
components of a construction project. School districts, construction manager at risk
firms and project management firms that participate in a school facilities board funded
project shall provide the information required by the school facilities board in relation
to this report.

O. If a school district constructs new square footage according to section 15-342,
paragraph 33, the school facilities board shall review the design plans and location of
any new school facility submitted by school districts and another party to determine
whether the design plans comply with the adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011
and the square footage per pupil requirements pursuant to subsection D, paragraph 3,
subdivision (b) of this section. When the school district qualifies for a distribution of
monies from the new school facilities fund according to this section, the school
facilities board shall distribute monies to the school district from the new school
facilities fund for the square footage constructed under section 15-342, paragraph 33 at
the same cost per square foot established by this section that was in effect at the time
of the beginning of the construction of the school facility. Before the school facilities
board distributes any monies pursuant to this subsection, the school district shall
demonstrate to the school facilities board that the facilities to be funded pursuant to
this section meet the minimum adequacy standards prescribed in section 15-2011. The
agreement entered into pursuant to section 15-342, paragraph 33 shall set forth the
procedures for the allocation of these funds to the parties that participated in the
agreement.