State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title10 > Chap173 > Sec10-283Sec. 10-283. Applications for grants for school building projects. (a)(1) Each town or regional school district shall be eligible to apply for and accept grants for a school building project as provided in this chapter. Any town desiring a grant for a public school building project may, by vote of its legislative body, authorize the board of education of such town to apply to the Commissioner of Education and to accept or reject such grant for the town. Any regional school board may vote to authorize the supervising agent of the regional school district to apply to the Commissioner of Education for and to accept or reject such grant for the district. Applications for such grants under this chapter shall be made by the superintendent of schools of such town or regional school district on the form provided and in the manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Education. The application form shall require the superintendent of schools to affirm that the school district considered the maximization of natural light and the use and feasibility of wireless connectivity technology in projects for new construction and alteration or renovation of a school building. Grant applications for school building projects shall be reviewed by the Commissioner of Education on the basis of categories for building projects and standards for school construction established by the State Board of Education in accordance with this section, provided grant applications submitted for purposes of subsection (a) of section 10-65 or section 10-76e shall be reviewed annually by the commissioner on the basis of the educational needs of the applicant. Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Quinebaug Valley Community College and the following entities that will operate an interdistrict magnet school that will assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., as determined by the commissioner, may apply for and shall be eligible to receive grants for school building projects pursuant to section 10-264h for such a school: (A) The Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of a regional community-technical college, (B) the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System on behalf of a state university, (C) the Board of Trustees for The University of Connecticut on behalf of the university, (D) the board of governors for an independent college or university, as defined in section 10a-37, or the equivalent of such a board, on behalf of the independent college or university, (D) cooperative arrangements pursuant to section 10-158a, and (E) any other third-party not-for-profit corporation approved by the commissioner.
(2) Each school building project shall be assigned to a category on the basis of whether such project is primarily required to: (A) Create new facilities or alter existing facilities to provide for mandatory instructional programs pursuant to this chapter, for physical education facilities in compliance with Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1972 where such programs or such compliance cannot be provided within existing facilities or for the correction of code violations which cannot be reasonably addressed within existing program space; (B) create new facilities or alter existing facilities to enhance mandatory instructional programs pursuant to this chapter or provide comparable facilities among schools to all students at the same grade level or levels within the school district unless such project is otherwise explicitly included in another category pursuant to this section; and (C) create new facilities or alter existing facilities to provide supportive services, provided in no event shall such supportive services include swimming pools, auditoriums, outdoor athletic facilities, tennis courts, elementary school playgrounds, site improvement or garages or storage, parking or general recreation areas. All applications submitted prior to July first shall be reviewed promptly by the commissioner and the amount of the grant for which such project is eligible shall be estimated, provided an application for a school building project determined by the commissioner to be a project that will assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al., shall have until September first to submit an application for such a project and may have until December first of the same year to secure and report all local and state approvals required to complete the grant application. The commissioner shall annually prepare a listing of all such eligible school building projects listed by category together with the amount of the estimated grants therefor and shall submit the same to the Governor and the General Assembly on or before the fifteenth day of December, except as provided in section 10-283a, with a request for authorization to enter into grant commitments. Each such listing submitted after December 1995 shall include a separate schedule of authorized projects which have changed in scope or cost to a degree determined by the commissioner. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no such project that has changed in scope or cost to the degree determined by the commissioner, shall be eligible for reimbursement under this chapter unless it appears on such list. Each such listing submitted after December 2005 shall include a separate schedule of authorized projects which have changed in scope or cost to a degree determined by the commissioner once, and a separate schedule of authorized projects which have changed in scope or cost to a degree determined by the commissioner twice. On and after July 1, 2006, no project, other than a project for a regional vocational-technical school, may appear on the separate schedule of authorized projects which have changed in cost more than twice. The percentage determined pursuant to section 10-285a at the time a school building project on such schedule was originally authorized shall be used for purposes of the grant for such project. On and after July 1, 2006, a project that was not previously authorized as an interdistrict magnet school shall not receive a higher percentage for reimbursement than that determined pursuant to section 10-285a at the time a school building project on such schedule was originally authorized. The General Assembly shall annually authorize the commissioner to enter into grant commitments on behalf of the state in accordance with the commissioner's categorized listing for such projects as the General Assembly shall determine. The commissioner may not enter into any such grant commitments except pursuant to such legislative authorization. Any regional school district which assumes the responsibility for completion of a public school building project shall be eligible for a grant pursuant to subdivision (5) or (6), as the case may be, of subsection (a) of section 10-286, when such project is completed and accepted by such regional school district.
(3) (A) All final calculations completed by the Department of Education for school building projects authorized on or after July 1, 1996, shall include a computation of the state grant for the school building project amortized on a straight line basis over a twenty-year period for school building projects with costs equal to or greater than two million dollars and over a ten-year period for school building projects with costs less than two million dollars. Any town or regional school district which abandons, sells, leases, demolishes or otherwise redirects the use of such a school building project to other than a public school use during such amortization period shall refund to the state the unamortized balance of the state grant remaining as of the date the abandonment, sale, lease, demolition or redirection occurs. The amortization period for a project shall begin on the date the project was accepted as complete by the local or regional board of education. A town or regional school district required to make a refund to the state pursuant to this subdivision may request forgiveness of such refund if the building is redirected for public use. The department shall include as an addendum to the annual school construction priority list all those towns requesting forgiveness. General Assembly approval of the priority list containing such request shall constitute approval of such request. This subdivision shall not apply to projects to correct safety, health and other code violations or to remedy certified school indoor air quality emergencies approved pursuant to subsection (b) of this section or projects subject to the provisions of section 10-285c.
(B) Any moneys refunded to the state pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision shall be deposited in the state's tax-exempt proceeds fund and used not later than sixty days after repayment to pay debt service on, including redemption, defeasance or purchase of, outstanding bonds of the state the interest on which is not included in gross income pursuant to Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as from time to time amended.
(b) Notwithstanding the application date requirements of this section, the Commissioner of Education may approve applications for grants to assist school building projects to remedy damage from fire and catastrophe, to correct safety, health and other code violations, to replace roofs, to remedy a certified school indoor air quality emergency, or to purchase and install portable classroom buildings at any time within the limit of available grant authorization and make payments thereon within the limit of appropriated funds, provided portable classroom building projects shall not create a new facility or cause an existing facility to be modified so that the portable buildings comprise a substantial percentage of the total facility area, as determined by the commissioner.
(c) No school building project shall be added to the list prepared by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to subsection (a) of this section after such list is submitted to the committee of the General Assembly appointed pursuant to section 10-283a unless (1) the project is for a school placed on probation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the project is necessary to preserve accreditation, (2) the project is necessary to replace a school building for which a state agency issued a written notice of its intent to take the school property for public purpose, (3) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, the project is in a town operating under state governance, or (4) it is a school building project determined by the commissioner to be a project that will assist the state in meeting the goals of the 2008 stipulation and order for Milo Sheff, et al. v. William A. O'Neill, et al. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to projects previously authorized by the General Assembly that require special legislation to correct procedural deficiencies.
(d) No application for a school building project shall be accepted by the commissioner on or after July 1, 2002, unless the applicant has secured funding authorization for the local share of the project costs prior to application. The reimbursement percentage for a project covered by this subsection shall reflect the rates in effect during the fiscal year in which such local funding authorization is secured.
(e) For each such list submitted in December, 2003, and December, 2004, the total amount requested by the commissioner for grant commitments shall not exceed one billion dollars. In each such list, the commissioner shall list the categories described in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section in order of priority and shall list the projects within each category in order of priority. The commissioner shall comply with the limitation on grant commitments provided for under this subsection according to such priorities. Eligible projects that cannot be included on the list shall be included first on the list submitted the next following year.
(November, 1949, 1951, 1953, S. 980d; 1957, P.A. 256, S. 1; 593, S. 2; 1969, P.A. 493, S. 1; 698, S. 24; P.A. 76-418, S. 2, 18; P.A. 80-317, S. 1, 3; P.A. 81-195, S. 1, 3; P.A. 84-460, S. 6, 16; P.A. 85-307, S. 1, 2; 85-377, S. 7, 13; P.A. 87-419, S. 1, 3; P.A. 89-237, S. 4, 11; P.A. 90-256, S. 2, 9; P.A. 96-270, S. 3, 11; P.A. 97-265, S. 76, 98; P.A. 98-243, S. 21, 25; 98-249, S. 63, 67; P.A. 99-239, S. 16, 32; P.A. 00-220, S. 21, 32, 43; P.A. 01-173, S. 26, 63, 67; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-2, S. 34; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-5, S. 8; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-6, S. 1; P.A. 03-76, S. 27; 03-220, S. 4; P.A. 04-57, S. 2; 04-213, S. 23; P.A. 06-158, S. 9; P.A. 07-249, S. 5; P.A. 08-169, S. 26.)
History: 1969 acts deleted selectmen as agency for applying for and receiving grants from state board of education, allowed authorization of supervising agent and superintendent of schools to apply for grants and added provision re grants to regional school districts which assume responsibility for completion of building project; P.A. 76-418 added provisions re priorities for building projects and grants in accordance with priorities and allowed deductions of value received for abandonment, sale, lease, demolition or redirection of use of buildings when application made within 5 years of abandonment, sale, lease, etc.; P.A. 80-317 deleted phrase "not eligible for assistance under section 10-287a" which had limited applicability of priorities, deletion made applicability more general, deleted exception to application date requirements for projects to remedy fire and catastrophe damage and safety and health violations and added Subsec. (b) containing exception for projects to remedy fire damage, etc.; P.A. 81-195 excluded grant to alter existing facilities or sites in order to provide, expand or enhance instructional programs or supportive services from consideration as a grant to be calculated by deducting amount of state assistance previously granted in connection with the facility or site from the total cost of the building project for which a grant is currently sought in Subsec. (a); P.A. 84-460 amended Subsec. (a) re annual review of grant applications submitted for vocational agriculture centers and regional special education facilities and inclusion of such projects on the priority listing without rank and amended Subsec. (b) deleting provisions re projects for vocational agriculture centers and regional special education facilities; P.A. 85-307, in conjunction with P.A. 85-377, deleted provision requiring deduction of total amount of state assistance from total cost of project and added provision requiring deduction of grant amounts paid or due on facility from the net eligible cost of the project; P.A. 85-377 also transferred certain responsibilities of state board of education to commissioner of education; P.A. 87-419 amended Subsec. (b) to provide for the approval of grant applications for the leasing of facilities by regional educational service centers at any time; P.A. 89-237 in Subsec. (a) deleted the school tax rate as a factor on which priorities for building projects are to be based; P.A. 90-256 in Subsec. (a) provided that school building projects not be listed by priority within categories but only by category, added a description of the categories and made technical changes; P.A. 96-270 added the requirement that each listing of eligible projects submitted after December 1995, include a separate schedule of authorized projects which have changed in scope or cost to a degree determined by the commissioner and specified that the percentage determined at the time the project on such schedule was originally authorized be used for purposes of the grant for the project, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 97-265 deleted provision in Subsec. (a) for the issuance of regulations and made technical changes, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-243 amended Subsec. (a) to designate existing provisions as Subdivs. (1) and (2), to delete provisions re certain deductions in the amount of a grant for construction of new school or purchase or lease of a facility if the grant application is submitted within 5 years of the abandonment, sale, lease, demolition or redirection of use of a school facility and to add new Subdiv. (3) re amortization of grants over 10 or 20-year period and refunds to the state of unamortized balance if school is abandoned, sold, leased or demolished or if redirection occurs during the amortization period, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 98-249 added new Subsec. (c) re prohibition against adding to the list, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-239 amended Subsec. (c) to add exception for the state taking of school property, effective June 28, 1999; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec. (a)(3)(A) to make a technical change and amended Subsec. (b) to add roof replacements, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to add requirement for consideration of the maximization of natural light and amended Subsec. (b) to add portable classroom building projects, effective July 1, 2001; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-2 amended Subsec. (c) to designate existing provisions as Subdivs. (1) and (2), and to add new Subdiv. (3) re projects in a town operating under state governance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, effective July 1, 2002; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-5 added new Subsecs. (d) and (e) re local funding authorization and a $1,000,000,000 cap on grant commitments, effective July 1, 2002; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-6 amended Subsec. (d) to delete language re prior local funding authorization for applications filed before July 1, 2002, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 03-76 made a technical change in Subsec. (a)(3)(A), effective June 3, 2003; P.A. 03-220 amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re remediation of certified school indoor air quality emergency, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 04-57 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by adding provision re use and feasibility of wireless connectivity technology, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-213 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by allowing the Board of Trustees of the Community-Technical Colleges on behalf of Manchester Community College to be eligible for grants, effective June 3, 2004; P.A. 06-158 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by requiring projects which change in scope or cost to a degree determined by the commissioner to appear on separate list to be eligible for reimbursement, by requiring that on and after July 1, 2006, no project may appear on such list more than twice, and by prohibiting a higher reimbursement rate for a project reclassified as an interdistrict magnet school if such project was not so initially authorized and amended Subsec. (a)(3) by making subdivision inapplicable to projects to correct safety, health and other code violations, or indoor air quality emergencies in Subpara. (A) and by making technical changes in Subpara. (B), effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 07-249 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to provide exception for projects for regional vocational-technical schools to prohibition against projects appearing more than twice on a schedule of projects that have changed in cost, effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 08-169 amended Subsec. (a) to substitute reference to Quinebaug Valley Community College for Manchester Community College and to add provisions re stipulation re Sheff v. O'Neill and amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (4) re stipulation re Sheff v. O'Neill, effective July 1, 2008.
