HF 1886

as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education finance; establishing the greater Minnesota facilities aid
grant program; establishing eligibility of school districts; defining the use of
grant funds; creating a match requirement; creating criteria for qualification;
establishing an application process; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 126C.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [126C.73] GREATER MINNESOTA FACILITIES AID.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Eligibility. new text end

new text begin A school district that is eligible for secondary sparsity
revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 7, and has 80 or fewer adjusted marginal cost
pupil units per grade shall be eligible to apply to the commissioner for greater Minnesota
facilities aid grants.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Aid amount and uses. new text end

new text begin Greater Minnesota facilities aid may only be used
for sites for education facilities and for acquiring, bettering, constructing, furnishing,
or equipping education facilities. Contracts must be entered into within 18 months
after the date on which the grant is received. A district that has received a grant and
is unable to meet the match requirement, under subdivision 3, must return the grant to
the commissioner in full. Aid under this section shall not exceed $5,000,000 for each
school district grantee. Aid under this section must not affect debt service equalization aid
under section 123B.54.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Match requirement. new text end

new text begin An eligible district must agree to match the aid under
subdivision 2 with an equal amount of nonstate funds. A district that cannot meet this
match requirement is not eligible for aid under subdivision 2.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin District request for review and comment. new text end

new text begin An eligible district that intends
to apply for greater Minnesota facilities aid must submit a proposal to the commissioner
for review and comment according to section 123B.71 by July 1 of an odd-numbered year.
The commissioner shall prepare a review and comment on the proposed facility, regardless
of the amount of the capital expenditure required to construct the facility. In addition to
the information provided under section 123B.71, subdivision 9, the commissioner shall
require that predesign packages comparable to those required under section 16B.335 be
prepared by the application school district. The predesign packages must be sufficient to
define the scope, cost, and schedule of the project and must demonstrate that the project
has been analyzed according to acceptable space need standards and also consider the
following criteria in determining whether to make a positive review and comment.
new text end

new text begin (a) To grant a positive review and comment, the commissioner shall determine
that all of the following conditions are met:
new text end

new text begin (1) the facilities are needed for pupils for whom no adequate facilities exist or will
exist;
new text end

new text begin (2) there is evidence to indicate that the facilities will have a useful public purpose;
new text end

new text begin (3) the district has a history of ten or more years in cooperating with one or more
neighboring school districts to educate students within the district;
new text end

new text begin (4) the facilities are comparable in size and quality to facilities recently constructed
in other districts that have similar enrollments;
new text end

new text begin (5) the facilities are comparable in size and quality to facilities recently constructed
in other districts that are financed without greater Minnesota facilities aid;
new text end

new text begin (6) the district is projected to have adequate funds in its general operating budget to
support a quality education for its students for at least the next five years;
new text end

new text begin (7) the current facility poses a threat to the life, health, and safety of pupils, and
cannot reasonably be brought into compliance with fire, health, or life safety codes;
new text end

new text begin (8) the district has made a good-faith effort, as evidenced by its maintenance
expenditures, to adequately maintain the existing facility during the previous ten years and
to comply with fire, health, and life safety codes and state and federal requirements for
accessibility for people with disabilities;
new text end

new text begin (9) the district has made a good-faith effort to encourage integration of social service
programs within the new facility;
new text end

new text begin (10) comments by boards of adjacent districts have been received;
new text end

new text begin (11) the proposal includes a comprehensive technology plan that assures information
access for the students, parents, and community;
new text end

new text begin (12) the district does not qualify for sufficient debt service equalization aid, under
section 123B.53, to reasonably finance a new building without greater Minnesota facility
aid;
new text end

new text begin (13) the district's student performance in grades 7, 8, and 9 on standardized testing
for the three years prior to its application have been above the state average;
new text end

new text begin (14) the district can demonstrate a history of community support as measured by
positive support for operating referenda under section 126C.17, subdivision 9; and
new text end

new text begin (15) the district can demonstrate that it has the capacity to meet the match
requirement under subdivision 3.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner may grant a negative review and comment if:
new text end

new text begin (1) the state demographer determines that the economic and population bases of the
communities to be served by the facility are not likely to grow or to remain at a level
sufficient, during the next ten years, to ensure use of the entire facility;
new text end

new text begin (2) the district plans do not include cooperation and collaboration with health and
human services agencies and other political subdivisions; or
new text end

new text begin (3) if the application is for new construction, an existing facility that would meet
the district's needs could be purchased at a comparable cost from any other source within
the area.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Application process. new text end

new text begin An eligible district desiring greater Minnesota
facilities aid shall adopt a resolution stating the amount of aid the district is seeking, the
source of matching funds, the purpose for which the aid is to be used, and an estimate
of the dates when the facilities for which the aid is requested will be contracted for and
completed. Applications for aid under this section must be accompanied by a copy of the
adopted board resolution.
new text end

new text begin Applications must be in the form and accompanied by the additional data required
by the commissioner. Applications must be received by the commissioner by September 1
of an odd-numbered year. A district must resubmit an application each odd-numbered
year. Greater Minnesota facilities aid applications that are not approved in law cancel by
July 1 of the year following application.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Commissioner review; district proposals. new text end

new text begin By November 1 of each
odd-numbered year, the commissioner must review all applications for greater Minnesota
facilities aid that have received a positive review and comment. When reviewing
applications, the commissioner must consider whether the criteria in subdivision 4 have
been met. The commissioner may not approve an application if all the required deadlines
have not been met. The commissioner may either approve or reject an application for
greater Minnesota facilities aid.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Recommendations of the commissioner. new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall
examine and consider applications for greater Minnesota facilities aid that have been
approved and promptly notify any district rejected of the decision.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner shall report each grant that has been approved by the
commissioner to the education committees of the legislature by January 1 of each
even-numbered year.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Legislative action. new text end

new text begin Each greater Minnesota facility aid grant must be
approved into law. Grants may be appropriated from the proceeds of a capital investment
bill or may be direct appropriations from the state general fund.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Contract. new text end

new text begin Each greater Minnesota facility aid grant must be evidenced
by a contract between the district and the state acting through the commissioner. The
contract must obligate the state to provide the district with a grant for the purposes of
constructing a facility for which the grant is provided. The commissioner must receive
from the district a certified resolution of the board estimating the costs of construction
and reciting that contracts for construction of the facilities for which the grant is provided
have been awarded, agree to repay the grant if the district is unable to meet the match
requirement, and that all work, when completed, meets or exceeds standards established in
the State Building Code.
new text end