2007 Minnesota Statutes

123B.71 REVIEW AND COMMENT FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSTRUCTION.
    Subdivision 1. Consultation. A school district shall consult with the commissioner of
education before developing any plans and specifications to construct, remodel, or improve the
building or site of an educational facility for which the estimated cost exceeds $250,000. This
consultation shall occur before a referendum for bonds, solicitation for bids, or use of capital
expenditure facilities revenue according to section 126C.10, subdivision 14, clause (2). The
commissioner may require the district to participate in a management assistance plan before
conducting a review and comment on the project.
    Subd. 2. Project. The construction, remodeling, or improvement of a building or site of an
educational facility at an estimated cost exceeding $100,000 is a project under section 177.42,
subdivision 2 .
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1Sp2001 c 6 art 4 s 28]
    Subd. 4. Plan submittal. For a project for which consultation is required under subdivision
1, the commissioner, after the consultation required in subdivision 1, may require a school district
to submit preliminary and final plans for approval. The commissioner shall approve or disapprove
the plans within 90 days after submission.
Final plans shall meet all applicable state laws, rules, and codes concerning public buildings,
including sections 16B.59 to 16B.73.
    Subd. 5. Final plans. If a construction contract has not been awarded within two years of
approval, the approval shall not be valid. After approval, final plans and the approval shall be
filed with the commissioner of education. If substantial changes are made to approved plans,
documents reflecting the changes shall be submitted to the commissioner for approval. Upon
completing a project, the school board shall certify to the commissioner that the project was
completed according to the approved plans.
    Subd. 6. Condemnation of school buildings. The commissioner may condemn school
buildings and sites determined to be unfit or unsafe for that use.
    Subd. 7. Rulemaking. The commissioner of education may adopt rules for public school
buildings.
    Subd. 8. Review and comment. A school district, a special education cooperative, or a
cooperative unit of government, as defined in section 123A.24, subdivision 2, must not initiate
an installment contract for purchase or a lease agreement, hold a referendum for bonds, nor
solicit bids for new construction, expansion, or remodeling of an educational facility that requires
an expenditure in excess of $500,000 per school site prior to review and comment by the
commissioner. The commissioner may exempt a facility maintenance project funded with general
education aid and levy, alternative facilities bonding and levy program, or health and safety
revenue from this provision after reviewing a written request from a school district describing the
scope of work. A school board shall not separate portions of a single project into components to
avoid the requirements of this subdivision.
    Subd. 9. Information required. A school board proposing to construct a facility described
in subdivision 8 shall submit to the commissioner a proposal containing information including at
least the following:
(1) the geographic area and population to be served, preschool through grade 12 student
enrollments for the past five years, and student enrollment projections for the next five years;
(2) a list of existing facilities by year constructed, their uses, and an assessment of the extent
to which alternate facilities are available within the school district boundaries and in adjacent
school districts;
(3) a list of the specific deficiencies of the facility that demonstrate the need for a new or
renovated facility to be provided, and a list of the specific benefits that the new or renovated
facility will provide to the students, teachers, and community users served by the facility;
(4) the relationship of the project to any priorities established by the school district,
educational cooperatives that provide support services, or other public bodies in the service area;
(5) a specification of how the project will increase community use of the facility and whether
and how the project will increase collaboration with other governmental or nonprofit entities;
(6) a description of the project, including the specification of site and outdoor space acreage
and square footage allocations for classrooms, laboratories, and support spaces; estimated
expenditures for the major portions of the project; and the dates the project will begin and
be completed;
(7) a specification of the source of financing the project; the scheduled date for a bond issue
or school board action; a schedule of payments, including debt service equalization aid; and the
effect of a bond issue on local property taxes by the property class and valuation;
(8) an analysis of how the proposed new or remodeled facility will affect school district
operational or administrative staffing costs, and how the district's operating budget will cover any
increased operational or administrative staffing costs;
(9) a description of the consultation with local or state road and transportation officials on
school site access and safety issues, and the ways that the project will address those issues;
(10) a description of how indoor air quality issues have been considered and a certification
that the architects and engineers designing the facility will have professional liability insurance;
(11) as required under section 123B.72, for buildings coming into service after July 1, 2002,
a certification that the plans and designs for the extensively renovated or new facility's heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning systems will meet or exceed code standards; will provide for the
monitoring of outdoor airflow and total airflow of ventilation systems; and will provide an indoor
air quality filtration system that meets ASHRAE standard 52.1;
(12) a specification of any desegregation requirements that cannot be met by any other
reasonable means;
(13) a specification, if applicable, of how the facility will utilize environmentally sustainable
school facility design concepts; and
(14) a description of how the architects and engineers have considered the American National
Standards Institute Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements and Guidelines for
Schools of the maximum background noise level and reverberation times.
    Subd. 10.[Repealed, 1Sp2001 c 6 art 4 s 28]
    Subd. 11. Review of proposals. In reviewing each proposal, the commissioner shall submit
to the school board, within 60 days of receiving the proposal, the review and comment about the
educational and economic advisability of the project. The review and comment shall be based on
information submitted with the proposal and other information the commissioner determines is
necessary. If the commissioner submits a negative review and comment for a portion of a proposal,
the review and comment shall clearly specify which portion of the proposal received a negative
review and comment and which portion of the proposal received a positive review and comment.
    Subd. 12. Publication. (a) At least 20 days but not more than 60 days before a referendum
for bonds or solicitation of bids for a project that has received a positive or unfavorable review
and comment under section 123B.70, the school board shall publish the commissioner's review
and comment of that project in the legal newspaper of the district. Supplementary information
shall be available to the public.
(b) The publication requirement in paragraph (a) does not apply to alternative facilities
projects approved under section 123B.59. Publication for alternative facilities projects shall be as
specified in section 123B.59, subdivisions 3 and 3a.
History: Ex1959 c 71 art 2 s 15; 1969 c 532 s 1; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1983 c 314 art 7 s 6;
1984 c 463 art 7 s 1; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 16; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1988 c 718 art 8 s 2; 1989 c 246 s
2; 1989 c 329 art 5 s 2; 1990 c 562 art 5 s 2-4; 1991 c 265 art 5 s 2,3; 1993 c 224 art 13 s 4;
1Sp1995 c 3 art 1 s 2; art 16 s 13; 1996 c 412 art 13 s 5; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 47; 1997 c 231 art 16 s
4; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 4 s 4-7; 1998 c 397 art 4 s 51; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 4 s 1; art 5 s 55; 2000
c 489 art 5 s 6; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 4 s 7-10; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 4 s 9-11