Senate Bill No. 460
(By Senators Ross, Sharpe, Sprouse, Dittmar, Anderson and Deem)
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[Introduced March 24, 1997; referred to
the Committee on Education.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section sixteen, article nine-d,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
standardizing design and construction plans for public
school buildings.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section sixteen, article nine-d, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9D. SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY.
§18-9D-16. Facilities and major improvement plans generally;
need-based eligibility.
(a) To facilitate the goals as stated in section fifteen of
this article and to assure the prudent and resourceful
expenditure of state funds for construction projects as described in subsection (d) of said section, each county board of education
shall submit a county-wide comprehensive educational facilities
plan that addresses the facilities and major improvement needs of
the county pursuant to such the guidelines as shall be adopted by
the authority in accordance with this section and in accordance
with each county's facilities plan approved by the state board of
education. Any project receiving funding shall be in furtherance
of such the approved county-wide facilities plan: Provided, That
for all new construction projects begun on or after the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, the authority
shall adopt a standard design and construction plan for an
elementary school, a standard design and construction plan
for a
middle school and a standard design and construction plan
for a
high school, respectively; the plans to incorporate energy- efficiency and safety elements, including, but not limited to,
sloped roofs; and the plans to be utilized to make uniform the
design of all new construction projects authorized by the
authority:
(1) To assure efficiency and productivity in the project
approval process, the county-wide facilities plan shall be
submitted only after a preliminary plan, a plan outline or a
proposal for a plan has been submitted to the authority.
Selected members of the authority, which selection shall include
citizen members, shall then meet promptly with those persons designated by the county board to attend the facilities plan
consultation. The purpose of the consultation is to assure
understanding of the general goals of the school building
authority and the specific goals encompassed in the following
criteria and to discuss ways the plan may be structured to meet
those goals; and
(2) The guidelines for the development of a facilities plan
shall state the manner, timeline and process for submission of
any plan to the authority; such the project specifications as may
be deemed determined appropriate by the authority; and those
matters which are deemed determined
by the authority to be
important reflections of how the project will further the overall
goals of the authority.
(b) To facilitate the goals as stated in section fifteen of
this article and to assure the prudent and resourceful
expenditure of state funds derived from the school major
improvement fund, each county board of education shall submit to
the authority a ten-year county-wide school major improvement
plan that addresses the major improvement needs of each school
within the county. If the state board of education or the
administrative council of an area vocational educational center
chooses to seek funding for a major improvement project from the
authority pursuant to subsection (f) of said section, the state
board or such the administrative council shall submit a ten-year school major improvement plan that addresses the major
improvement needs of the school or area vocational educational
center for which funding is sought. Each ten-year school major
improvement plan shall be prepared pursuant to such the
guidelines as shall be adopted by the authority in accordance
with this section and shall be updated annually to reflect
projects completed and new or continuing needs. Any school major
improvement project funded by the authority shall be in
furtherance of such the
approved school major improvement plan.
The guidelines for the development and annual updates of a
ten-year school major improvement plan shall state the manner,
timeline and process for submission of any plan, including a
repair and replacement schedule for school facilities, to the
authority; such the
maintenance specifications as may be deemed
determined
appropriate by the authority; and those matters which
are deemed determined
by the authority to be important
reflections of how the major improvement project or projects will
further the overall goals of the authority.
(c) The guidelines regarding submission of the facilities
plans and school major improvement plans shall include
requirements for public hearings, comments or other means of
providing broad-based input within a reasonable time period as
the authority may deem consider appropriate. The submission of
each plan shall be accompanied by a synopsis of all comments received and a formal comment by the county board, the state
board or the administrative council of an area vocational
educational center submitting such the plan.
The guidelines regarding project specifications shall follow
standard design and construction plans for the facility planned,
as mandated by the authority. may include such matters as energy
efficiency, preferred siting, construction materials, maintenance
plan or any other matter related to how the project is to
proceed. If a county board of education proposes to finance a
construction project through a lease with an option to purchase
pursuant to an investment contract as described in subsection
(e), section fifteen of this article, the specifications for such
the project shall include the term of the lease, the amount of
each lease payment, including the payment due upon exercise of
the option to purchase, and the terms and conditions of the
proposed investment contract.
(d) The guidelines pertaining to quality educational
facilities shall require that a facilities plan address how the
current facilities do not meet and how the proposed plan and any
project thereunder does meet the following goals:
(1) Student health and safety;
(2) Economies of scale, including compatibility with similar
schools that have achieved the most economical organization,
facility utilization and pupil-teacher ratios;
(3) Reasonable travel time and practical means of addressing
other demographic considerations;
(4) Multicounty and regional planning to achieve the most
effective and efficient instructional delivery system;
(5) Curriculum improvement and diversification, including
computerization and technology and advanced senior courses in
science, mathematics, language arts and social studies;
(6) Innovations in education;
(7) Adequate space for projected student enrollments; and
(8) To the extent constitutionally permissible, each
facilities plan shall address the history of efforts taken by the
county board to propose or adopt local school bond issues or
special levies.
If the project is to benefit more than one county in the
region, the facilities plan shall state the manner in which the
cost and funding of the project shall be apportioned among the
counties.
(e) The guidelines pertaining to quality educational
facilities shall require that a school major improvement plan
address how the proposed plan and any project thereunder meet the
following goals:
(1) Student health and safety, including, but not limited
to, critical health and safety needs; and
(2) Economies of scale, including regularly scheduled preventive maintenance: Provided,
That each county board's
school maintenance plan shall address regularly scheduled
maintenance for all facilities within the county.
(f) Each county board's facilities plan and school major
improvement plan shall prioritize all the construction projects
or major improvement projects, respectively, within the county.
A school major improvement plan submitted by the state board or
the administrative council of an area vocational educational
center shall prioritize all the school improvement projects
contained in such the plan. Such The priority list shall be one
of the criteria to be considered by the authority in determining
how available funds shall be expended. In prioritizing the
projects, the county board, the state board or the administrative
council submitting a plan shall make determinations in accordance
with the objective criteria formulated by the school building
authority.
(g) Each facilities plan and school major improvement plan
shall include the objective means to be utilized in evaluating
implementation of the overall plan and each project included
therein. Such The evaluation shall measure each project's
furtherance of each applicable goal stated in this section and
any guidelines adopted hereunder, as well as the overall success
of any project as it relates to the facilities plan or school
major improvement plan and the overall goals of the authority.
(h) The state department of education shall conduct on-site
inspections, at least annually, of all facilities which have been
funded, wholly or in part, by moneys from the authority or state
board to ensure compliance with the county board's facilities
plan and school major improvement plan as related to such the
facilities; to preserve the physical integrity of the facilities
to the extent possible; and to otherwise extend the useful life
of the facilities: Provided,
That the state board shall submit
reports regarding its on-site inspections of facilities to the
authority within thirty days of completion of such the on-site
inspections: Provided, however,
That the state board shall
promulgate rules regarding such
the
on-site inspections and
matters relating thereto, in consultation with the authority, as
soon as practical and shall submit such proposed rules for
legislative review no later than the first day of December, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-four.
(i) The authority may adopt guidelines for requiring that a
county board modify, update, supplement or otherwise submit
changes or additions to an approved facilities plan or for
requiring that a county board, the state board or the
administrative council of an area vocational educational center
modify, update, supplement or otherwise submit changes or
additions to an approved county board facilities plan or school
major improvement plan. The authority shall provide reasonable notification and sufficient time for such
the
change or addition
as delineated in guidelines developed by the authority.
(j) Based on its on-site inspection or notification by the
authority to the state board that the changes or additions to a
county's board facilities plan or school major improvement plan
required by the authority have not been implemented within the
time period prescribed by the authority, the state board shall
restrict the use of the necessary funds or otherwise allocate
funds from moneys appropriated by the Legislature for those
purposes set forth in section nine, article nine-a of this
chapter.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the School
Building Authority to standardize the design and construction
plans of public school buildings in each of three categories:
elementary schools, middle schools and high schools.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)