ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 650
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Caruth,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported February 23, 2007.]
____________
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-48; and to
amend and reenact §18-9D-2 and §18-9D-16 of said code, all
relating to time levels for bus routes of students in grades
prekindergarten through five; providing for the establishment,
maintenance and adherence to schedules for one-way bus
transportation time levels under normal weather operating
conditions; prohibiting the creation of new bus routes in the
wake of a closure or consolidation of an existing school
facility in which the travel time levels for students in
certain grades exceed certain levels; allowing for county school boards to seek a waiver from the prohibition from the
State Board of Education and the School Building Authority;
defining certain terms; and providing that the School Building
Authority and State Board of Education cannot approve any
facilities plan until it approves any waiver requested by a
county board.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-5-48; and that
§18-9D-2 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5. COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-5-48. Duty of the county board of education to provide and
adhere to reasonable transportation schedules.
(a) After the first day of July, two thousand seven, each
county board of education shall establish, maintain and adhere to
schedules for the transportation of students in grades
prekindergarten through five to and from school. The schedules
shall set forth the one-way bus transportation time levels under
normal weather and operating conditions.
(b) After the first day of July, two thousand seven, a board
shall not create a new bus route in the wake of a closure or
consolidation of an existing school facility in which the one-way
bus transportation time level under normal weather and operating conditions exceeds thirty minutes for students in grades
prekindergarten through five.
ARTICLE 9D. SCHOOL BUILDING AUTHORITY.
§18-9D-2. Definitions.
The following terms, wherever used or referred to in this
article, have the following meanings unless a different meaning
clearly appears from the context:
(1) "Authority" means the School Building Authority of West
Virginia or, if the authority is abolished, any board or officer
succeeding to the principal functions of the School Building
Authority or to whom the powers given to the authority are given by
law;
(2) "Bonds" means bonds issued by the authority pursuant to
this article;
(3) "Construction project" means a project in the furtherance
of a facilities plan with a cost of the project greater than five
hundred thousand dollars for the new construction, expansion or
major renovation of facilities, buildings and structures for school
purposes, including the acquisition of land for current or future
use in connection with the construction project, as well as new or
substantial upgrading of existing equipment, machinery,
furnishings, installation of utilities and other similar items
convenient in connection with placing the construction project into
operation:
Provided, That a construction project may not include
such items items such as books, computers or equipment used for
instructional purposes, fuel, supplies, routine utility services
fees, routine maintenance costs, ordinary course of business
improvements and other items which are customarily considered to
result in a current or ordinary course of business operating
charge:
Provided, however, That a construction project may not
include a major improvement project;
(4) "Cost of project" means the cost of construction,
expansion, renovation, repair and safety upgrading of facilities,
buildings and structures for school purposes; the cost of land,
equipment, machinery, furnishings, installation of utilities and
other similar items convenient in connection with placing the
project into operation; and the cost of financing, interest during
construction, professional service fees and all other charges or
expenses necessary, appurtenant or incidental to the foregoing,
including the cost of administration of this article;
(5) "Facilities plan" means a ten-year countywide
comprehensive educational facilities plan established by the county
board in accordance with guidelines adopted by the authority to
meet the goals and objectives of this article that: (i) Addresses
the existing school facilities and facility needs of the county to
provide a thorough and efficient education in accordance with the
provisions of this code and policies of the state board; (ii) best
serves the needs of the individual student, the general school population and the communities served by the facilities; (iii)
includes a school major improvement plan as defined in this
section; (iv) is updated annually to reflect projects completed,
current enrollment projections and new or continuing needs;
(v)
includes one-way bus transportation time level estimates for each
new bus route that would transport students in grades
prekindergarten through five in the wake of the closure or
consolidation of an existing school facility compliant with the
limitations of section forty-eight, article five of this chapter;
and
(v) (vi) is approved by the state board and the authority prior
to the distribution of state funds pursuant to this article to any
county board or other entity applying for funds;
(6) "Project" means a construction project or a major
improvement project;
(7) "Region" means the area encompassed within and serviced by
a regional educational service agency established pursuant to
section twenty-six, article two of this chapter;
(8) "Revenue" or "revenues" means moneys deposited in the
School Building Capital Improvements Fund pursuant to the operation
of section ten, article nine-a of this chapter; moneys deposited in
the School Construction Fund pursuant to the operation of section
thirty, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code and pursuant
to the operation of section eighteen, article twenty-two, chapter
twenty-nine of this code; moneys deposited in the School Building Debt Service Fund pursuant to section eighteen, article twenty-two,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; moneys deposited in the School
Major Improvement Fund pursuant to the operation of section thirty,
article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code; any moneys received,
directly or indirectly, from any source for use in any project
completed pursuant to this article; and any other moneys received
by the authority for the purposes of this article;
(9) "School major improvement plan" means a ten-year school
maintenance plan that: (i) Is prepared by a county board of
education in accordance with the guidelines established by the
authority and incorporated in its countywide comprehensive
educational facilities plan or is prepared by the State Board of
Education or the administrative council of an area vocational
educational center in accordance with the guidelines if the
entities seek funding from the authority for a major improvement
project; (ii) addresses the regularly scheduled maintenance for all
school facilities of the county or under the jurisdiction of the
entity seeking funding; (iii) includes a projected repair and
replacement schedule for all school facilities of the county or of
entity seeking funding; (iv) addresses the major improvement needs
of each school within the county or under the jurisdiction of the
entity seeking funding; and (v) is required prior to the
distribution of state funds for a major improvement project
pursuant to this article to the county board, state board or administrative council; and
(10) "School major improvement project" means a project with
a cost greater than fifty thousand dollars and less than five
hundred thousand dollars for the renovation, expansion, repair and
safety upgrading of existing school facilities, buildings and
structures, including the substantial repair or upgrading of
equipment, machinery, building systems, utilities and other similar
items convenient in connection with
such the renovation, repair or
upgrading in the furtherance of a school major improvement plan:
Provided, That a major improvement project may not include such
items as books, computers or equipment used for instructional
purposes, fuel, supplies, routine utility services fees, routine
maintenance costs, ordinary course of business improvements and
other items which are customarily considered to result in a current
or ordinary course of business operating charge.