HB0275 - School capital construction-amendments.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0523

 

 

 

HOUSE BILL NO.  HB0275

 

 

School capital construction-amendments.

 

Sponsored by:   Representative(s) Stafford and Shivler and
Senator(s) Devin

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to school capital construction; modifying
 2  and eliminating time limits as specified; imposing a
 3  condition on state building adequacy standards; providing
 4  an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

 5 

 6  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

 7 

 8         Section 1.  W.S. 21-15-107(a) by creating a new
 9  paragraph (ix) and 21-15-111(b) and (c)(intro) are amended
10  to read:

11 

12         21-15-107.  Statewide standards for school building
13  and facility adequacy; capital construction advisory group;
14  adequacy assessment; determination of building
15  deficiencies; annual reporting requirements.

16 

 

Page  1

 

 

 

 1         (a)  The state superintendent shall by rule and
 2  regulation establish uniform statewide standards for the
 3  adequacy of school buildings and facilities necessary for
 4  providing educational programs prescribed by law for the
 5  public schools. If a building owned by a district meets the
 6  applicable standards under this subsection for use by the
 7  district to educate students and was previously used for
 8  the purpose of educating students, no municipal zoning
 9  requirements shall be construed or applied so as to prevent
10  the district from using the building for the purpose of
11  educating students, or to require the district to make any
12  modification to the building as a condition of using the
13  building for the purpose of educating students. The uniform
14  standards shall at minimum include:

15 

16              (ix)  Graduated maximums and minimums pertaining
17  to required classroom square footage and gross square feet
18  per student by school type, accommodating small schools
19  with different grade configurations. Maximums developed
20  under this paragraph shall not, by more than ten percent
21  (10%), exceed national averages as developed by the council
22  of educational facility planners international. In
23  addition, student projections, as used in gross square

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 1  footage computations, shall not exceed the enrollment for
 2  the prior school year by more than ten percent (10%).

 3 

 4         21-15-111.  State capital construction assistance.

 5 

 6         (b)  A school district may apply for capital
 7  construction assistance from the state under this section
 8  by submitting written application to the state
 9  superintendent through the state department of education on
10  forms prescribed and furnished by the department. In order
11  to be considered, applications shall contain the
12  certification under subsection (f) of this section,
13  information necessary to implement this section and plans
14  for the proposed project as approved by the local board of
15  trustees in consultation with the school district building
16  advisory committee and developed in accordance with
17  district capital construction recommendations by
18  professional construction or architectural consultants on
19  behalf of the applicant district. Applications shall be
20  filed with the department on or before July June 1 of the
21  school year for which the assistance is requested.

22 

23         (c)  On or before September 15 of each year, The state
24  superintendent shall submit to the governor and joint

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 1  education interim committee a list of all new projects
 2  eligible for state capital construction assistance. The
 3  list shall specify the amount of funding necessary to
 4  construct each project. The state's portion of an eligible
 5  new project shall be the full amount of funding necessary
 6  to construct the project, but reduced by any proposed new
 7  district indebtedness under paragraph (e)(iii) of this
 8  section designated in the application to fund that project.
 9  Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the state
10  superintendent may in his discretion reduce the amount of
11  funding specified on the list for any proposed capital
12  construction project submitted by an applicant district
13  under this section by eliminating project components the
14  state superintendent determines are not essential for
15  adequate facilities to provide the educational program
16  required by law for public schools. The state
17  superintendent shall not eliminate project components
18  contained in an application under this section without
19  consulting with the capital construction advisory group and
20  without providing the applicant district an opportunity to
21  provide information regarding whether the components are
22  essential for adequate facilities. Those new projects
23  eligible for state assistance are those which the state
24  superintendent determines:

 

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 1 

 2         Section 2.  One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00)
 3  is appropriated from the general fund to the legislative
 4  service office to be used exclusively for independent
 5  consultant services. Consulting services acquired under
 6  this section shall be available to the joint appropriations
 7  interim committee for necessary independent analysis and
 8  review of applications filed by school districts under W.S.
 9  21-15-107 for state capital construction assistance for
10  buildings and facilities identified as inadequate by the
11  state superintendent.

12 

13         Section 3.  This act is effective immediately upon
14  completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law
15  as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming
16  Constitution.

17 

18                         (END)

 

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