State Allocation Board Meeting Notes – November 25, 2014

December 8, 2014

Minutes

The minutes from the October 16, 2014 meeting were approved unanimously.

 

Executive Officer Statement

Lisa Silverman provided updates on the following:

  • Status of Fund Releases for Priority Funding Apportionments – The August priority funding apportionments provided $100.2 million for 34 projects and 21 school districts.  Districts that received an apportionment were required to submit a valid Fund Release Authorization (Form SAB 50-05) by Tuesday, November 18, 2014.

 

  • Priority Funding Filing Round – The current priority funding filing period began on November 12, 2014, and will close on December 11, 2014.  Requests will be valid from January 1, 2015 through June 30, 2015.  There are 64 projects for 33 school districts on the Unfunded List (Lack of AB 55 Loans) totaling $157.7 million that could participate.
  • Requirements for Participation in Priority Funding – A reminder that funding will be rescinded for projects that choose not to participate in the priority funding process for a second time.
  • Newly Updated State-Funded Public School Construction Website – The Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), the Division of the State Architect (DSA), and the California Department of Education (CDE) are working to improve the pre-existing joint-agency website for school construction: www.calschoolconstruction.ca.gov.  The goal is to create a one-stop web portal to provide information on State-funded projects.
  • Overcrowded Relief Grant (ORG) Program – The agenda includes two applications for unfunded approvals in the ORG Program, worth approximately $20 million, which would deplete remaining bond authority.

 

 

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda was approved unanimously.  Items included, but were not limited to, the following:

 

School Facility Unfunded Approvals

The Board approved three projects worth a total of $32,311,397, within existing bond authority:

  • Charter School Facilities Program: $13,828,754
  • Overcrowding Relief Grant Program: $18,482,652

 

SFP Special Education Local Plan Area Transfers

The Board approved the staff recommendation regarding the transfer of special education program facilities that occurred within 10 years after initial occupancy of facilities constructed by county offices of education that received School Facility Program (SFP) funding with financial hardship assistance.  The recommendations require the return of State funding and submittal of new Enrollment Certification/Projection (Form 50-01) documents.  Each school district will also have its classroom inventory adjusted.  The report indicates that Los Angeles County Office of Education transferred facilities to three school districts.

 

 

 

Financial Reports

The following bond authority balances account for Unfunded Approvals made at the November 25, 2014 meeting:

SFP Program Prop. 1D Prop. 55 Prop. 47
New Construction $0.6 million $5.5 million $0.4 million
Seismic Repair $142.4 million — —
Overcrowding Relief $3 million — —
Modernization $0.7 million $0.3 million $0.3 million
Career Technical $0.5 million — —
High Performance $32.2 million — —

 

Emergency Repair Program: $3.1 million in remaining settlement authority as of November 25, 2014.

 

Action Items

Charter School Facilities Program Unfunded Preliminary Apportionments

To provide unfunded preliminary apportionments for the Charter School Facilities Program in the amount of $89.9 million.  Funds may be used for the construction of new charter schools or the rehabilitation of existing district-owned facilities that are at least 15 years old.  OPSC received 72 applications by the filing deadline of May 30, 2014, 11 of which were deemed ineligible.  The total value of the 61 eligible applications received is $653.9 million, which exceeded the available $89.9 million available for the current filing round.  The list of applications not receiving a preliminary apportionment will remain open for a period of eight months, consistent with past rounds, to fund additional projects on the list if funds become available.

 

Motion: To approve the staff recommendation to approve the unfunded preliminary apportionments for five projects in the amount of $89.9 million; to place site and/or design advance fund release amounts on the Unfunded List (Lack of AB 55 Loans); to require the applications receiving a preliminary apportionment to convert the project to a final apportionment within 4 years, with a possible one-year extension; to request staff to report back to the Board in eight months to close out the funding round. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

 

Livermore Valley Joint Unified/Alameda

To present the State Allocation Board with information regarding two of the District’s new construction projects currently in the closeout review process.  The Alameda County Superior Court found that the District’s modular building construction practices violated the competitive bidding requirements of the Public Contract Code.

 

No action was taken.

 

Reports, Discussion, and Information Items

Annual Legislative Update

To provide the State Allocation Board with an update on the passage of legislation in 2014 that impacts programs administered by the Board.

 

There was no discussion of this item.

 

 

 

Small High School Program Status Report

To provide the State Allocation Board with a final report on the outcome of the Small High School program.  The program was in effect from January 1, 2006 until December 31, 2007.  It provided school districts access to $20 million of new construction funding to build small high schools, and $5 million of modernization funding to reconfigure existing high schools into two or more small high schools.   Only one project applied for the program funds.

 

There was no discussion of this item.

 

Surplus Site Sale Proceeds

To provide the State Allocation Board with a final report that identifies the school districts that have exercised their surplus site sale authority granted to Education Code Section 17463.7.  Fourteen school districts utilized this authority between July 28, 2009 and October 16, 2014.  The total amount of proceeds requested for transfer by the districts is approximately $84 million.  The report identifies these proceeds and how they were used.

 

There was no discussion of this item.

 

The next State Allocation Board meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2015.

 

~ Rebekah Cearley

 

 

 

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