Section 198:15-b Amount of Annual Grant.
I. (a) The amount of the annual grant to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the amount of the annual payment of principal on all outstanding borrowings of the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district, heretofore or hereafter incurred, for the cost of construction or purchase of school buildings and school administrative unit facilities, or for the cost of acquiring, developing, or renovating any municipally-owned land, buildings, or facilities to be used for school district purposes, to the extent approved by the department of education, provided that any school district may receive an annual grant in the amount of 40 percent for the construction of an educational administration building for a school administrative unit, and provided that the amount of the annual grant in the case of a cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, a receiving district operating an area school, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be 40 percent plus 5 percent for each pre-existing district in excess of 2 and each sending district in excess of one, and provided further that no cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school, shall receive an annual grant in excess of 55 percent.
(b) For any municipally-owned land, buildings, or facilities for which school building aid is granted under this subdivision, the following shall apply:
(1) A school district, a city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, a cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, a receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or a receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall have first priority in the use of such land, buildings, or facilities for 10 years or the life of any bond or note issued to provide funds for such land, buildings, or facilities, whichever is greater.
(2) The cost of any proposed renovation project shall be less than the cost of a new acquisition for the same purpose.
(3) In the absence of a bond or note or upon the expiration of any bond or note issued to provide funds for land, buildings, or facilities, the principal parties shall enter into an agreement on how such land, buildings, or facilities are to be used.
I-a. (a) A receiving district situated in this state which is providing education to students from another school district situated in this state under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be eligible to receive the higher annual grant amount provided in RSA 198:15-b, I or RSA 198:15-v under the following conditions:
(1) The contract requires the receiving district to educate at least 70 percent of the public school students at particular grade levels from a sending district as provided in the contract.
(2) The contract contains a provision for the payment of capital costs for specific capital projects.
(3) The contract provides the manner in which school building aid is to be credited to school districts.
(4) The contract or sending district's obligation to pay capital costs is for a period of 10 years or longer.
(b) The provisions of this paragraph shall only apply for those years in which the contract is in effect. In all other years, the receiving district shall receive aid in the amount for which it would otherwise be eligible under RSA 198:15-b, I or RSA 198:15-v.
(c) No receiving district shall receive a school building aid grant which is less than what a single school district would receive under RSA 198:15-b, I or RSA 198:15-v.
I-b. (a) A school district, or other entity listed in paragraph I of this section, which is in compliance with the requirements of this section, shall be entitled to receive an additional grant equal to 3 percent of the total construction costs. To be eligible for additional grant moneys, construction projects, as built, shall meet the criteria for designation as a high performance school under the most recent edition of the New England version of standards from the Collaborative for High Performance Schools. Application for the grant of additional moneys shall be submitted on forms developed by the department of education.
(b) Not more than $100,000 in any fiscal year in new additional grant moneys shall be awarded. In the event that the total additional grant entitlement in any fiscal year exceeds $100,000, the full entitlement of grant moneys shall be awarded to the districts having projects which exceed the minimum criteria for designation as a high performance school to the greatest extent.
(c) The department of education shall review other high performance standards as they are developed and shall recommend adoption of new standards when in the judgment of the department, the new standards better reflect the intent of this section.
I-c. (a) In addition to the requirements of paragraph I, each school district, prior to receipt of any grant moneys, shall submit for review and approval a written maintenance plan describing in detail how the school district intends to maintain the new facilities to be constructed with state aid moneys. The required maintenance plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
(b) A description of the procedures to be used, and the method of staffing in which, the following building services are or will be provided. For work performed by in-house staff, an indication of the staffing level shall be provided, expressed as full-time equivalent positions:
(1) Daily facility cleaning.
(2) Grounds maintenance.
(3) Refuse removal.
(4) Snow removal.
(5) Minor maintenance and repair.
(6) Pest management.
(7) Periodic equipment servicing and preventive maintenance.
(8) Plan for 12 month operations, if applicable.
(c) The average amount of space, in square feet, assigned to each custodian for daily cleaning.
(d) The process for reporting, recording, verifying, and prioritizing building problems.
(e) The process for assigning corrective work.
(f) The process for determining that corrective work has solved the problem.
(g) The process for tracking and analyzing recurring problems.
(h) The process for scheduling and completing preventive maintenance services and inspections on installed equipment and major building systems including, but not limited to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, life safety, elevators, plumbing, roofs, windows, doors, and kitchen appliances.
(i) Custodial or maintenance staff increases or reductions that result from the project.
(j) The training program for employees on new equipment to be installed by the project.
(k) A statement of assurance, signed by the chair of the school board, which indicates that the district intends to maintain and service all installed equipment according to the manufacturer's instructions.
II. For the purposes of computing grants hereunder, the amount of the annual payment of principal shall be increased by an amount equal to the amount of capital reserve or the amount raised by taxation which was actually expended for the project at any time, divided by the number of years for which bonds or notes were issued to provide funds for such school building or school administrative unit facilities; provided, however that funds received from trusts, bequests, gifts or insurance policies shall not be eligible for computing grants hereunder. When bonds and notes are issued for a period of less than 5 years, the amount of aid for which the district is eligible shall be paid in no fewer than 5 equal installments.
III. If the project was entirely financed by the use of amounts raised by taxation or by the use of capital reserve other than funds from trusts, bequests, gifts or received from insurance policies the aid provided herein shall be paid in 5 equal installments.
IV. For the purposes of this subdivision, ""construction'' shall include any one or more of the following for the construction of instructional facilities only:
(a) The acquisition and development of a site.
(b) Planning, construction, or both, of a new building.
(c) Planning, construction, or both, of additions to existing buildings .
(d) Architectural and engineering fees.
(e) Purchase of equipment and any other costs necessary for the completion of a building as approved by the department of education.
(f) Substantial renovations approved by the commissioner of education.
(g) Purchase or lease-purchase of mechanical, structural, or electrical equipment, including the cost of installation of such equipment, which is designed to improve energy efficiency or indoor air quality in school buildings. All grant amounts awarded under this subparagraph shall be returned to the state if such equipment is removed from the school building by the vendor due to the school district's failure to comply with the terms of the lease-purchase agreement. Lease-purchase agreements shall be subject to the requirements of RSA 33:7-e.
V. Purchase of school buildings shall include the acquisition and improvement of land in connection therewith and the remodeling, altering, repairing, equipping and furnishing of such buildings as approved by the department of education.
VI. [Repealed].
VII. In this paragraph, ""new construction'' means additional square footage but shall not mean the renovation of school buildings or school administrative unit facilities. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any school building aid grants made pursuant to RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w.
(a) The department of education shall issue annually maximum eligible cost standards for the construction of new school buildings or school administrative unit facilities, less site acquisition costs, qualifying for school building aid. These standards shall take into account the type, size, and location of the school or school administrative unit facility and shall be based on an appropriate construction cost index developed or adopted by the department which shall reflect cost differences in the several regions of the state. Maximum cost standards shall be computed and published annually and expressed as a maximum cost per square foot.
(b) Maximum size standards for new construction shall be as follows:
(1) Maximum gross square footage per pupil:
Student Population under 250 250 and over Elementary school 144 120 Middle or junior high school 168 140 Senior high school (excluding vocational-technical centers) 192 160
(2) Maximum usable site size for new schools:
Elementary School 20 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils Middle or junior high school 25 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils Senior high school 30 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils
(c) For the purpose of calculating the total school building aid grants made under RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w, the final approved cost for school construction or school project shall not exceed the cost that would result if the project conformed to the maximum cost and size standards. The provisions of this section shall not preclude an eligible applicant from exceeding the maximum standards provided, however, the cost of the portion of the facilities which exceed the maximum standards shall not be eligible for school building aid. The maximum cost and size standards in effect at the time general contract work begins shall be used for the purposes of determining school building aid.
(d) The commissioner of the department of education shall have the authority to waive eligible cost and size standards for new construction for good reason shown.
Source. 1955, 335:9, par. 14-b. 1957, 301:1. 1963, 277:3. 1965, 150:2. 1967, 362:4; 399:1; 449:3. 1969, 347:4. 1971, 452:1. 1975, 447:1. 1979, 208:1; 459:4. 1981, 568:84. 1983, 469:63, 148, 149. 1998, 214:1. 2000, 215:2, 3. 2003, 296:3, 4; 306:1. 2004, 124:1. 2005, 180:2; 208:1, 2; 228:1. 2006, 131:1, eff. May 19, 2006.