School Construction Allocation Program and Fund This bill creates an allocation program to which funds will be designated for public district and public charter schools, based on enrollments, to be used for certain purposes.

This bill directs the state treasurer to transfer funds, as follows, to the School Construction Fund:

Less:

Department of Net Available to School Gross Annual Construction Fund Year Transfer* Education Administration (3%) Annual Cumulative FY 2026 $30,000,000 ($900,000) $29,100,000 $29,100,000 FY 2027 $35,000,000 ($1,050,000) $33,950,000 $63,050,000 FY 2028 $40,000,000 ($1,200,000) $38,800,000 $101,850,000 FY 2029 $45,000,000 ($1,350,000) $43,650,000 $145,500,000 FY 2030 $50,000,000 ($1,500,000) $48,500,000 $194,000,000 FY 2031 $55,000,000 ($1,650,000) $53,350,000 $247,350,000 FY 2032 $60,000,000 ($1,800,000) $58,200,000 $305,550,000 FY 2033 $65,000,000 ($1,950,000) $63,050,000 $368,600,000 FY 2034 $70,000,000 ($2,100,000) $67,900,000 $436,500,000 FY 2035 $75,000,000 ($2,250,000) $72,750,000 $509,250,000 FY 2036 ** $80,000,000 ($2,400,000) $77,600,000 $586,850,000 *Source of funds for transfer is not identified in this bill (e.g., general fund, education trust fund, etc.) **Annual transfer amount in FY 2037 and beyond would be $80,000,000 This bill allocates the net available funds above, as well as any fund interest earned, annually to each school and chartered public school based on per pupil average daily membership in attendance (ADMA), as defined in the bill.

Based on the 2022-2023 school year AMDA of 163,732, the initial $29,100,000 transfer would be allocated as $177.73 (rounded to $178) per pupil.

The Department of Education states the average number of pupils in a school district is approximately 800, operating on an average of three (3) schools.

Therefore, the Department estimates this allocation program would be, in FY 2026, approximately $142,184 per district ($178 x 800 pupils) and $47,395 per school ($142,184 ÷ 3 schools).

Assuming static ADMA, below is the estimated per pupil allocation amount in FY 2026 through FY 2036, as well as the cumulative total:

Annual Net Allocations Available to Based on ADMA of 163,732, and Average of 800 Pupils Year School and Three (3) Schools Per District Construction Annual Annual Cumulative Cumulative Fund Per Pupil Per District Per District Per School FY 2026 $29,100,000 $178 $142,184 $142,184 $47,395 FY 2027 $33,950,000 $207 $165,881 $308,064 $102,688 FY 2028 $38,800,000 $237 $189,578 $497,642 $165,881 FY 2029 $43,650,000 $267 $213,275 $710,918 $236,973 FY 2030 $48,500,000 $296 $236,973 $947,890 $315,963 FY 2031 $53,350,000 $326 $260,670 $1,208,560 $402,853 FY 2032 $58,200,000 $355 $284,367 $1,492,927 $497,642 FY 2033 $63,050,000 $385 $308,064 $1,800,992 $600,331 FY 2034 $67,900,000 $415 $331,762 $2,132,754 $710,918 FY 2035 $72,750,000 $444 $355,459 $2,488,212 $829,404 FY 2036 $77,600,000 $474 $379,156 $2,867,369 $955,790 To access funds, schools would apply to the Department of Education, pursuant to administrative rules yet to be established.

It cannot be estimated how much may be requested and approved, nor in which each fiscal year(s).

School Building Aid Program This bill, effective in FY 2026, modifies the existing school building aid program by amending the $50,000,000 annual cap on expenditures, which currently applies to new projects, payments on previously approved projects (“tail payments”), and debt service payments on previously issued state bonds, to only apply to new projects.

This bill further reduces the $50,000,000 cap by $5,000,000 in each fiscal year (FY 2027 assumed to be the first year), until it is eliminated entirely in FY 2036.

Since this bill provides no funding for school building aid projects, and impact associated with these changes would be the result of a future appropriation, if any, in other legislation and/or the state operating budget.

Department of Education Administrative Costs Under this bill, the Department would be allowed to retain up to 3% of the transfers to the School Construction Fund, to be used to administer the school construction allocation program, or to support the development, implementation, and maintenance of a facility condition assessment for public elementary and secondary schools (this facility condition assessment is already a statutory requirement of the Department).

In FY 2026 alone, this administrative retention would be $900,000, with an increase of $150,000 per year until the maximum annual amount of $2,400,000 is reached in FY 2036 (see table above).

The Department states it would need one new administrator II position (labor grade 29) to help develop, implement, and administer the new program established by this bill.

The Department estimates the total position cost to be $106,000 in FY 2025, $109,000 in FY 2026, and $113,000 in FY 2027, based on a hire date of July 1, 2024.

This bill provides no authorization for new personnel.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Education