TITLE 33

EDUCATION

CHAPTER 9

SCHOOL FUNDS

33-909.  Public school facilities cooperative funding program — Fund created. (1) In fulfillment of the constitutional requirement to provide a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools, it is the intent of the state of Idaho to advance its responsibility for providing a safe environment conducive to learning by providing a public school facilities funding program to enable qualifying school districts to address unsafe facilities identified as unsafe under the standards of the Idaho uniform school building safety act.

(2)  Participation in the program, for the purpose of obtaining state financial support to abate identified school building safety hazards, requires submission of an application to the public school facilities cooperative funding program panel. Application can be made by:

(a)  Any school district that has failed to approve at least one (1) or more bond or plant facility levies for the repair, renovation, or replacement of existing unsafe facilities within the two (2) year period immediately preceding submission of the application;

(b)  The administrator of the division of occupational and professional licenses for a school district that has failed to address identified unsafe facilities as provided in chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code; or

(c)  Any school district that has approved one (1) or more bond or plant facility levies, within the two (2) year period immediately preceding submission of the application, for the repair, renovation, or replacement of existing unsafe facilities, where the cost of such abatement exceeds the amount of moneys available from such levy or levies.

(3)  There is hereby created within the state department of education the Idaho public school facilities cooperative funding program panel, hereafter referred to as the panel. The panel shall consist of the administrator of the division of occupational and professional licenses, the administrator of the division of public works, and the superintendent of public instruction, or a designee appointed by a panel member. It shall be the duty of the panel to consider all applications made to it and to approve, modify or reject an application based upon the most economical solution to the problem, as analyzed within a projected twenty (20) year time frame.

(4)  The application shall contain the following information:

(a)  The identified school building safety hazards and such other information necessary to document the deficiencies;

(b)  The school district’s plan for abating the defects, including costs and sources and amounts of revenue available to the school district;

(c)  The market value for assessment purposes of the school district; and

(d)  A detailed accounting of all bond and plant facility levies of the school district and the revenues raised by such levies.

For applications initiated by the administrator of the division of occupational and professional licenses pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section, the school district shall provide the information required in this subsection if such information is not available to the administrator.

(5)(a)  If the panel determines that it requires additional plans and information, it may authorize the expenditure of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) per application from the public school facilities cooperative fund for the procurement thereof. In considering an application, the panel shall determine whether the plan as proposed is acceptable, is acceptable with modifications as determined by the panel, or should be rejected. If the application is approved or approved with modifications, any expenditures authorized by the panel pursuant to this subsection shall be added to the project. The panel shall notify the applicant of its decision, in writing, within ninety (90) days of receiving the application. At the same time the panel notifies the applicant, the panel shall send notification of an approved application or a modified application to the state department of education, along with the panel’s specifications for the project and its cost.

(b)  The panel may authorize modifications to the approved plan at any time prior to the completion of the project, giving consideration to the interests of the school district, the students and the electors in its determination. Such modification may alter the scope of work or terminate the approved plan. All modifications must meet the standards as outlined in this section.

(6)  If an application received pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section is accepted or modified by the panel, then the local board of trustees of that school district, at the next election held pursuant to section 34-106, Idaho Code, shall submit the question to the qualified electors of the school district of whether to approve a bond or plant facility levy in the amount of the cost of the project as approved by the panel. If the question to the qualified electors is not approved at the election, the department shall remit payment to the district pursuant to subsection (9)(a) of this section.

(7)  For applications approved or modified by the panel that are submitted pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section or those that exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000) in cost, within thirty-five (35) calendar days of receiving notification from the panel that an application has been approved or modified by the panel, the superintendent of public instruction shall appoint a district supervisor for interim state supervision of the local school district. The district supervisor shall be responsible for ensuring that the project, as approved by the panel, is completed and shall regularly report to the panel in a manner as determined by the panel upon approval of the project. The district supervisor shall also have the authority granted to said position by the provisions of section 6-2212, Idaho Code. A district supervisor’s term of service shall continue for the duration of the project, and such person appointed as a district supervisor shall serve at the pleasure of the superintendent of public instruction.

(8)  The abatement of unsafe public school facilities through the public school facilities cooperative funding program shall be performed exclusively in accordance with the regular permitting, plan review and inspection requirements of the division of occupational and professional licenses. The state fire marshal shall have exclusive authority to perform the powers and duties prescribed in section 41-254, Idaho Code, for such facilities while the unsafe condition is being abated. The Idaho building code board shall function as a board of appeals for the division of occupational and professional licenses for such construction in accordance with the provisions of section 39-4107, Idaho Code. Upon successful completion of the construction in accordance with applicable building codes, a certificate of occupancy shall be issued by the administrator of the division of occupational and professional licenses. Upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy, responsibility for ensuring the safety of the facility or portion thereof so constructed will then be returned to the school district and responsibility for ensuring subsequent compliance with building codes returned to the authority having jurisdiction.

(9)  Upon approval of an application or a modified application, the panel shall certify the cost of the project, as approved by the panel, to the state department of education.

(a)  The total cost of the project, less any school district funds being provided, including bond or plant facility funds available pursuant to an application made under subsection (2)(c) of this section, shall initially be paid by the state from the public school facilities cooperative fund. If the panel determines that the amount it approved is insufficient to complete the project in a satisfactory manner, the panel may request a legislative appropriation of additional moneys from the public school facilities cooperative fund. If such an appropriation is approved, these additional moneys shall be added to the cost of the project.

(b)  The district’s share of costs that may be repaid through the payment provisions of this section shall not exceed the district’s share of bond payment costs as would have been calculated for the bond levy equalization support program, as if such program still existed, in the fiscal year in which the application is made. If the bond levy equalization fund index for the district is less than 1.00, the district share shall be discounted by the percentage difference between the index value and 1.00. However, if the index value is 1.50 or below, the discount shall be no less than ten percent (10%) of the simple interest, as calculated by the department over a term not to exceed twenty (20) years based on the interest rate charged pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph. Simple interest shall be charged on the unpaid balance of the district’s share of costs, as such balance exists at the end of each fiscal year, at the average rate of interest earned by the state treasurer on the investment of idle funds in the fiscal year in which the application is made. For the first year, the simple interest calculation shall be based on the actual number of days since the initial payment to the district.

(c)  It shall be the responsibility of the state department of education to calculate a payment in accordance with the provisions of subsection (10) of this section, which, when imposed over a maximum period not to exceed twenty (20) years, may yield the revenues needed to repay the school district’s share of the cost of the project. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to owed payments that are not made by the district pursuant to subsection (10)(a) of this section.

(d)  The payment calculated by the state department of education shall be certified by the department to the school district. The revenues collected by imposition of the payment from the school district facilities fund in section 33-911, Idaho Code, shall be remitted to the state treasurer for deposit to the public school facilities cooperative fund.

(10)(a)  The annual payment shall be the amount received by the school district pursuant to section 33-911, Idaho Code, that is applied pursuant to section 33-911(2)(b), Idaho Code. This payment shall be remitted annually by September 15 of each year. If payments are not made by the district pursuant to section 33-911(2)(b), Idaho Code, the twenty (20) year term outlined in subsection (9)(b) of this section shall be extended by the number of annual payments not made by the district if there was a distribution made pursuant to section 33-911(2)(b), Idaho Code.

(b)  The payment shall be made for the amount of time required to reimburse the state for the school district’s share of the project cost, but not to exceed twenty (20) years, unless payments are not made as outlined in subsection (9)(a) of this section, even if this period would not provide reimbursement of the entire amount of the school district’s share of the cost of the project, including any appropriate interest. The state department of education is authorized and directed to recalculate the payment on an annual basis and is authorized to increase or decrease the payment according to the payment schedule. Provided however, if the payment calculated is estimated to raise more money than would be necessary to repay the district’s share of costs, then the state department of education shall certify to the school district the moneys necessary to repay the district’s share of costs.

(c)  Within sixty (60) days of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy pursuant to subsection (8) of this section, the school district shall report to the state department of education the total amount of any project savings based on the difference between the amount originally paid pursuant to subsection (9)(a) of this section for the project and the actual costs incurred, including any contracted costs not yet paid. The state department of education shall verify the reported savings. Upon verification, project savings shall be returned by the school district to the public school facilities cooperative fund within thirty (30) days of receiving notice of verification from the state department of education. The amount returned shall then be applied to reduce the school district’s remaining unpaid share of costs pursuant to the payment schedule calculated in subsection (10) of this section.

(11) There is hereby created in the state treasury a public school facilities cooperative fund. The fund shall contain such moneys as may be directed pursuant to appropriation. Moneys in the fund shall be used exclusively to finance the public school facilities cooperative funding program, except as provided in subsection (9)(a) of this section, and are hereby continuously appropriated for such purposes as authorized by this section. Moneys in the fund shall be invested by the state treasurer in the same manner as provided under section 67-1210, Idaho Code, with respect to other idle moneys in the state treasury. Interest earned on the investments shall be retained by the fund.

History:

[33-909, added 2006, ch. 311, sec. 6, p. 962; am. 2012, ch. 221, sec. 1, p. 604; am. 2013, ch. 32, sec. 1, p. 70; am. 2014, ch. 11, sec. 1, p. 14; am. 2023, ch. 15, sec. 3, p. 68; am. 2025, ch. 213, sec. 1, p. 1015; am. 2026, ch. 11, sec. 1, p. 84.]