§ 1013.64 — Funds for comprehensive educational plant needs; construction cost maximums for school district capital projects

Florida § 1013.64

• Jurisdiction: Florida
• Title: XLVIII
• Ch. 1013: EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

Text

Allocations from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to the various boards for capital outlay projects shall be determined as follows:

(1)(a) Funds for remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repairs, and site improvement for existing satisfactory facilities shall be given priority consideration by the Legislature for appropriations allocated to the boards from the total amount of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund appropriated. These funds shall be calculated pursuant to the following basic formula: the building value times the building age over the sum of the years’ digits assuming a 50-year building life. For modular noncombustible facilities, a 35-year life shall be used, and for relocatable facilities, a 20-year life shall be used. “Building value” is calculated by multiplying each building’s total assignable square feet times the appropriate net-to-gross conversion rate found in state board rules and that product times the current average new construction cost. “Building age” is calculated by multiplying the prior year’s building age times 1 minus the prior year’s sum received from this subsection divided by the prior year’s building value. To the net result shall be added the number 1. Each board shall receive the percentage generated by the preceding formula of the total amount appropriated for the purposes of this section. (b) Each board is prohibited from using the funds received pursuant to this section to supplant funds in the current fiscal year approved operating budget, and all budgeted funds shall be expended at a rate not less than would have been expended had the funds under this section not been received. (c) Each remodeling, renovation, maintenance, repair, or site improvement project will expand or upgrade current educational plants to prolong the useful life of the plant. (d) Each board shall maintain fund accounting in a manner which will permit a detailed audit of the funds expended in this program. (e) Remodeling projects shall be based on the recommendations of a survey pursuant to s. 1013.31. (f) At least one-tenth of a board’s annual allocation provided under this section shall be spent to correct unsafe, unhealthy, or unsanitary conditions in its educational facilities, as required by s. 1013.12, or a lesser amount sufficient to correct all deficiencies cited in its annual comprehensive safety inspection reports. This paragraph shall not be construed to limit the amount a board may expend to correct such deficiencies. (g) When an existing educational plant is determined to be unsatisfactory pursuant to the survey conducted under s. 1013.31, the board may, by resolution, designate the plant as a historic educational facility and may use funds generated for renovation and remodeling pursuant to this section to restore the facility for use by the board. The board shall agree to pay renovation and remodeling costs in excess of funds which such facility would have generated through the depreciation formula in paragraph (a) had the facility been determined to be satisfactory. The board shall further agree that the plant shall continue to house students. The board may designate a plant as a historic educational facility only if the Division of Historical Resources of the Department of State or the appropriate historic preservation board under chapter 266 certifies that: 1. The plant is listed or determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, 16 U.S.C. s. 470; 2. The plant is designated historic within a certified local district pursuant to s. 48(g)(3)(B)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code; or 3. The division or historic preservation board otherwise finds that the plant is historically significant. (h) University boards of trustees may utilize funds appropriated pursuant to this section for replacement of minor facilities. Minor facilities may not be replaced from funds provided pursuant to this section unless the board determines that the cost of repair or renovation is greater than or equal to the cost of replacement.

(2)(a) The department shall establish, as a part of the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund, a separate account, in an amount determined by the Legislature, to be known as the “Special Facility Construction Account.” The Special Facility Construction Account shall be used to provide necessary construction funds to school districts which have urgent construction needs but which lack sufficient resources at present, and cannot reasonably anticipate sufficient resources within the period of the next 3 years, for these purposes from currently authorized sources of capital outlay revenue. A school district requesting funding from the Special Facility Construction Account shall submit one specific construction project, not to exceed one complete educational plant, to the Special Facility Construction Committee. A district may not receive funding for more than one approved project in any 3-year period or while any portion of the district’s participation requirement is outstanding. The first year of the 3-year period shall be the first year a district receives an appropriation. The department shall encourage a construction program that reduces the average size of schools in the district. The request must meet the following criteria to be considered by the committee: 1. The project must be deemed a critical need and must be recommended for funding by the Special Facility Construction Committee. Before developing construction plans for the proposed facility, the district school board must request a preapplication review by the Special Facility Construction Committee or a project review subcommittee convened by the chair of the committee to include two representatives of the department and two staff members from school districts not eligible to participate in the program. A school district may request a preapplication review at any time; however, if the district school board seeks inclusion in the department’s next annual capital outlay legislative budget request, the preapplication review request must be made before February 1. Within 90 days after receiving the preapplication review request, the committee or subcommittee must meet in the school district to review the project proposal and existing facilities. To determine whether the proposed project is a critical need, the committee or subcommittee shall consider, at a minimum, the capacity of all existing facilities within the district as determined by the Florida Inventory of School Houses; the district’s pattern of student growth; the district’s existing and projected capital outlay full-time equivalent student enrollment as determined by the demographic, revenue, and education estimating conferences established in s. 216.136; the district’s existing satisfactory student stations; the use of all existing district property and facilities; grade level configurations; and any other information that may affect the need for the proposed project. 2. The construction project must be recommended in the most recent survey or survey amendment cooperatively prepared by the district and the department, and approved by the department under the rules of the State Board of Education. If a district employs a consultant in the preparation of a survey or survey amendment, the consultant may not be employed by or receive compensation from a third party that designs or constructs a project recommended by the survey. 3. The construction project must appear on the district’s approved project priority list under the rules of the State Board of Education. 4. The district must have selected and had approved a site for the construction project in compliance with s. 1013.36 and the rules of the State Board of Education. 5. The district shall have developed a district school board adopted list of facilities that do not exceed the norm for net square feet occupancy requirements under the State Requirements for Educational Facilities, using all possible programmatic combinations for multiple use of space to obtain maximum daily use of all spaces within the facility under consideration. 6. Upon construction, the total cost per student station, including change orders, must not exceed the cost per student station as provided in subsection (6) unless approved by the Special Facility Construction Committee. At the discretion of the committee, costs that exceed the cost per student station for special facilities may include legal and administrative fees, the cost of site improvements or related offsite improvements, the cost of complying with public shelter and hurricane hardening requirements, cost overruns created by a disaster as defined in s. 252.34(2), costs of security enhancements approved by the school safety specialist, and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the district’s control. 7. There shall be an agreement signed by the district school board stating that it will advertise for bids within 30 days of receipt of its encumbrance authorization from the department. 8. For construction projects for which Special Facilities Construction Account funding is sought before the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the district shall, at the time of the request and for a continuing period necessary to meet the district’s participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against its nonexempt assessed property value as allowed in s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Beginning with construction projects for which Special Facilities Construction Account funding is sought in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the district shall, for a minimum of 3 years before submitting the request and for a continuing period necessary to meet its participation requirement, levy the maximum millage against the district’s nonexempt assessed property value as authorized under s. 1011.71(2) or shall raise an equivalent amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax authorized under s. 212.055(6). Any district with a new or active project, funded under the provisions of this subsection, shall be required to budget no more than the value of 1 mill per year to the project until the district’s participation requirement relating to the local discretionary capital improvement millage or the equivalent amount of revenue from the school capital outlay surtax is satisfied. 9. If a contract has not been signed 90 days after the advertising of bids, the funding for the specific project shall revert to the Special Facility New Construction Account to be reallocated to other projects on the list. However, an additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner. 10. The department shall certify the inability of the district to fund the survey-recommended project over a continuous 3-year period using projected capital outlay revenue derived from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 1011.71(2). 11. The district shall have on file with the department an adopted resolution acknowledging its commitment to satisfy its participation requirement, which is equivalent to all unencumbered and future revenue acquired from s. 9(d), Art. XII of the State Constitution, as amended, paragraph (3)(a) of this section, and s. 1011.71(2), in the year of the initial appropriation and for the 2 years immediately following the initial appropriation. 12. Phase I plans must be approved by the district school board as being in compliance with the building and life safety codes before June 1 of the year the application is made. (b) The Special Facility Construction Committee shall be composed of the following: two representatives of the Department of Education, a representative from the Governor’s office, a representative selected annually by the district school boards, and a representative selected annually by the superintendents. A representative of the department shall chair the committee. (c) The committee shall review the requests submitted from the districts, evaluate the ability of the project to relieve critical needs, and rank the requests in priority order. This statewide priority list for special facilities construction shall be submitted to the Legislature in the commissioner’s annual capital outlay legislative budget request at least 45 days prior to the legislative session.

(3)(a) Each district school board shall receive an amount from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to be calculated by computing the capital outlay membership as determined by the department. Such membership must include, but is not limited to, prekindergarten through grade 12 students whose instruction is funded by the Florida Education Finance Program and for whom the school district provides the educational facility. (b) The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership shall be determined by counting the reported unweighted full-time equivalent student membership for the second and third surveys with each survey limited to 0.5 full-time equivalent student membership per student and comparing the results on a school-by-school basis with the Florida Inventory of School Houses. (c) The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership by grade level organization shall be used in making calculations. The capital outlay membership by grade level organization for the 4th prior year must be used to compute the base-year allocation. The capital outlay full-time equivalent membership by grade-level organization for the prior year must be used to compute the growth over the highest of the 3 years preceding the prior year. From the total amount appropriated by the Legislature pursuant to this subsection, 40 percent shall be allocated among the base capital outlay full-time equivalent membership and 60 percent among the growth capital outlay full-time equivalent membership. The allocation within each of these groups shall be prorated to the districts based upon each district’s percentage of base and growth capital outlay full-time equivalent membership. The most recent 4-year capital outlay full-time equivalent membership data shall be used in each subsequent year’s calculation for the allocation of funds pursuant to this subsection. If a change, correction, or recomputation of data during any year results in a reduction or increase of the calculated amount previously allocated to a district, the allocation to that district shall be adjusted accordingly. If such recomputation results in an increase or decrease of the calculated amount, such additional or reduced amounts shall be added to or reduced from the district’s future appropriations. However, no change, correction, or recomputation of data shall be made subsequent to 2 years following the initial annual allocation. (d) Funds accruing to a district school board from the provisions of this section shall be expended on needed projects as shown by survey or surveys under the rules of the State Board of Education. (e) A district school board may lease relocatable educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO funds and for any time period using local capital outlay millage. (f) Funds distributed to the district school boards shall be allocated solely based on the provisions of paragraphs (1)(a) and (2)(a) and paragraphs (a)-(c) of this subsection. No individual school district projects shall be funded off the top of funds allocated to district school boards.

(4)(a) Florida College System institution boards of trustees and university boards of trustees shall receive funds for projects based on a 3-year priority list, to be updated annually, which is submitted to the Legislature in the legislative budget request at least 90 days prior to the legislative session. The State Board of Education shall submit a 3-year priority list for Florida College System institutions, and the Board of Governors shall submit a 3-year priority list for universities. The lists shall reflect decisions by the State Board of Education for Florida College System institutions and the Board of Governors for state universities concerning program priorities that implement the statewide plan for program growth and quality improvement in education. No remodeling or renovation project shall be included on the 3-year priority list unless the project has been recommended pursuant to s. 1013.31 or is for the purpose of correcting health and safety deficiencies. No new construction project shall be included on the first year of the 3-year priority list unless the educational specifications have been approved by the commissioner for a Florida College System institution project or by the Board of Governors for a university project, as applicable. The funds requested for a new construction project in the first year of the 3-year priority list shall be in conformance with the scope of the project as defined in the educational specifications. Any new construction project requested in the first year of the 3-year priority list which is not funded by the Legislature shall be carried forward to be listed first in developing the updated 3-year priority list for the subsequent year’s capital outlay budget. Should the order of the priority of the projects change from year to year, a justification for such change shall be included with the updated priority list. (b) Florida College System institution boards of trustees and university boards of trustees may lease relocatable educational facilities for up to 3 years using nonbonded PECO funds. (c) Florida College System institution boards of trustees and university boards of trustees shall receive funds for remodeling, renovation, maintenance and repairs, and site improvement for existing satisfactory facilities pursuant to subsection (1).

(5) District school boards shall identify each fund source and the use of each proportionate to the project cost, as identified in the bid document, to assure compliance with this section. The data shall be submitted to the department, which shall track this information as submitted by the boards. PECO funds shall not be expended as indicated in the following: (a) District school boards shall provide landscaping by local funding sources or initiatives. District school boards are exempt from local landscape ordinances but may comply with the local requirements if such compliance is less costly than compliance with the landscape requirements of the Florida Building Code for public educational facilities. (b) PECO funds shall not be used for the construction of football fields, bleachers, site lighting for athletic facilities, tennis courts, stadiums, racquetball courts, or any other competition-type facilities not required for physical education curriculum. Regional or intradistrict football stadiums may be constructed with these funds provided a minimum of two high schools and two middle schools are assigned to the facility and the stadiums are survey recommended. Sophisticated auditoria shall be limited to magnet performing arts schools, with all other schools using basic lighting and sound systems as determined by rule. Local funds shall be used for enhancement of athletic and performing arts facilities.

(6)(a) Each district school board must meet all educational plant space needs of its elementary, middle, and high schools before spending funds from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or the School District and Community College District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any ancillary plant or any other new construction, renovation, or remodeling of ancillary space. Expenditures to meet such space needs may include expenditures for site acquisition; new construction of educational plants; renovation, remodeling, and maintenance and repair of existing educational plants, including auxiliary facilities; and the directly related costs of such services of school district personnel. It is not the intent of the Legislature to preclude the use of capital outlay funding for the labor costs necessary to accomplish the authorized uses for the capital outlay funding. Day-labor contracts or any other educational facilities contracting and construction techniques pursuant to s. 1013.45 are authorized. Additionally, if a school district has salaried maintenance staff whose duties consist solely of performing the labor necessary to accomplish the authorized uses for the capital outlay funding, such funding may be used for those salaries; however, if a school district has salaried staff whose duties consist partially of performing the labor necessary to accomplish the authorized uses for the capital outlay funding, the district shall prorate the portion of salary of each such employee that is based on labor for authorized capital outlay funding, and such funding may be used to pay that portion. (b)1. A district school board may not use funds from the following sources: Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; School District and Community College District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund; Classrooms First Program funds provided in s. 1013.68; nonvoted 1.5-mill levy of ad valorem property taxes provided in s. 1011.71(2); Classrooms for Kids Program funds provided in s. 1013.735; District Effort Recognition Program funds provided in s. 1013.736; or High Growth District Capital Outlay Assistance Grant Program funds provided in s. 1013.738 to pay for any portion of the cost of any new construction of educational plant space with a total cost per student station, including change orders, which exceeds: a. $17,952 for an elementary school; b. $19,386 for a middle school; or c. $25,181 for a high school, (January 2006) as adjusted annually to reflect increases or decreases in the Consumer Price Index. The department, in conjunction with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, shall review and adjust the cost per student station limits to reflect actual construction costs by January 1, 2020, and annually thereafter. The adjusted cost per student station shall be used by the department for computation of the statewide average costs per student station for each instructional level pursuant to paragraph (d). The department shall also collaborate with the Office of Economic and Demographic Research to select an industry-recognized construction index to replace the Consumer Price Index by January 1, 2020, adjusted annually to reflect changes in the construction index. 2. School districts shall maintain accurate documentation related to the costs of all new construction of educational plant space reported to the Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (d). The Auditor General shall review the documentation maintained by the school districts and verify compliance with the limits under this paragraph during its scheduled operational audits of the school district. 3. Except for educational facilities and sites subject to a lease-purchase agreement entered pursuant to s. 1011.71(2)(e) or funded solely through local impact fees, in addition to the funding sources listed in subparagraph 1., a district school board may not use funds from any sources for new construction of educational plant space with a total cost per student station, including change orders, which equals more than the current adjusted amounts provided in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. However, if a contract has been executed for architectural and design services or for construction management services before July 1, 2017, a district school board may use funds from any source for the new construction of educational plant space and such funds are exempt from the total cost per student station requirements. 4. A district school board must not use funds from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund or the School District and Community College District Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund for any new construction of an ancillary plant that exceeds 70 percent of the average cost per square foot of new construction for all schools. (c) Except as otherwise provided, new construction for which a contract has been executed for architectural and design services or for construction management services by a district school board on or after July 1, 2017, may not exceed the cost per student station as provided in paragraph (b). (d) The department shall: 1. Compute for each calendar year the statewide average construction costs for facilities serving each instructional level, for relocatable educational facilities, for administrative facilities, and for other ancillary and auxiliary facilities. The department shall compute the statewide average costs per student station for each instructional level. 2. Annually review the actual completed construction costs of educational facilities in each school district. For any school district in which the total actual cost per student station, including change orders, exceeds the statewide limits established in paragraph (b), the school district shall report to the department the actual cost per student station and the reason for the school district’s inability to adhere to the limits established in paragraph (b). The department shall collect all such reports and shall provide these reports to the Auditor General for verification purposes. Cost per student station includes contract costs, fees of architects and engineers, and the cost of furniture and equipment. Cost per student station does not include the cost of purchasing or leasing the site for the construction, legal and administrative costs, or the cost of related site or offsite improvements. Cost per student station also does not include the cost for securing entries, checkpoint construction, lighting specifically designed for entry point security, security cameras, automatic locks and locking devices, electronic security systems, fencing designed to prevent intruder entry into a building, bullet-proof glass, or other capital construction items approved by the school safety specialist to ensure building security for new educational, auxiliary, or ancillary facilities. (e) Notwithstanding the requirements of this subsection, an unfinished construction project for new construction of educational plant space that was started on or before July 1, 2028, is exempt from the total cost per student station requirements established in paragraph (b).

Legislative History

s. 861, ch. 2002-387; s. 26, ch. 2003-391; s. 137, ch. 2004-357; s. 24, ch. 2005-290; s. 9, ch. 2006-27; s. 3, ch. 2007-60; ss. 37, 38, ch. 2007-73; s. 183, ch. 2007-217; s. 14, ch. 2009-3; s. 40, ch. 2009-59; s. 28, ch. 2010-70; s. 219, ch. 2011-5; ss. 35, 64, ch. 2013-35; s. 4, ch. 2014-53; s. 17, ch. 2016-11; ss. 27, 36, ch. 2016-62; s. 15, ch. 2016-237; s. 32, ch. 2017-116; s. 31, ch. 2018-3; s. 111, ch. 2018-110; s. 23, ch. 2019-23; s. 29, ch. 2020-10; s. 22, ch. 2023-16; s. 9, ch. 2023-95; s. 93, ch. 2024-2; s. 39, ch. 2024-159.