§ 1950 — Establishment of boards of cooperative educational services pending the creation of intermediate districts

New York § 1950

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EDN: Education
• Title 2: School District Organization
• Art. 40: Boards of Cooperative Educational Services

Text

§ 1950. Establishment of boards of cooperative educational services\npending the creation of intermediate districts. 1. The boards of\neducation and school trustees of a supervisory district which is not\npart of an intermediate district, meeting at a time and place to be\ndesignated by the district superintendent of schools, may, by a majority\nvote of their members present and voting, file with the commissioner of\neducation a petition for the establishment of a board of cooperative\neducational services for the purpose of carrying out a program of shared\neducational services in the schools of the supervisory district and for\nproviding instruction in such special subjects as the commissioner may\napprove. The commissioner, by order, may establish such a board with\nmembership of not less than five nor more than fifteen, upon such\napplication and when a vacancy occurs in the office of district\nsuperintendent of schools shall establish such a board, unless the\ncommissioner shall issue an order pursuant to section twenty-two hundred\none redistricting the county so as to provide for a lesser number of\nsupervisory districts. The commissioner, by order, may authorize a\nboard, established prior to July second, nineteen hundred sixty-five, to\nincrease its membership to not less than five nor more than fifteen.\n 2. Upon the establishment by the commissioner of such a board, boards\nof education and school trustees, by a vote pursuant to subdivision\ntwo-a of this section shall elect a board of cooperative educational\nservices. Except for elections conducted pursuant to subdivision two-a\nof this section, and the adoption of a public resolution regarding the\napproval or disapproval of the tentative administrative budget pursuant\nto subparagraph five of paragraph b of subdivision four of this section,\ncomponent districts having more than five board of education members\nshall be limited to five votes on any matters relating to the district\nsuperintendency or board of cooperative educational services. A full\nterm shall be three years to serve from July first next following\nelection. It shall be the duty of such meeting by order of such meeting\nto divide into a sufficient number of classes the terms of the members\nof the board of cooperative educational services so that as nearly as\npossible an equal number of members shall be elected to the board each\nyear. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, upon the\ndecrease of the full term of members from five to three years, the board\nof cooperative educational services shall direct that one or more\nmembers be elected for a term of one, two or four years in order to\nassure, as nearly as possible, that an equal number of members will be\nelected to the board each year. Members of such board shall be\nreimbursed for necessary expenses for attending meetings of such boards.\nThe district superintendent shall be the executive officer of the board,\nand where a board of cooperative educational services comprises two or\nmore supervisory districts the district superintendents, together with\nthe president of the board of cooperative educational services, shall\nact as an executive committee.\n 2-a. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, commencing on and\nafter the first day of November, nineteen hundred ninety-three, the\nmembers of a board of cooperative educational services shall be elected\nin accordance with the provisions of this subdivision.\n b. Not later than the first day of February of each year the president\nof the board of cooperative educational services shall designate a\nsingle date on or after the sixteenth day and on or before the thirtieth\nday of April on which each component board, other than the board of\neducation of a central high school district, shall conduct a public\nmeeting which may be a regular or special meeting, for the purpose of\nelecting members of the board of cooperative educational services and\nadopting a public resolution concerning the approval or disapproval of\nthe tentative administrative budget. In the case of a central high\nschool district, such public meeting shall be held on the regular\nbusiness day next following the date designated by the president of the\nboard of cooperative educational services. Nomination of a person to be\nelected to a board of cooperative educational services shall be made by\nat least one component district by board resolution. Such resolution\nshall be transmitted in writing to the clerk of the board of cooperative\neducational services at least thirty days prior to the date of the\nelection as designated by the president of the board of cooperative\neducational services. No nomination of a person to be elected to a board\nof cooperative educational services from a component district which\ncurrently has a resident serving on such board shall be accepted unless\nsuch member's office is to expire at the end of the current year, unless\nthe size of such board exceeds the number of component school districts\nor unless an unrepresented district declines to make a nomination. For\npurposes of this subdivision, any such person or board member nominated\nby a special act school district, a central high school district or any\ndistrict which is a component of a central high school district shall be\ndeemed a resident of the district that nominated him or her only.\nFurthermore, it shall be the duty of the board of cooperative\neducational services to encourage the nomination of persons residing in\ncomponent districts not currently represented on such board. The clerk\nshall include the name and address of each person nominated on the\nelection ballot to be distributed in accordance with paragraph c of this\nsubdivision.\n c. Members of the boards of cooperative educational services shall be\nelected by resolution of the component boards on a ballot prepared by\nthe clerk of the board of cooperative educational services. Such ballot\nshall be mailed to each component district no later than fourteen days\nprior to the date designated as the day of the election by the president\nof the board of cooperative educational services. Each component\ndistrict shall be entitled to one vote for each vacant office to be\nfilled. A component board may not cast more than one vote for any\ncandidate. The candidates receiving a plurality of the votes cast for\nthe several offices shall be elected, provided, however, that no more\nthan one person residing in a particular component district may be\nelected to serve as a member of a board of cooperative educational\nservices at one time unless the number of seats on such board exceeds\nthe number of component districts or unless an unrepresented district\ndeclines to make a nomination, provided further that a person nominated\nby a special act school district, a central high school district or a\ncomponent of a central high school district shall be deemed a resident\nof the nominating district only for this purpose. Where more than one\nposition is to be filled by such election and there is a variance in the\nlength of the terms for which such offices are to be filled as\nauthorized by this subdivision, or one or more persons are to be elected\nfor a full term or terms and one or more persons are to be elected for\nthe unexpired portion of a term or terms, or both, the candidate\nreceiving the greatest number of votes shall be entitled to the longest\nterm and candidates receiving the next highest number of votes, to the\nseveral offices in decreasing order of the length of such terms or\nunexpired portions of such terms. Each component school district shall\nmail or deliver its completed ballot to the clerk of the board of\ncooperative educational services no later than one business day after\nthe election.\n d. In the event that more eligible persons than the number remaining\nto be elected receive an equal number of votes sufficient that fewer\npersons receiving such number of votes would be elected, the president\nof the board of cooperative educational services shall call a run-off\nelection to be conducted in accordance with the provisions of paragraph\nc of this subdivision and to be held on a date within twenty days of the\ninitial vote. The only persons who shall be deemed nominated for such\nrun-off election shall be the candidates who have received such equal\nnumber of votes. In the event that equal numbers of votes are received\nby eligible candidates for offices with a variance in the length of the\nterm of office but the number of votes received by such candidates is\nsufficient to elect each of the candidates to the board of cooperative\neducational services, the candidates receiving such equal number of\nvotes shall draw lots to determine who of them shall fill each such\noffice.\n e. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision to the\ncontrary, in the event a component school district will be transferred\nto a new supervisory district as of July first next succeeding the date\ndesignated for the annual election of the board of cooperative\neducational services, and such component district, as of April fifteenth\nof the current year, does not have a resident who is a member of the\nboard of cooperative educational services of the supervisory district of\nwhich it is a component in the current year, such component district\nshall be eligible to nominate candidates and vote in the annual board\nelection of the boards of cooperative educational services to which the\ncomponent district will be transferred, as if such transfer had already\noccurred.\n f. In the event of a vacancy in the membership of a board of\ncooperative educational services, such board of cooperative educational\nservices may fill such vacancy by appointment, provided that\nnotification be provided to all component boards of such vacancy and\nthat the component boards are given ten days to provide any comments\nand/or objections to fill the vacancy by appointment, and the person so\nappointed shall hold office until the next annual election of the board\nof cooperative educational services.\n 2-b. Where the commissioner of education has established or hereafter\nestablishes a board of cooperative educational services for the purpose\nof carrying out a program of shared educational services in the schools\nof two or more supervisory districts, the commissioner may by order\ndesignate the number of members of such board which shall not be less\nthan five nor more than fifteen, or may by order increase the number of\nmembers of such board to a maximum of fifteen or decrease the number of\nmembers to a minimum of five. Except for elections conducted pursuant to\nsubdivision two-a of this section, and the adoption of a public\nresolution regarding the approval or disapproval of the tentative\nadministrative budget pursuant to subparagraph five of paragraph b of\nsubdivision four of this section, component districts having more than\nfive board of education members shall be limited to five votes on any\nmatters relating to the district superintendency or board of cooperative\neducational services.\n Boards of education and school trustees, shall elect the members of\nsuch board of cooperative educational services pursuant to subdivision\ntwo-a of this section. A full term shall be three years to serve from\nJuly first next following election. It shall be the duty of such meeting\nby order of such meeting to divide into a sufficient number of classes\nthe terms of the members of the board of cooperative educational\nservices so that as nearly as possible an equal number of members shall\nbe elected to the board each year. Notwithstanding any other provision\nof this subdivision, upon the decrease of the full term of members from\nfive to three years, the board of cooperative educational services shall\ndirect that one or more members be elected for a term of one, two or\nfour years in order to assure, as nearly as possible, that an equal\nnumber of members will be elected to the board each year. Members of\nboards of cooperative educational services shall be reimbursed for\nnecessary expenses for attending meetings of such board. Where the board\nof cooperative educational services comprises two or more supervisory\ndistricts, the district superintendents, together with the president of\nthe board of cooperative educational services, shall act as an executive\ncommittee.\n 2-c. a. Each board of cooperative educational services shall have one\nor more ex officio student members. Supervisory districts with ten or\nfewer component districts shall have at least one ex officio student\nmember; supervisory districts with more than ten and fewer than or equal\nto twenty component districts shall have at least two ex officio student\nmembers; and supervisory districts with more than twenty component\ndistricts shall have at least three ex officio student members.\n b. Each supervisory district shall establish a process for determining\nwhich component district or districts shall select the ex officio\nstudent members each school year. Such process shall take into\nconsideration the number of component districts within the supervisory\ndistrict and provide for a mechanism which allows for fair\nrepresentation among the component districts. Each supervisory district\nshall also establish a process by which such component district or\ndistricts shall select the ex officio student member or members,\nprovided that such members shall be students who have attended a high\nschool within their component district for at least one year and who\nparticipate in a program administered by the supervisory district.\n c. The ex officio student members of the board shall be entitled to\nsit with board members at all public meetings and hearings of the board\nand may participate in other board activities and responsibilities at\nthe discretion of the board.\n d. The ex officio student members of the board shall not be allowed to\nvote, shall not be allowed to attend executive session or any other\nmeetings or hearings not open to the public, and shall not be entitled\nto receive compensation of any form for participating at board meetings.\n 3. The boards of cooperative educational services in any two or more\nsupervisory districts may cooperate in the provision of any of the\nservices authorized by subdivision four of this section. In such cases,\nthe district superintendents of the respective supervisory districts\nshall serve as an executive committee to carry out the decision of the\nboards of cooperative educational services in their respective\ndistricts. Agreements may be made by such boards arranging for such\ncooperative services on such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon\nand providing the method of allocation of the cost thereof. Such\nagreements may be made for such period as may be approved by the\ncommissioner but not to exceed ten years. The terms of such agreement\nshall be binding upon such boards and their component districts for the\nperiod specified in such agreement.\n 4. The board of cooperative educational services shall have the power\nand duty to:\n a. (1) Appoint a district superintendent of schools in the manner\nprovided in section twenty-two hundred four of this chapter, and in its\ndiscretion to provide for the payment of supplementary salary to the\ndistrict superintendent of schools by the supervisory district. The term\nof any employment contract or agreement between a district\nsuperintendent and the board of cooperative educational services that is\nentered into or amended on or after the effective date of this\nsubparagraph shall not exceed three years. Copies of employment\ncontracts and amendments to such contracts entered into pursuant to this\nparagraph shall be filed with the commissioner within five days of\nexecution.\n (2) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law in no event\nshall the total salary including amounts paid pursuant to section\ntwenty-two hundred nine of this chapter for district superintendents for\nthe two thousand nineteen--two thousand twenty school year or any\nsubsequent school year exceed: (i) one hundred six percent of the salary\ncap applicable in the preceding school year, or (ii) ninety-eight\npercent of that earned by the commissioner in the two thousand\nthirteen--two thousand fourteen state fiscal year, whichever is less. In\nno event shall any district superintendent be permitted to accumulate\nvacation or sick leave credits in excess of the vacation and sick leave\ncredits managerial/confidential employees of the state are permitted to\naccumulate pursuant to regulations promulgated by the state civil\nservice commission, nor may any district superintendent at the time of\nseparation from service be compensated for accrued and unused vacation\ncredits or sick leave, or use accrued and unused sick leave for\nretirement service credit or to pay for health insurance in retirement,\nat a rate in excess of the rate permitted to managerial/confidential\nemployees of the state pursuant to regulations of the state civil\nservice commission. In addition to the payment of supplementary salary,\na board of cooperative educational services may provide for the payment\nof all or a portion of the cost of insurance benefits for the district\nsuperintendent of schools, including but not limited to health\ninsurance, disability insurance, life insurance or any other form of\ninsurance benefit made available to managerial/confidential employees of\nthe state; provided that any such payments for whole life, split dollar\nor other life insurance policies having a cash value shall be included\nin the total salary of the district superintendent for purposes of this\nsubparagraph, and provided further that any payments for the employee\ncontribution, co-pay or uncovered medical expenses under a health\ninsurance plan also shall be included in the total salary of the\ndistrict superintendent. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,\npayments for such insurance benefits may be based on the district\nsuperintendent's total salary or the amount of his or her supplementary\nsalary only. Any payments for transportation or travel expenses in\nexcess of actual, documented expenses incurred in the performance of\nduties for the board of cooperative educational services or the state,\nand any other lump sum payment not specifically excluded from total\nsalary pursuant to this subparagraph, shall be included in the total\nsalary of the district superintendent for purposes of this subparagraph.\nNothing herein shall prohibit a district superintendent from waiving any\nrights provided for in an existing contract or agreement as hereafter\nprohibited in favor of revised compensation or benefit provisions as\npermitted herein. In no event shall the terms of the district\nsuperintendent's contract, including any provisions relating to an\nincrease in salary, compensation or other benefits, be contingent upon\nthe terms of any contract or collective bargaining agreement between the\nboard of cooperative educational services and its teachers or other\nemployees. The commissioner may adopt regulations for the purpose of\nimplementing the provisions of this paragraph.\n (3) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any employee\nof a board of cooperative educational services who is appointed as the\ndistrict superintendent of schools shall vacate his or her prior\nposition with the board of cooperative educational services upon\nappointment as district superintendent, and no district superintendent\nshall have a contract of employment with the board of cooperative\neducational services other than a contract entered pursuant to this\nparagraph.\n b. (1) Prepare, prior to the annual meeting of members of the boards\nof education and school trustees, held as provided in paragraph o of\nthis subdivision, a tentative budget of expenditures for the program\ncosts, a tentative budget for capital costs, and a tentative budget for\nthe administration costs of the board of cooperative educational\nservices. Such budgets shall include the proposed budget for the\nupcoming school year, the previous school year's actual costs and the\ncurrent school year's projected costs for each object of expenditure.\nSuch program, capital and administrative budgets shall be separately\ndelineated in accordance with the definition of program, capital and\nadministrative costs which shall be promulgated by the commissioner\nafter consultation with school district officials and the director of\nthe budget. Personal service costs for each budget shall include the\nnumber of full-time equivalent positions funded and total salary and,\nexcept as noted herein, fringe benefit costs for such positions by\nprogram. Each program budget shall also include the local and statewide\nunit costs of such programs and services proposed for the upcoming\nschool year, such actual unit costs for the previous school year, and\nthe current school year's projected unit costs, all established in\naccordance with paragraph d of this subdivision. The capital budget\nshall include facility construction and lease expenditures authorized\npursuant to paragraphs p, t and u of this subdivision, payments for the\nrepayment of indebtedness related to capital projects, payments for the\nacquisition or construction of facilities, sites or additions, provided\nthat such budget shall contain a rental, operations and maintenance\nsection that will include base rent costs, total rent costs, operations\nand maintenance charges, cost per square foot for each facility rented\nor leased by such board of cooperative educational services, and any and\nall expenditures associated with custodial salaries and benefits,\nservice contracts, supplies, utilities, maintenance and repairs for such\nfacilities, and that such budget shall include the annual debt service\nand total debt for all facilities financed by bonds or notes of the\ncomponent districts, annual rental and lease payments and total rental\nand lease costs for all facilities rented by such board; such capital\nbudget shall also include expenditures resulting from court judgments\nand orders from administrative bodies or officers, and, to the extent a\nboard's administrative budget has been adopted, one-time costs incurred\nin the first year in which an employee retires. The administrative\nbudget shall include, but need not be limited to, office and central\nadministrative expenses, traveling expenses and salaries and benefits of\nsupervisors and administrative personnel necessary to carry out the\ncentral administrative duties of the supervisory district, any and all\nexpenditures associated with the board, the office of district\nsuperintendent, general administration, central support services,\nplanning, and all other administrative activities. Such administrative\nbudget shall also specify the amount of supplementary salary and\nbenefits, if any, which the board determines should be paid to the\ndistrict superintendent of schools and the board shall append to such\nbudget a detailed statement of the total compensation to be paid the\ndistrict superintendent of schools by the board, including a delineation\nof the salary, annualized cost of benefits and any in-kind or other form\nof remuneration to be paid, plus, commencing with the presentation of\nthe budget for the nineteen hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school\nyear, a list of items of expense eligible for reimbursement on expense\naccounts in the ensuing school year and a statement of the amount of\nexpenses paid to the district superintendent of schools in the prior\nyear for purposes of carrying out his or her official duties.\n (2) The board of cooperative educational services shall provide copies\nof such tentative budgets and attachments to the trustees or board of\neducation of each component school district of the board of cooperative\neducational services at least ten days prior to the annual meeting held\npursuant to paragraph o of this subdivision. Such trustees or boards of\neducation shall make such budgets available to the residents of their\nrespective school districts upon request.\n (3) The board of cooperative educational services shall comply with\nany reasonable requests for additional information not contained in such\nbudgets which may be requested prior to the annual meeting held pursuant\nto paragraph o of this subdivision.\n (4) The board of cooperative educational services shall give public\nnotice of the annual meeting held pursuant to paragraph o of this\nsubdivision by publishing a notice once each week within the two weeks\npreceding the annual meeting held as provided in paragraph o of this\nsubdivision, the first publication to be at least fourteen days before\nsuch meeting, in two newspapers if there be two, or in one newspaper if\nthere shall be but one, having general circulation within the board of\ncooperative educational services. If no newspaper shall have general\ncirculation therein, said notice shall be posted in at least twenty of\nthe most public places in the board of cooperative educational services\nat least fourteen days before such meeting. Such notice shall state that\nthe tentative budgets will be presented by the board of cooperative\neducational services to the trustees or board of education of each\ncomponent school district of the board of cooperative educational\nservices in attendance at such meeting. Such notice shall also include a\nsummary of the tentative administrative, capital and program budgets in\na form prescribed by the commissioner. The summary of the administrative\nbudget shall include, but shall not be limited to, the salary and\nbenefits of supervisors and administrative personnel of the board of\ncooperative educational services and the total compensation payable to\nthe district superintendent of schools. Such notice shall also indicate\nwhen a copy of the tentative budgets will be available for inspection by\nthe public during regular business hours at one or more locations\nspecified in the notice.\n (5) The trustees or board of education of each component school\ndistrict of the board of cooperative educational services shall adopt a\npublic resolution which shall approve or disapprove such tentative\nadministrative budget at a regular or special meeting to be held within\nthe component district on the date designated pursuant to subdivision\ntwo-a of this section as the date for election of members of the board\nof cooperative educational services, or in the case of the board of\neducation of a central high school district on the regular business day\nnext following such designated date.\n If the resolutions adopted by the trustees or boards of education of a\nmajority of the component school districts of the board of cooperative\neducational services actually voting approve the tentative\nadministrative budget, the board of cooperative educational services may\nadopt the tentative administrative budget without modification. If a\nmajority of the component school districts actually voting fail to adopt\nresolutions approving such tentative administrative budget, or if the\nnumber of component school districts approving the budget equals the\nnumber of school districts disapproving the budget, the board of\ncooperative educational services shall prepare and adopt a contingency\nadministrative budget which shall not exceed the amount of the\nadministrative budget of the board of cooperative educational services\nfor the previous school year except to accommodate expenditure increases\nattributable to supplemental retirement allowances payable pursuant to\nsection five hundred thirty-two of this chapter and section\nseventy-eight of the retirement and social security law.\n (6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any component\nschool district which will be transferred to a new supervisory district\nas of July first next succeeding the date designated for the vote on the\ntentative administrative budget shall vote on the administrative budget\nof the board of cooperative educational services to which it will be\ntransferred, as if such transfer had already occurred. Where the\ncommissioner has issued an order for the merger of two or more\nsupervisory districts to take effect on July first, in the school year\nimmediately preceding the merger, the boards of cooperative educational\nservices to be merged shall jointly prepare a program, administrative\nand capital budget for the merged board of cooperative educational\nservices and shall jointly conduct a vote on the tentative\nadministrative budget of the merged board of cooperative educational\nservices in accordance with this paragraph as if the merger was already\nin effect. In the event such a merger does not take effect on July\nfirst, the commissioner shall be authorized to order the boards of\ncooperative educational services to be merged to develop program,\nadministrative and capital budgets and conduct a vote on administrative\nbudgets in the manner prescribed by this section on dates other than\nthose specified in this section.\n (7) Each component school district shall transmit the resolution\neither approving or disapproving the board of cooperative educational\nservices' tentative administrative budget no later than one business day\nafter the adoption of such resolution. The board of cooperative\neducational services shall, no later than the fifteenth day of May,\nadopt the final program, capital and administrative budgets for the\nensuing year. Except as provided in paragraph d of this subdivision,\nsubparagraph (a) of paragraph p of this subdivision, and subdivision one\nof section nineteen hundred fifty-one of this article, such\nadministrative and capital budgets, when so adopted, after deducting\nstate aid applicable thereto, shall be a charge against all of the\ncomponent school districts in the supervisory district and each\ncomponent school district's proportionate share shall be determined by\nthe board of cooperative educational services according to weighted\naverage daily attendance or according to true valuation or according to\nresident public school district enrollment as defined in paragraph n of\nsubdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter except\nthat only one method shall be applied among the component districts of a\nboard of cooperative educational services in any year, unless otherwise\nprovided by law. In a merged supervisory district in the county of\nSuffolk each component school district's proportionate share of such\nadministrative and capital budgets may be determined according to\nweighted average daily attendance, according to true valuation, or\naccording to using the weighted average daily attendance for a certain\npercentage of the cost and true valuation for a certain percentage of\nadministrative and capital costs. Such costs, in a merged supervisory\ndistrict in the county of Suffolk, apportioned by using weighted average\ndaily attendance and true valuation shall be subject to adjustment by\nthe board of cooperative educational services in a manner that will\nminimize the annual change in costs for the greatest number of component\ndistricts. Such percentages shall be established by the board of\ncooperative educational services upon the approval of the component\ndistricts subject to the final approval of the commissioner. It is\nfurther provided that such administrative budget approved by the board\nshall be subject to review by the commissioner to determine: (i) the\nlevel of administrative savings achieved by the merger and (ii) if such\nadministrative savings equals or exceeds the level identified by the\nmerger planning task force appointed by the district superintendent. If\nthe board of cooperative educational services determines to change the\nmethod of apportioning administrative costs and capital expenses from\nthat followed in the previous year, such determination may be made only\nif the board of cooperative educational services has conducted a hearing\nat a regular or special meeting of such board which all members of\nboards of education and school trustees have been invited to attend,\nsuch hearing to be held at least thirty days prior to the annual meeting\nof members of boards of education and school trustees. In the\nPutnam/North Westchester board of cooperative educational services, each\ncomponent district's proportionate share of such administrative and\ncapital budgets may also be determined by using the weighted average\ndaily attendance for a certain percentage and the true valuation for a\ncertain percentage. Such percentages shall be applied according to\nclause (i) of this subparagraph.\n (i) The three methods of apportionment of administrative and capital\nexpenses are as follows: (1) in accordance with the ratio which the\ncomponent school district's total full or true valuation in effect at\nthe time of the adoption of the budget bears to the total true or full\nvaluation of all of the component school districts within the board of\ncooperative educational services, (2) by dividing the total amount of\nsuch administrative and capital expenses by the total weighted average\ndaily attendance of pupils residing in all component school districts\ncontained within the board of cooperative educational services and\nattending a public school and multiplying by the weighted average daily\nattendance of such resident pupils in each of the component school\ndistricts, or (3) by dividing the total amount of such administrative\nand capital expenses by the total resident public school district\nenrollment of all component school districts contained within the board\nof cooperative educational services and multiplying by the resident\npublic school district enrollment of the component school districts. In\naddition, in a merged supervisory district in the county of Suffolk,\nwhere a combination of the first and second methods could be applied as\nprovided in the opening paragraph of this subparagraph may be utilized.\nIn the Putnam/North Westchester board of cooperative educational\nservices, where a combination of the first and second methods is\nutilized, the percentages shall be used as follows: for the two thousand\nfive-two thousand six school year, ninety percent using true valuation\nand ten percent using the weighted average daily attendance; for the two\nthousand six-two thousand seven school year, eighty percent using true\nvaluation and twenty percent using the weighted average daily\nattendance; for the two thousand seven-two thousand eight school year,\nseventy percent using true valuation and thirty percent using the\nweighted average daily attendance; for the two thousand eight-two\nthousand nine school year, sixty percent using true valuation and forty\npercent using the weighted average daily attendance; and for the two\nthousand nine-two thousand ten school year and any school year\nthereafter, fifty percent using true valuation and fifty percent using\nthe weighted average daily attendance.\n (ii) If the board of cooperative educational services chooses to\napportion administrative costs and capital expenses according to full or\ntrue valuation, special school districts authorized to receive state aid\nin accordance with chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of\nnineteen hundred sixty-seven, as amended, shall have their full value\nfor purposes of this section computed by multiplying the resident\nweighted average daily attendance by the state average full valuation\nper pupil as established by the commissioner for the year in which the\nbudget is adopted. The school authorities of each component school\ndistrict shall add such amount to the budget of such component districts\nand shall pay such amount to the treasurer of the board of cooperative\neducational services and shall be paid out by the treasurer upon the\norders of the board of cooperative educational services issued and\nexecuted in pursuance of a resolution of said board.\n c. Make or cause to be made surveys to determine the need for\ncooperative educational services in the supervisory district and present\nthe findings of their surveys to local school authorities. Each board of\ncooperative educational services shall prepare long range program plans,\nincluding special education and career education program plans, to meet\nthe projected need for such cooperative educational services in the\nsupervisory district for the next five years as may be specified by the\ncommissioner, and shall keep on file and make available for public\ninspection and review by the commissioner such plans and thereafter\nannual revisions of such plans on or before the first day of December of\neach year, provided that such plans may be incorporated into a board of\ncooperative educational services district-wide comprehensive plan.\n d. (1) Aidable shared services. At the request of component school\ndistricts, and with the approval of the commissioner, provide any of the\nfollowing services on a cooperative basis: school nurse teacher,\nattendance supervisor, supervisor of teachers, dental hygienist,\npsychologist, teachers of art, music, physical education, career\neducation subjects, guidance counsellors, operation of special classes\nfor students with disabilities, as such term is defined in article\neighty-nine of this chapter; pupil and financial accounting service by\nmeans of mechanical equipment; maintenance and operation of cafeteria or\nrestaurant service for the use of pupils and teachers while at school,\nand such other services as the commissioner may approve. Such cafeteria\nor restaurant service may be used by the community for school related\nfunctions and activities and to furnish meals to the elderly residents\nof the district, sixty years of age or older. Utilization by elderly\nresidents or school related groups shall be subject to the approval of\nthe board of education. Charges shall be sufficient to bear the direct\ncost of preparation and serving of such meals, exclusive of any other\navailable reimbursements.\n * (2) Certain services prohibited. Commencing with the nineteen\nhundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year, the commissioner shall\nnot be authorized to approve as an aidable shared service pursuant to\nthis subdivision any cooperative maintenance services or municipal\nservices, including but not limited to, lawn mowing services and\nheating, ventilation or air conditioning repair or maintenance or trash\ncollection, or any other municipal services as defined by the\ncommissioner. On and after the effective date of this paragraph, the\ncommissioner shall not approve, as an aidable shared service, any new\ncooperative maintenance or municipal services for the nineteen hundred\nninety-six--ninety-seven school year, provided that the commissioner may\napprove the continuation of such services for one year if provided in\nthe nineteen hundred ninety-five--ninety-six school year. No service\nprovided to an out-of-state school district pursuant to subparagraph ten\nof paragraph h of this subdivision shall be eligible for aid.\n * NB Effective until July 1, 2029\n * (2) Certain services prohibited. Commencing with the nineteen\nhundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year, the commissioner shall\nnot be authorized to approve as an aidable shared service pursuant to\nthis subdivision any cooperative maintenance services or municipal\nservices, including but not limited to, lawn mowing services and\nheating, ventilation or air conditioning repair or maintenance or trash\ncollection, or any other municipal services as defined by the\ncommissioner. On and after the effective date of this paragraph, the\ncommissioner shall not approve, as an aidable shared service, any new\ncooperative maintenance or municipal services for the nineteen hundred\nninety-six--ninety-seven school year, provided that the commissioner may\napprove the continuation of such services for one year if provided in\nthe nineteen hundred ninety-five--ninety-six school year.\n * NB Effective July 1, 2029\n (2-a) Cost effectiveness of instructional and non-instructional\ntechnology. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the\ncontrary, expenditures incurred pursuant to purchase and/or installation\ncontracts entered into on or after January fifteenth, two thousand, for\nthe following categories of instructional and non-instructional\ntechnology purchase and installation:\n (i) computer equipment,\n (ii) conduits,\n (iii) wiring,\n (iv) powering and testing of hardware installations,\n (v) all costs associated with lease or purchase of local or wide area\nnetwork hardware located on district property, and\n (vi) incidental costs for original purchase and installation of\nhardware, including installation of basic operating systems software\nrequired for hardware testing,\nshall not be considered an aidable shared service unless the component\nschool district is able to demonstrate that such shared service would be\nmore cost-effective than would otherwise be possible if such services\nwere to be purchased without the involvement of a board of cooperative\neducational services. Any aid that may be payable for such shared\nservice pursuant to subdivision five of this section shall be excluded\nin the demonstration and determination of cost-effectiveness and cost\nsavings pursuant to this subdivision. The commissioner shall issue\nguidelines to advise component school districts in their determination\nof cost-effectiveness. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a\ncomponent school district determines that any instructional and\nnon-instructional technology purchase and installation from the board of\ncooperative educational services are not cost effective, as determined\npursuant to this paragraph, the commissioner shall, upon request, assist\nthe school district to enter into a cooperative service agreement\n(CO-SER) with another BOCES, which is cost effective in the provision of\nsuch technology purchases and installations.\n (3) Requests for shared services; operating plan; required notice.\nRequests for such shared services shall be filed by component school\ndistricts with the board of cooperative educational services not later\nthan the first day of February of each year, provided that such requests\nshall not be binding upon the component school district. The board of\ncooperative educational services shall submit its proposed annual\noperating plan for the ensuing school year to the department for\napproval not later than the fifteenth day of February of each year. Such\nboard shall, through its executive officer, notify each component school\ndistrict on or before the tenth day of March concerning the services\nwhich have been approved by the commissioner to be made available for\nthe ensuing school year. Such notice shall set forth the local uniform\ncost of each such service, based on (i) anticipated participation in the\nensuing school year, or (ii) participation in the current year, or (iii)\na two or three year average including participation in the current year,\nwhich unit cost shall be the same for all participating component\ndistricts and shall be based upon a uniform methodology approved\nannually by at least three-quarters of the participating component\nschool districts after consultation by local school officials with their\nrespective boards; provided, however, such unit cost shall be subject to\nfinal adjustment for programs for students with disabilities based on\nactual participation in accordance with regulations of the commissioner.\nNotwithstanding the determination of the local uniform unit cost\nmethodology selected in accordance with this paragraph, each board of\ncooperative education services shall annually report to the commissioner\nthe budgeted unit cost and, when available, the actual unit cost of such\nprograms and services, in accordance with both the local uniform unit\ncost methodology and a statewide uniform unit cost methodology\nprescribed by the commissioner by regulation, where the budgeted\nstatewide unit cost shall be based on the anticipated participation in\nthe ensuing year and the actual statewide unit cost shall be based on\nactual participation through the end of each year.\n (4) Contracts for shared services; allocation of costs. Each component\nschool district shall on or before the first day of May following such\nnotification notify the board of cooperative educational services of its\nintention to participate or not to participate in such shared services\nand the specific services which such district elects to utilize. Each\nparticipating component school district shall be required to pay the\nboard of cooperative educational services for the cost of the services\nset forth in such notification, except for adjustments caused by\nsubsequent unanticipated changes in the district's enrollment. The board\nof cooperative educational services shall enter into contracts with its\ncomponent school districts for such requested services. A copy of each\nexecuted contract for such purpose shall be filed with the commissioner\nby the board of cooperative educational services on or prior to the\nfirst day of August of each year. Notwithstanding the provisions of\nparagraph b of this subdivision, any component school district which\ndoes not elect to participate in any such specific cooperative services\nauthorized under this paragraph shall not be required to pay any share\nof the moneys provided in the budget as salaries of teachers or other\npersonnel employed in providing such service, for equipment and supplies\nfor such service or for transportation of pupils to and from the place\nwhere such service is maintained. Provided, further, that a board of\ncooperative educational services may allocate the cost of such services\nto component school districts in accordance with terms agreed upon\nbetween such board and three-quarters of the boards of education and\ntrustees of local school districts participating in the service.\n (5) Operating plan and budget; unanticipated shared services. The\nboard of cooperative educational services shall submit to the\ncommissioner on or before the first day of June an operating plan and\nbudget based upon the request for services which it has received from\nits component school districts. Such submission shall include the\nbudgeted unit cost of programs and services based on both the local and\nthe statewide uniform unit cost methodologies for each program and\nservice offered by the board of cooperative educational services. A\nboard of cooperative educational services which receives requests for\nunanticipated shared services subsequent to the adoption of its budget\nshall submit an amended operating plan including such additional shared\nservices to the commissioner, together with a statement from the chief\nschool administrator of each school district which has requested such\nservices indicating the availability of funds in the budget of the\nschool district to pay for such district's share of the cost of such\nadditional services. Such amended plan shall be submitted in the manner\nand form prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. The board of\ncooperative educational services shall allocate the cost of providing\nsuch additional shared services among the component school districts\nwhich have requested such services, and shall contract with the\ncomponent school districts for such services. A copy of each contract\nfor this purpose shall be filed by the board of cooperative educational\nservices with the commissioner not more than thirty days from its\nexecution. An annual program report and evaluation for each school year\nas prescribed by the commissioner, shall be submitted by the board of\ncooperative educational services to the commissioner on or before the\nfirst day of September following such school year.\n e. Upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, employ such\nadministrative assistants, teachers, supervisors, clerical help and\nother personnel as may be necessary to carry out its program.\n f. Receive all reimbursements from public funds on account of the\ncooperative educational services performed under its jurisdiction, and\nallocate the costs of cooperative educational activities and shared\nservices including administrative and clerical costs against the\ncomponent school districts and receive and disburse the same, and to\napportion surpluses and assessments for services on the basis of\nparticipation to those components and to those school districts outside\nthe board of cooperative educational services contracting for such\nprograms, and to apportion surpluses and assessments for administrative\nexpenses to all component districts. All such apportionments shall be\nmade annually.\n g. Borrow money in anticipation of revenue due the board of\ncooperative educational services.\n h. (1) Arrange cooperative educational services with and if necessary\nmake contracts covering same with other public agencies for shared\nservices and to produce educational television materials and programs,\nand to own or lease television facilities and to enter into appropriate\ncontracts concerning the same.\n (2) To enter into contracts with the United States of America, the\nState of New York, any school district, community college, public\ninstitution of higher education, independent institution of higher\neducation eligible for aid under section sixty-four hundred one of this\nchapter, public libraries, or public agency in relation to the program\nof the board of cooperative educational services, and any such school\ndistrict, community college, institution of higher education, or public\nagency is hereby authorized and empowered to do and perform any and all\nacts necessary or convenient in relation to the performance of any such\ncontracts.\n (3) To enter into contracts with school districts which are component\ndistricts in the board of cooperative educational services for the\neducation by such component school district or districts of children who\nreside within the board of cooperative educational services in the\nprogram of the board of cooperative educational services, and for all\npurposes of this chapter in such event such children shall be deemed\nattending classes maintained by the board of cooperative educational\nservices. School districts are hereby authorized and empowered to do and\nperform any and all acts necessary or convenient in relation to the\nperformance of any such contracts.\n (4) To enter into contracts with nonpublic schools to provide data\nprocessing services for pupil personnel records and other administrative\nrecords of the nonpublic schools and the processing of fingerprints\nutilized in criminal history record checks for those nonpublic schools\nthat elect to require such criminal history record checks pursuant to\nparagraph (a) of subdivision thirty of section three hundred five of\nthis chapter.\n (5) To enter into contracts with the United States of America, the\nstate of New York, any community college, agricultural and technical\ncollege or other public agency for the purpose of providing career\neducation programs to such agencies. Any such proposed contract shall be\nsubject to the review and approval of the commissioner, who may only\napprove such proposed contract when, in his opinion, such contract will\nresult in a more economical utilization of existing career and career\neducation resources than would be achieved were such contract not\napproved. The commissioner shall issue a finding in writing in making\nall determinations pursuant to this article.\n (6) To enter into contracts with not-for-profit corporations to\nparticipate in federal programs relating to career training and\nexperience. Any such proposed contract shall be subject to review and\napproval of the commissioner, who may approve such proposed contract\nonly when in his opinion such contract will result in increased or\nimproved career opportunities. The commissioner shall issue a finding in\nwriting in making all determinations pursuant to this subparagraph.\n (7) To enter into contracts with the state of New York, any community\ncollege, agricultural and technical college, or public agency for the\npurpose of providing electronic data processing services to such\nagencies. Any such proposed contract shall be subject to the review and\napproval of the commissioner, who may only approve such proposed\ncontract when, in his opinion, such contract will not disrupt the level\nof services provided to component school districts and will result in a\nmore economical utilization of existing board of cooperative educational\nservices computer facilities. The commissioner shall issue a finding in\nwriting in making all determinations pursuant to this subparagraph.\n (8) To enter into contracts with the commissioner of the office of\nchildren and family services pursuant to subdivision six-a of section\nthirty-two hundred two of this chapter to provide to such office, for\nthe benefit of youth in its custody, any special education programs,\nrelated services, career and technical education services and music, art\nand foreign language programs provided by the board of cooperative\neducational services to component school districts. Any such proposed\ncontract shall be subject to the review and approval of the commissioner\nto determine that it is an approved cooperative educational service.\nServices provided pursuant to such contracts shall be provided at cost,\nand the board of cooperative educational services shall not be\nauthorized to charge any costs incurred in providing such services to\nits component school districts.\n * (10) To enter into contracts of no more than five years and subject\nto the sunset date of this subparagraph, with out-of-state schools for:\n(a) special education; and/or (b) career and technical education\nservices; and/or (c) for the use of existing products that demonstrate\nhow to map the next generation standards to assessments; and/or (d)\nproviding access to existing webinars or online courses relating to\nimplementation of the next generation standards; for providing\nprofessional development to educators; and/or (e) technology products\ndeveloped for the use of school districts located in New York state,\nincluding computer programs and software packages that help students\nlearn and assist districts in achieving greater efficiencies. For\npurposes of this subparagraph, an out-of-state school shall mean a\npublic elementary or secondary school or a degree granting institution\nof higher education, located outside of New York state; provided further\nfor purposes of providing services authorized in clauses (c), (d) and\n(e) of this subparagraph, out-of-state shall also include schools\nlocated outside the continental United States. Any contract shall be\napproved by the commissioner, the board of cooperative educational\nservices and the district superintendent of schools, provided such\nservices are made available to any school district within the\nsupervisory district and that the requirements of this subparagraph are\nmet. Contracts must be executed by the board of cooperative educational\nservices and the trustees or boards of education of such out-of-state\nschools and shall only authorize out-of-state students to participate in\nan instructional program if such services are available to all eligible\nstudents in New York state schools in the component districts and the\nnumber of participating out-of-state students only comprises up to five\npercent of the total number of the total enrolled students in the\ninstructional program at the board of cooperative educational services\nand that the board of cooperative educational services spends no more\nthan thirty percent of its employees' time on services to out-of-state\nschools pursuant to this subparagraph. To be approved by the\ncommissioner, the contract and any business plan, shall demonstrate that\nany services provided to out-of-state schools pursuant to this\nsubparagraph shall not result in any additional costs being imposed on\ncomponent school districts and that any payments received by the board\nof cooperative educational services for services provided in this\nsubparagraph that exceed any cost to the board of cooperative\neducational services for providing such services shall be applied to\nreduce the costs of aidable shared services allocated to component\nschool districts pursuant to paragraph d of this subdivision and shall\nalso be applied to reduce the approved cost of services pursuant to\nsubdivision five of this section. Services provided by a board of\ncooperative educational services to component districts at the time of\napproval of a contract under this paragraph shall not be reduced or\neliminated solely due to a board of cooperative educational services'\nperformance of services to out-of-state schools pursuant to this\nparagraph.\n * NB Repealed July 1, 2029\n (11) To enter into contracts with individual public libraries or\npublic library systems for the purpose of providing high-speed\ntelecommunications services including, but not limited to, high-speed\ninternet services. Any such proposed contract shall be subject to the\nreview and approval of the commissioner, who may only approve such\nproposed contract when, in such commissioner's opinion, such contract:\n(a) will result in a more economical utilization of existing boards of\ncooperative educational services high-speed telecommunications services\nor resources than would be achieved were such contract not approved; (b)\nwill not disrupt the level of services to component school districts;\nand (c) will result in a more economical utilization of existing library\nresources. The commissioner shall issue a finding, in writing, making\nany determination pursuant to this subparagraph. Such services to public\nlibraries and library systems shall be provided at cost and shall not be\neligible for aid pursuant to subdivision five of this section.\n (12) To enter into contracts with preschool special education program\nproviders approved pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this\nchapter to process services relating to online application systems for\neducators.\n (13) To establish, upon local interest from one or more component\nschool districts and subject to approval by the BOCES board of\neducation, an agriculture program that is designed to provide students\nwith the skills required to work in, and help sustain New York's\nagriculture industry. Such program may include, but not be limited to,\na partnership with farms and other agriculture entities in the state\nthat provide students with hands-on experience combined with other\neducational opportunities.\n i. Make such reports as are required by the commissioner of education.\n j. Appoint one of its members as president, one of its members or\nanother qualified voter in a district within the supervisory district as\nclerk and another qualified voter in a district within the supervisory\ndistrict as treasurer. The duties of the clerk and treasurer shall be\nthe same as those established by statute and regulations of the\ncommissioner of education for clerks and treasurers of union free school\ndistricts.\n k. Designate a depositary within the territorial limits of any\ncomponent district for the deposit of money in the manner provided by\nsection ten of the general municipal law. The receipt, deposit,\ninvestment and disbursement of moneys, and all procedures relating\nthereto, including, but not limited to the requirements for signatures,\nthe appointment of a claims auditor to approve claims for purchases, and\nthe optional use of claim forms, and the establishment of an internal\naudit function, shall be subject to the laws relating to union free\nschool districts.\n m. At the request of officials of school districts, created by\nlegislative act, within the territory of a board of cooperative\neducational services, provide services as outlined in paragraph d of\nthis subdivision. For such districts, there shall be apportioned from\nstate funds to the board of cooperative educational services a sum equal\nto one-half the total cost of the approved services provided to such\nschool district.\n n. In those counties where taxes other than those on real property are\napplied to school purposes, the tax rate shall be deemed to be that\nwhich would result if such taxes had not been applied to school\npurposes.\n o. A meeting of members of the boards of education and school trustees\nof the component districts shall be held during the month of April on or\nbefore the fifteenth day of April, on a date and at a place and hour\ndesignated by the president of the board of cooperative educational\nservices. The tentative administrative capital and program budgets of\nthe board of cooperative educational services shall be available for\ninspection of the boards of education and school trustees at such\nmeeting. Notice of the date, time and place of such meeting shall be\ngiven to each of the members of the boards of education and trustees and\nto the clerk of each of the component school districts by mail addressed\nto the last known address of such persons at least fourteen days prior\nto the meeting.\n p. * (a) To rent suitable land, classrooms, offices or buildings upon\nor in which to maintain and conduct such cooperative educational\nservices and administrative offices for a period not to exceed ten years\nfor leases entered into with public entities and twenty years for leases\nentered into with non-public entities and to improve, alter, equip and\nfurnish such land, classrooms, offices or buildings in a suitable manner\nfor such purposes, provided that: (1) before executing any lease, the\nboard shall adopt a resolution determining that such agreement is in the\nbest financial interests of the supervisory district and stating the\nbasis of that determination; (2) the rental payment shall not be more\nthan the fair market value as determined by the board and provided to\nthe commissioner; (3) The board discloses any conflict of interest\npursuant to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, or any other potential\nor perceived conflict of interest, to the commissioner, and in the event\nof a conflict of interest or a potential or perceived conflict of\ninterest, provides detailed documentation to the commissioner\ndemonstrating that the cost of the lease is not more than fair market\nvalue; and (4) upon the consent of the commissioner, renewal of such\nlease may be made for a period of up to ten years. Nothing contained\nherein shall prevent the board from entering into a lease agreement\nwhich provides for the cancellation of the same by such board upon: (i)\na substantial increase or decrease in pupil enrollment; or (ii) a\nsubstantial change in the needs and requirements of a board of\ncooperative educational services with respect to facilities; or (iii)\nany other change which substantially affects the needs or requirements\nof a board of cooperative educational services or the community in which\nit is located. No lease or other contract for the occupancy of such\nland, classrooms, offices or buildings shall be enforceable against the\nboard of cooperative educational services unless and until the same\nshall have been approved in writing by the commissioner. In the case of\na lease longer than ten years, the commissioner's written approval must\ninclude a finding that the proposed lease complies with all requirements\nof this paragraph and would be more cost-effective than a lease of ten\nyears or fewer.\n * NB Effective until July 1, 2029\n * (a) To rent suitable land, classrooms, offices or buildings upon or\nin which to maintain and conduct such cooperative educational services\nand administrative offices for a period not to exceed ten years and to\nimprove, alter, equip and furnish such land, classrooms, offices or\nbuildings in a suitable manner for such purposes (1) before executing\nany lease, the board shall adopt a resolution determining that such\nagreement is in the best financial interests of the supervisory district\nand stating the basis of that determination; (2) the rental payment\nshall not be more than the fair market value as determined by the board;\nand (3) upon the consent of the commissioner, renewal of such lease may\nbe made for a period of up to ten years. Nothing contained herein shall\nprevent the board from entering into a lease agreement which provides\nfor the cancellation of the same by such board upon: (i) a substantial\nincrease or decrease in pupil enrollment; or (ii) a substantial change\nin the needs and requirements of a board of cooperative educational\nservices with respect to facilities; or (iii) any other change which\nsubstantially affects the needs or requirements of a board of\ncooperative educational services or the community in which it is\nlocated. No lease or other contract for the occupancy of such land,\nclassrooms, offices or buildings shall be enforceable against the board\nof cooperative educational services unless and until the same shall have\nbeen approved in writing by the commissioner.\n * NB Effective July 1, 2029\n (b) To lease unneeded facilities to public or private agencies,\nindividuals, partnerships, or corporations, with the approval of the\ncommissioner of education, and for a term not to exceed five years,\nwhich shall be renewable with the approval of the commissioner of\neducation.\n * (c) if any member of the board of education of the board of\ncooperative educational services, officer or employee of the board of\ncooperative educational services has a financial interest, either direct\nor indirect, in any lease to which the board of cooperative educational\nservices is, or is to be, a party, such interest shall be disclosed to\nthe board of education of such board of cooperative educational services\nin writing and shall be set forth in the minutes of the board of\neducation of the board of cooperative educational services. The member,\nofficer or employee having such interest shall not participate in any\naction by the board of cooperative educational services with respect to\nsuch lease.\n * NB Repealed July 1, 2029\n q. To provide transportation for pupils to and from classes maintained\nby such board of cooperative educational services at the request of one\nor more school districts. School districts and boards of cooperative\neducational services are authorized to enter into contracts with one or\nmore school districts, private contractors, and one or more boards of\ncooperative educational services and any municipal corporation and\nauthority to provide such transportation. Boards of cooperative\neducational services may operate joint or regional transportation\nsystems for the transportation authorized by articles seventy-three and\neighty-nine of this chapter. Such transportation, except when provided\nby a political subdivision or a board of cooperative educational\nservices, shall be subject to the requirements of subdivision fourteen\nof section three hundred five of the education law.\n r. With the approval of the district superintendent of schools and of\nthe commissioner of education to furnish any of the educational services\nprovided for in this section or any other section of law which\nauthorizes such board to provide services to school districts outside of\nthe supervisory district, upon such terms as may be agreed upon pursuant\nto contracts executed by such board of cooperative educational services\nand the trustees or boards of education of such school districts.\n s. Provide workmen's compensation coverage as provided in the\nworkmen's compensation law for all teachers and other employees for\ninjuries incurred in actual performance of duty.\n t. When authorized by the qualified voters of the board, to purchase\nor otherwise acquire buildings, sites or additions thereto, to purchase\nor otherwise acquire real property for any lawful purpose and to\nconstruct buildings thereon.\n u. To purchase necessary furniture, equipment, implements, apparatus\nand supplies.\n v. To accept gifts of real and personal property.\n w. To furnish any of the services provided for in this section or any\nother section of law which authorizes such board to provide services to\nschool districts outside of the board of cooperative educational\nservices, with the approval of the commissioner of education and of the\ndistrict superintendent of schools or superintendents of schools having\njurisdiction of such school districts for a period of not to exceed five\nyears, upon such terms as may be agreed upon pursuant to contracts\nexecuted by the board of cooperative educational services and the\ntrustees or boards of education of such school districts.\n x. To sell, when authorized by the qualified voters of the board of\ncooperative educational services, any real property the title of which\nis vested in the board of cooperative educational services and buildings\nthereon and appurtenances or any part thereof at such price and upon\nsuch terms as shall be prescribed in such resolution; also, when so\nauthorized, to exchange real property belonging to the board of\ncooperative educational services for the purpose of improving or\nchanging school sites. The proceeds of such sale shall be applied as\nprovided by the resolution authorizing such sale.\n * y. To enter into agreements for the lease of personal property.\nBefore executing any such agreement, the board shall adopt a resolution\ndetermining that such agreement is in the best financial interests of\nthe board of cooperative educational services, which resolution shall\nstate the basis for that determination. Such agreements shall be subject\nto the bidding requirements of the general municipal law. No agreement\nfor the lease of personal property may be made for a term in excess of\nfive years, beginning with the time of receipt of possession of the\nsubject of the lease.\n * NB There are 2 par. y's\n * y. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and with the\nconsent of the commissioner, the board of cooperative educational\nservices of the county of Oswego may enter into contracts with the\ncounty of Oswego to provide transportation for handicapped children in\nthe county of Oswego to and from any facility or institution for\neducating handicapped children within or without such county.\n * NB There are 2 par. y's\n z. To furnish, with the approval of the commissioner of education, for\nan amount not less than the cost thereof, any of the instructional\nsupport services provided to component school districts, including but\nnot limited to audio-visual materials and related media services,\ncurricular materials, in-service education programs and pupil personnel\nservices for the diagnosis of handicapping conditions, to any nonpublic,\nnot-for-profit elementary or secondary school in the state of New York\nwhich provides the instruction required by section thirty-two hundred\nfour and article seventeen of this chapter, and which is chartered by\nthe regents or registered with or subject to examination and inspection\nby the state education department.\n aa. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a board of cooperative\neducational services may, with the prior written approval of the\ncommissioner, contract to accept from a leasing company which has\nqualified as lowest bidder pursuant to the provisions of the general\nmunicipal law a sum sufficient to purchase data processing equipment\nfrom the manufacturer thereof, pay such sum to the manufacturer of said\nequipment, receive the equipment and title thereto and convey the same\nto the leasing company with a simultaneous lease of the equipment from\nsuch leasing company to the board of cooperative educational services\nfor a specified period of years. Before any such agreement shall be\nexecuted, the board of cooperative educational services shall adopt a\nresolution determining that such agreement is in the best financial\ninterest of the board. Such lease may be renewed for a further specified\nperiod of years with the prior approval of the commissioner of\neducation.\n bb. Boards of cooperative educational services may provide academic\nand other programs and services in the school year on a cooperative\nbasis, including summer programs and services. (1) Requests to provide\nsuch programs and services shall be filed annually with the commissioner\nfor approval.\n (2) The commissioner may approve such programs and services only if\nthey (a) are requested by two or more component school districts; (b)\nwill provide additional opportunities for pupils; (c) will be expected\nto result in a cost savings to the two or more component school\ndistricts requesting the programs and services; (d) will provide greater\nopportunity for pupils, including those with handicapping conditions, to\nearn credit for academic subjects and (e) will insure a greater or more\nappropriate use of facilities by boards of cooperative educational\nservices.\n (3) Such programs and services may include, but shall not be limited\nto (a) expansion of itinerant teaching services in advanced academic\nsubject courses; (b) academic course offerings at regular board of\ncooperative educational services centers or at leased sites during the\nschool year or summer school periods, as requested by component\ndistricts; (c) block scheduling to enable students to attend classes at\na board of cooperative educational services center for an entire school\nday; (d) satellite offerings of specific concentrations or\nspecializations sponsored by boards of cooperative educational services\nat local schools, with cross-contracting for services; (e) expanded use\nof interactive television and other technologies to offer academic\ncourses on site or at component school districts; and (f) programs of\nacademic intervention services approved by the commissioner designed to\nfulfill the academic intervention services requirement imposed by the\nregulations of the commissioner, provided that in approving such\nprograms and services for the two thousand--two thousand one school year\nor thereafter, the commissioner shall assure that the program or service\nresults in a cost savings to all participating districts, disregarding\nany aid pursuant to subdivision five of this section.\n (4) Such programs or services if approved by the commissioner, shall\nbe eligible for aid pursuant to subdivision five of this section.\n (5) A teacher whose position in a school district is abolished as the\nresult of a takeover of an academic program by a board or boards of\ncooperative educational services shall be accorded the rights provided\nby section thirty hundred fourteen-a of this chapter.\n (6) To implement a program or service approved under this paragraph, a\nschool district may transport pupils to the site of a board of\ncooperative educational services program in those cases where a pupil\notherwise would be entitled to transportation but for the fact that the\nprogram is at the board of cooperative educational services and not at a\nschool of the district. Under these circumstances, for those purposes of\narticle seventy-three of this chapter, the board of cooperative\neducational services site shall be considered a school.\n cc. Upon approval by a vote of the board of cooperative educational\nservices, establish and maintain a program of reserves not to exceed\nthree per centum of the annual budget of the district to cover property\nloss and liability claims. Separate funds shall be established for\nproperty losses and for liability claims, and the separate identity of\neach such fund shall be maintained whether its assets consist of cash or\ninvestments or both. The money in such funds shall be deposited and\nsecured in the manner provided by section ten of the general municipal\nlaw. The moneys so deposited shall be accounted for separate and apart\nfrom all other funds of the district, in the same manner as provided in\nsubdivision ten of section six-c of the general municipal law. The\nmoneys in such funds may be invested in the manner provided by section\neleven of the general municipal law. Any interest earned or capital gain\nrealized on the money so deposited shall accrue and become part of such\nfunds. Such reserve funds shall not be reduced to amounts less than the\ntotal of the amounts estimated to be necessary to cover incurred but\nunsettled claims or suits including expenses in connection therewith\nother than by payments for losses for which such reserve amounts were\nestablished, except that such board may authorize use of such funds\nother than amounts allocated for unsettled claims or suits including\nexpenses in connection therewith to pay premiums for insurance policies\npurchased to insure subsequent losses in areas previously self-insured,\nin the event of dissolution of the self-insurance plan.\n dd. Provide for activities and services pertaining to the arts at the\nrequest of one or more school districts. Such activities and services\nshall be eligible for aid and shall include, but not be limited to,\nprograms with, and performances by, artists or organizations approved by\nthe commissioner of education. Boards of cooperative educational\nservices are authorized to enter into contracts with one or more school\ndistricts, or boards of cooperative educational services.\n ee. Upon approval by a vote of the board of cooperative educational\nservices and of the boards of education of a majority of the school\ndistricts participating in the instructional program of such board,\nestablish a career education instructional equipment reserve fund for\nthe replacement and purchase of advanced technology equipment used in\ninstructional programs conducted by the board of cooperative educational\nservices. Subject to a limitation imposed by regulation of the\ncommissioner on the amount of money which may be maintained in equipment\nreserve funds established pursuant to this paragraph, moneys for such\nfunds shall be obtained by including depreciation expenses for the\ncareer education instructional equipment used in providing instructional\nservices on a cooperative basis in the computation of the cost of such\nservices pursuant to paragraph d of this subdivision. Proceeds from the\nsale of career education instructional equipment used in the\ninstructional programs of the board and any income earned on money\ndeposited in a reserve fund shall become part of such fund. The moneys\nin such funds shall be deposited and secured in the manner provided by\nsection ten of the general municipal law. The moneys so deposited shall\nbe accounted for separate and apart from all other funds of the\ndistrict, in the same manner as provided in subdivision ten of section\nsix-c of the general municipal law. The moneys in such funds may be\ninvested by the board of cooperative educational services in the manner\nprovided by section eleven of the general municipal law. In the event a\ncareer education instructional equipment reserve fund is liquidated, the\nmoneys in such fund shall be allocated to the school districts\nparticipating in the instructional programs of the board of cooperative\neducational services in proportion to the value of the contributions to\nthe fund made by the participating districts. The commissioner may\npromulgate regulations pertaining, but not limited, to the amount of\nmoney to be retained in such reserve funds, the types of equipment for\nwhich depreciation expenses may be charged and for which expenditures\nmay be made from the reserve fund, and required documentation of\ntransactions relating to such funds.\n ff. In its discretion, to purchase insurance against personal injuries\nincurred by an authorized participant in a school volunteer program,\nincluding but not limited to, those authorized participants who assist\non school buses, school sponsored transportation to and from school, or\non school sponsored field trips or any other school sponsored activity;\nprovided, however, that the injuries were incurred while the authorized\nparticipant was functioning either within the scope of his or her\nauthorized volunteer duties or under the direction of the board of\neducation, trustee, or board of cooperative educational services, or\nboth.\n gg. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a board of cooperative\neducational services may provide training for employment to adults on a\nspace available basis, with consideration given to occupations and\nindustries in demand, and establish reduced adult tuition rates for such\ntraining. For the purposes of this section, training for employment for\nadults shall be offered through state approved sequences or parts\nthereof of secondary career education instruction. Adults may\nparticipate in such instruction and be awarded certificates of\ncompletion, but they may not earn credit based on their participation\ntowards a high school diploma. Pursuant to section forty-six hundred two\nof this chapter, a board of cooperative educational services may\nestablish such reduced rates for participation of adults provided that\nparticipation is limited to assigned instructional staff and currently\nused facilities in scheduled secondary career education programs, and\nprovided further that such rates may not be less than fifty percent of\nthe tuition rates charged to school districts for the participation of\nsecondary students in the same programs, unless waived by the\ncommissioner based on application of the board of cooperative\neducational services. This participation of adults at reduced tuition\nrates shall be in accordance with terms agreed upon by the board of\ncooperative educational services and the component school districts\nreceiving such services but in no case shall such rates result in\nextraordinary costs assigned to such component school districts. Boards\nof cooperative educational services which provide such training to\nadults shall submit to the commissioner annually a report which shall\ninclude but not be limited to the number of adults served, referral\nsource, training sequences or parts thereof taken by adult participants,\nthe tuition rates charged to them, and the gross revenues realized\ntherefrom. For the purpose of this paragraph, "adult" shall mean any\nperson under the age of twenty-one who has received a high school\ndiploma or any person twenty-one years of age or older, whether or not\nthey have received a high school diploma.\n hh. Provide for activities and services pertaining to environmental\neducation at the request of more than one school district. Such\nactivities and services each of which shall not exceed three weeks\nduration to be eligible for aid and shall include programs with and\nperformances by individuals or organizations with special skills\nessential to the activity or service, but not appropriate to full time\nboards of cooperative educational services staff. Boards of cooperative\neducational services are authorized to enter into contracts with\nindividuals, public agencies, and not-for-profit corporations to carry\nout the provisions of this paragraph, subject to the approval of the\ncommissioner.\n ii. Enter into agreements with one or more financing agencies to\nprovide for the acceptance by such board of credit cards as a means of\npayment of course fees or tuition when required for instructional\nprograms offered by such board of cooperative educational services. Any\nsuch agreement shall govern the terms and conditions upon which a credit\ncard proffered as a means of payment of such fees or tuition shall be\naccepted or declined and the manner in and conditions upon which the\nfinancing agency shall pay to such board the amount of such fees or\ntuition paid by means of a credit card pursuant to such agreement. Any\nsuch agreement may provide for the payment by such board to such\nfinancing agency of fees for the services provided by such financing\nagency. For purposes of this paragraph, the following terms shall have\nthe following meanings:\n (1) "Credit card" means any credit card, credit plate, charge plate,\ncourtesy card, debit card or other identification card or device issued\nby a person to another person which may be used to obtain a cash advance\nor a loan or credit or to purchase a lease property or services on the\ncredit of the person issuing the credit card or a person who has agreed\nwith the issuer to pay obligations arising from the use of a credit card\nissued to another person.\n (2) "Financing agency" means any agency defined as such in subdivision\neighteen of section four hundred one of the personal property law;\n (3) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation or any\nother legal or commercial entity.\n jj. To contract to furnish any of the services provided for in this\nsection to component school districts of the board of cooperative\neducational services, with the approval of the commissioner, for a\nperiod not to exceed five years, upon such terms as may be agreed upon\npursuant to such contracts executed by the board of cooperative\neducational services and the trustees or boards of education of such\nschool districts, provided that any such contract entered into, extended\nor amended on or after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-six shall be\nconsistent with the requirements of paragraph d of this subdivision and\nsubdivision one of section nineteen hundred fifty-one of this article\nregarding the allocation of costs to component school districts based\nupon the local uniform unit cost of each such service.\n kk. For the nineteen hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year\nand thereafter, the board of cooperative educational services (BOCES)\nshall prepare a BOCES report card, pursuant to regulations of the\ncommissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to\nlocal newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies of the\nproposed administrative budget made publicly available as required by\nlaw, making it available for distribution at the annual meeting, and\notherwise disseminating it as required by the commissioner. Such report\ncard shall include measures of the academic performance of the board of\ncooperative educational services, on a school by school or program by\nprogram basis, and measures of the fiscal performance of the supervisory\ndistrict, as prescribed by the commissioner. Pursuant to regulations of\nthe commissioner, the report card shall also compare these measures to\nstatewide averages for all boards of cooperative educational services.\nSuch report card shall include any information required by the\ncommissioner.\n ll. a. Shall require, for purposes of a criminal history record check,\nthe fingerprinting of all prospective employees pursuant to section\nthree thousand thirty-five of this chapter, who do not hold valid\nclearance pursuant to such section or pursuant to section three thousand\nfour-b of this chapter or section five hundred nine-cc or twelve hundred\ntwenty-nine-d of the vehicle and traffic law. Prior to initiating the\nfingerprinting process, the prospective employer shall furnish the\napplicant with the form described in paragraph (c) of subdivision thirty\nof section three hundred five of this chapter and shall obtain the\napplicant's consent to the criminal history records search. Every set of\nfingerprints taken pursuant to this paragraph shall be promptly\nsubmitted to the commissioner for purposes of clearance for employment.\n b. Upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, the board\nmay conditionally appoint a prospective employee. A request for\nconditional clearance shall be forwarded to the commissioner along with\nthe prospective employee's fingerprints, as required by paragraph a of\nthis subdivision. Such appointment shall not commence until notification\nby the commissioner that the prospective employee has been conditionally\ncleared for employment and shall terminate forty-five days after such\nnotification of conditional clearance or when the prospective employer\nis notified of a determination by the commissioner to grant or deny\nclearance, whichever occurs earlier, and may not be extended or renewed\nunless the commissioner issues a new conditional clearance after finding\nthat there was good cause for failing to obtain clearance within such\nperiod, provided that if clearance is granted, the appointment shall\ncontinue and the conditional status shall be removed. Prior to\ncommencement of such conditional appointment, the prospective employer\nshall obtain a signed statement for conditional appointment from the\nprospective employee, indicating whether, to the best of his or her\nknowledge, he or she has a pending criminal charge or criminal\nconviction in any jurisdiction outside the state.\n c. Upon the recommendation of the district superintendent, the board\nmay make an emergency conditional appointment when an unforeseen\nemergency vacancy has occurred. When such appointment is made, the\nprocess for conditional appointment pursuant to paragraph b of this\nsubdivision must also be initiated. Emergency conditional appointment\nmay commence prior to notification from the commissioner on conditional\nclearance but shall terminate twenty business days from the date such\nappointment commences or when the prospective employer is notified by\nthe commissioner regarding conditional clearance, whichever occurs\nearlier, provided that if conditional clearance is granted, the\nappointment shall continue as a conditional appointment. Prior to the\ncommencement of such appointment, the prospective employer must obtain a\nsigned statement for emergency conditional appointment from the\nprospective employee, indicating whether, to the best of his or her\nknowledge, he or she has a pending criminal charge or criminal\nconviction in any jurisdiction. An unforeseen emergency vacancy shall be\ndefined as: (i) a vacancy that occurred less than ten business days\nbefore the start of any school session, including summer school, or\nduring any school session, including summer school, without sufficient\nnotice to allow for clearance or conditional clearance; (ii) when no\nother qualified person is available to fill the vacancy temporarily; and\n(iii) when emergency conditional appointment is necessary to maintain\nservices which the district is legally required to provide or services\nnecessary to protect the health, education or safety of students or\nstaff. The provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall not\napply if the board finds that the district has been unable to fill the\nvacancy despite good faith efforts to fill such vacancy in a manner\nwhich would have allowed sufficient time for clearance or conditional\nclearance.\n d. Shall develop a policy for the safety of the children who have\ncontact with an employee holding conditional appointment or emergency\nconditional appointment.\n mm. Shall upon commencement and termination of employment of an\nemployee by the board, provide the commissioner with the name of and\nposition held by such employee.\n nn. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and with the\nconsent of the commissioner, the Madison-Oneida board of cooperative\neducational services may enter into a contract or contracts not to\nexceed a total period of two years with the Madison Cortland ARC to\nprovide transportation maintenance and repair services on buses owned\nand operated by the Madison Cortland ARC. The Madison-Oneida board of\ncooperative educational services shall not charge any portion of costs\nincurred pursuant to this paragraph to its component school districts.\n oo. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a board of cooperative\neducational services is authorized to enter into a memorandum of\nunderstanding with the trustees or board of education of a non-component\nschool district, including city school districts of cities with one\nhundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more, to participate in a\nrecovery high school program operated by the board of cooperative\neducational services for a period not to exceed five years upon such\nterms as such trustees or board of education and the board of\ncooperative educational services may mutually agree, provided that such\nagreement may provide for a charge for administration of the recovery\nhigh school program including capital costs, but participating\nnon-component school districts shall not be liable for payment of\nadministrative expenses as defined in paragraph b of this subdivision.\nCosts allocated to a participating non-component school district\npursuant to a memorandum of understanding shall be aidable pursuant to\nsubdivision five of this section to the same extent and on the same\nbasis as costs allocated to a component school district.\n 4-a. The board of cooperative educational services shall develop a\nplan to ensure that all instructional materials to be used in the\nprograms of the board of cooperative educational services are available\nin a usable alternative format for each student with a disability, as\ndefined in section forty-four hundred one of this chapter, and for each\nstudent who is a qualified individual with a disability as defined in\nthe rehabilitation act of nineteen hundred ninety-three (29 U.S.C. 701)\nas amended, in accordance with his or her educational needs and course\nselection, at the same time as such instructional materials are\navailable to non-disabled students. As part of such plan, the board of\ncooperative educational services shall amend its procurement policies to\ngive a preference in the purchase of instructional materials to vendors\nwho agree to provide materials in alternative formats. For purposes of\nthis subdivision, "alternative format" shall mean any medium or format\nfor the presentation of instructional materials, other than a\ntraditional print textbook, that is needed as an accommodation for a\ndisabled student enrolled in a program of the board of cooperative\neducational services, including but not limited to Braille, large print,\nopen and closed captioned, audio, or an electronic file in an approved\nformat, as defined in the regulations of the commissioner. When an\nelectronic file is provided, the plan shall specify how the format will\nbe accessed by students and/or how the district shall convert to an\naccessible format. Such plan shall identify the needs of students\nenrolled in a program of the board of cooperative educational services\nfor alternative format materials. Such plan shall also specify ordering\ntimelines to ensure that alternative format materials are available at\nthe same time as regular format materials. Such plans shall include\nprocedures to address the need to obtain materials in alternative format\nwithout delay for disabled students who enroll in a program of a board\nof cooperative educational services during the school year.\n 5. a. Upon application by a board of cooperative educational services,\nthere shall be apportioned and paid from state funds to each board of\ncooperative educational services an amount which shall be the product of\nthe approved cost of services actually incurred during the base year\nmultiplied by the sharing ratio for cooperative educational services aid\nwhich shall equal the greater of: (i) an amount equal to one minus the\nquotient expressed as a decimal to three places without rounding of\neight mills divided by the tax rate of the local district computed upon\nthe actual valuation of taxable property, as determined pursuant to\nsubdivision one of section thirty-six hundred two of this chapter and\nnotwithstanding section three thousand six hundred three, expressed in\nmills to the nearest tenth as determined by the commissioner, provided,\nhowever, that where services are provided to a school district which is\nincluded within a central high school district or to a central high\nschool district, such amount shall equal one minus the quotient\nexpressed as a decimal to three places without rounding of three mills\ndivided by the tax rates, expressed in mills to the nearest tenth, of\nsuch districts, as determined by the commissioner or (ii) the aid ratio\nof each school district for the current year, which shall be such\ncomponent school district's board of cooperative educational services\naid ratio and which shall be not less than thirty-six percent converted\nto decimals and shall be not more than ninety percent converted to\ndecimals. For the purposes of this paragraph, the tax rate of the local\ndistrict computed upon the actual valuation of taxable property shall be\nthe sum of the amount of tax raised by the school district plus any\npayments in lieu of taxes received by the school district pursuant to\nsection four hundred eighty-five of the real property tax law, divided\nby the actual valuation of the school district, provided, however that\nthe tax rate for a central high school district shall be the sum of the\namount of tax raised by the common and union free school districts\nincluded within the central high school district for the support of the\ncentral high school district plus any payments in lieu of taxes received\nfor the support of the central high school district pursuant to section\nfour hundred eighty-five of the real property tax law, divided by the\nactual valuation of the central high school district. The tax rate for\neach common or union free school district which is included within a\ncentral high school district shall be the sum of the amount raised for\nthe support of such common or union free school district plus any\npayments in lieu of taxes received for the support of the school\ndistrict pursuant to section four hundred eighty-five of the real\nproperty tax law, exclusive of the amount raised for the central high\nschool district, divided by the actual valuation of such common or union\nfree school district.\n b. The cost of services herein referred to shall be the amount\nallocated to each component school district by the board of cooperative\neducational services to defray expenses of such board, including\napproved expenses from the testing of potable water systems of occupied\nschool buildings under the board's jurisdiction as required pursuant to\nsection eleven hundred ten of the public health law provided that such\nexpenses for testing of potable water systems are not reimbursable from\nanother state or federal source, except that that part of the salary\npaid any teacher, supervisor or other employee of the board of\ncooperative educational services which is, (i) for aid payable in the\ntwo thousand twenty-five--two thousand twenty-six school year and prior\nschool years in excess of thirty thousand dollars, (ii) for aid payable\nin the two thousand twenty-six--two thousand twenty-seven school year in\nexcess of forty thousand dollars, (iii) for aid payable in the two\nthousand twenty-seven--two thousand twenty-eight school year in excess\nof fifty thousand dollars, and (iv) for aid payable in the two thousand\ntwenty-eight--two thousand twenty-nine school year and thereafter, in\nexcess of sixty thousand dollars, shall not be such an approved expense,\nand except also that administrative and clerical expenses shall not\nexceed ten percent of the total expenses for purposes of this\ncomputation. Any gifts, donations or interest earned by the board of\ncooperative educational services or on behalf of the board of\ncooperative educational services by the dormitory authority or any other\nsource shall not be deducted in determining the cost of services\nallocated to each component school district. Any payments made to a\ncomponent school district by the board of cooperative educational\nservices pursuant to subdivision eleven of section six-p of the general\nmunicipal law attributable to an approved cost of service computed\npursuant to this subdivision shall be deducted from the cost of services\nallocated to such component school district. The expense of\ntransportation provided by the board of cooperative educational services\npursuant to paragraph q of subdivision four of this section shall be\neligible for aid apportioned pursuant to subdivision seven of section\nthirty-six hundred two of this chapter and no board of cooperative\neducational services transportation expense shall be an approved cost of\nservices for the computation of aid under this subdivision.\nTransportation expense pursuant to paragraph q of subdivision four of\nthis section shall be included in the computation of the ten percent\nlimitation on administrative and clerical expenses.\n c. The "tax rate" as herein referred to shall not include a special\ntax levied for debt service in an existing district of a central school\ndistrict or a consolidated district.\n d. Nothing in this act shall prevent school districts or boards of\ncooperative educational services with the approval of the commissioner\nof education from providing cooperative educational services for which\nno application for state aid is to be made.\n e. Any aid apportioned in accordance with section two hundred thirteen\nof the education law to a board of cooperative educational services in\nconnection with the production of educational television materials and\nprograms, or the acquisition by purchase, lease or otherwise of\ntelevision facilities or operational expenses in connection therewith\nshall not be utilized in connection with computing the apportionment to\nsuch board of cooperative educational services. Any aid apportioned or\npaid by the state to a board of cooperative educational services for\nexperimental or special programs shall not be utilized in connection\nwith computing the apportionment to such board of cooperative\neducational services.\n f. The sum of the amounts determined for each component school\ndistrict as the apportionment to the board of cooperative educational\nservices pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be less\nthan the amount which would have been apportioned during the nineteen\nhundred sixty-seven--sixty-eight school year under the provisions of\nthis subdivision as in effect on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-six to the board of cooperative educational services of which the\ndistrict was a component member for which such apportionment was made,\nexcept that such minimum apportionment shall be reduced in any year in\nwhich the expenditures of the component district for board of\ncooperative educational purposes fall below the expenditure on which the\nnineteen hundred sixty-seven--sixty-eight apportionment to the board of\ncooperative educational services was based, such reduction to be made on\na proportionate basis.\n g. Any payment required by a board of cooperative educational services\nto the dormitory authority or any payment required by a board of\ncooperative educational services to acquire or construct a school\nfacility of the board of cooperative educational services, and any\npayments for rental of facilities by a board of cooperative educational\nservices shall, for the purposes of apportionment of public moneys to\nthe board of cooperative educational services by the state of New York,\nbe deemed to be an administrative or capital expense, as designated by\nthe commissioner, but the entire amount of such payment shall be\nutilized in making such apportionment and the limitation of ten percent\nof the total expenses contained in this subdivision shall not be\napplicable. Any expense designated by the commissioner as a capital\nexpense shall be included in the capital budget of the board of\ncooperative educational services and, except as otherwise provided in\nthis paragraph, shall be aided in the same manner as an administrative\nexpense. Any such payment shall not be considered part of the total\nexpenses of the board for purposes of determining the administrative and\nclerical expenses not to exceed ten percent otherwise eligible for aid\nunder this subdivision, and such payments shall be considered for the\npurpose of apportionment during the current school year such payment is\nmade. The apportionment for such payments shall be determined by\nmultiplying the amount of such payment allocated to each component\nschool district in the board of cooperative educational services by the\naid ratio, and shall be not more than ninety percent converted to\ndecimals, of each such component computed pursuant to subdivision three\nof section thirty-six hundred two and used to apportion aid to that\ndistrict in that current school year; provided, however, the\napportionment for the construction, acquisition, reconstruction,\nrehabilitation, or improvement of board of cooperative educational\nservices facilities, including payments to the dormitory authority and\npayments under any lease agreement, shall be based upon the cost of the\nboard of cooperative educational services school facilities but not to\nexceed the cost allowance set forth in subdivision six of section\nthirty-six hundred two of the education law and payments for rental\nfacilities shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner.\n h. Each board of cooperative educational services receiving a payment\npursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision and section thirty-six\nhundred nine-d of this chapter shall be required to set aside from such\npayment an amount not less than the amount of state aid received\npursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision in the base year that was\nattributable to cooperative services agreements (CO-SERs) for career\neducation, as determined by the commissioner, and shall be required to\nuse such amount to support career education programs in the current\nyear.\n 5-a. Financial assistance for school districts first joining a board\nof cooperative educational services (BOCES). a. Eligibility. Any school\ndistrict first joining a BOCES on or after July first, nineteen hundred\nninety-five and prior to July second, nineteen hundred ninety-seven\nshall be eligible to apply to the commissioner for financial assistance\npursuant to the provisions of this subdivision and subdivision five of\nthis section.\n b. Financial assistance. Financial assistance shall mean an interest\nfree loan available upon application in the current year which shall not\nexceed the product of (i) the applicable percent defined in paragraph c\nof this subdivision and (ii) the sum of the local share and any\nrepayment due for the prior year loan. Such local share shall equal the\npositive remainder resulting when aid payable on behalf of the district\nin the current year pursuant to subdivision five of this section is\nsubtracted from the district's BOCES expenses which are or would be\naidable in the current year or the next year pursuant to such\nsubdivision five. The annual application for such a loan shall be in a\nform prescribed by the commissioner and shall accompany the submission\nof the final set of state aid forms required of the BOCES each year and\nshall be certified by the district superintendent of the BOCES. The\namount of the loan in any year shall be determined by the commissioner\nand the payment and repayment of the loan shall be in accordance with\nthe provisions of paragraph d of this subdivision.\n c. Applicable percent. The applicable percent shall be determined by\nthe number of years that an eligible district has been a component\ndistrict of a BOCES. In the first year, such percent shall be equal to\nthe district's BOCES and building aid ratio for aid payable in the first\nyear in which the district joins the BOCES, each year thereafter, such\npercent shall be reduced by ten percent until such percent would drop\nbelow ten percent at which time it shall be deemed to be zero.\n d. Payment and repayment. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions\nof section thirty-six hundred nine-a of this chapter, the loan amounts\ndetermined by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph b of this\nsubdivision shall be paid to each eligible school district on or before\nJune fifteenth, commencing with the first year of eligibility, but only\nto the extent that the repayment of the base year loan has been secured.\nNotwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the state comptroller\nshall deduct the amount of any base year loan from any monies due such\nschool district in March of the current year. Should the amount of any\nmonies due such school district in March be insufficient to repay the\ntotal amount of the base year loan to the school district, the state\ncomptroller shall deduct any balance due the state from any other monies\npayable to such district. Should the total amount of monies due to or on\nbehalf of such school district be insufficient to repay the total amount\nof the base year loan determined in paragraph b of this subdivision,\nsuch school district shall make a direct payment to the state before\nMarch first of the current year and such payment shall be credited to\nthe general fund local assistance account of the department.\n 6. The board of cooperative educational services is hereby created a\nbody corporate. All property which is now vested in, or shall hereafter\nbe transferred to the board of cooperative educational services, shall\nbe held by them as a corporation.\n 7. In the event that two or more entire supervisory districts for\nwhich boards of cooperative educational services have been established\nshall become a single supervisory district by the redistricting of\nsupervisory districts pursuant to section twenty-two hundred one of this\nchapter, the boards of cooperative educational services theretofore\nestablished shall nevertheless remain in existence until August first\nnext following such redistricting for the purpose of carrying out the\nprograms for the current school year. For all other purposes, from and\nafter the effective date of such redistricting such boards of\ncooperative educational services shall constitute a single board of\ncooperative educational services for the supervisory district as then\nconstituted in the same manner as though such board had been established\nfor such supervisory district pursuant to subdivision one of this\nsection, and shall have all of the powers and duties of such boards\nunder this chapter. The members of such boards shall continue to serve\nuntil the expiration of the terms of office for which they were elected.\nNo election shall be held to fill vacancies on such board as the terms\nof members expire until such date as the terms of sufficient members\nhave expired to cause the membership of such board to be not less than\nfive nor more than fifteen, such number to be determined at the annual\nmeeting of the trustees and members of boards of education of such\nsupervisory district held in the month of April following such\nredistricting. Thereafter members of such board shall be elected\nannually to fill vacancies occurring by expiration of term.\nNotwithstanding any other provision of law, a board of cooperative\neducational services may fill a vacancy on such board at the annual\nboard election immediately following such annual meeting and may accept\nnominations pursuant to subdivision two-a of this section in\nanticipation that one or more vacancies will exist once such annual\nmeeting so establishes the number of the membership of the board,\nprovided that the election ballot shall state that nominations have been\naccepted in anticipation of possible vacancies and that the clerk of the\nboard of cooperative educational services will advise the component\nboards in writing of the actual number of vacant offices to be filled at\nthe election, if any, no later than one business day after the annual\nmeeting. Should such a supervisory district for which a board of\ncooperative educational services has been established be divided by the\ncommissioner in the redistricting thereof, on August first next\nfollowing such redistricting, after paying all outstanding obligations\nof such board, any balance of funds remaining in the treasury of such\nboard shall be allocated to the credit of the component school districts\nin accordance with the ratio which the proportion of the cost allocated\nto each component school district bears to the total cost of services of\nsuch board of cooperative educational services during the last full\nschool year of its operation. In the event that a board of cooperative\neducational services shall have been established for the supervisory\ndistrict of which such component district is then a part, the amount of\nsuch balance allocated to such district shall be paid to the board of\ncooperative educational services established for such supervisory\ndistrict and any member of the board of cooperative educational services\nfor such divided district who resides in the territory so transferred\nshall on and after the date of such redistricting become a member of the\nboard of cooperative educational services of the supervisory district to\nwhich the school district in which he or she resides has been\ntransferred and shall serve as such member until the expiration of the\nterm of office for which he or she was elected. In the event that there\nis no board of cooperative educational services for any component\ndistrict the amount of such balance allocated to such district shall be\npaid to the treasurer of such district. In such event the state aid\nauthorized by subdivision five of this section for the last year of\noperation of such board of cooperative educational services shall be\ndistributed to the component school districts in the amounts which would\nhave accrued to such board of cooperative educational services by reason\nof their participation.\n 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, with the\napproval of the commissioner of education, at the request of boards of\neducation of union free school districts having a population of four\nthousand five hundred or more and employing a superintendent of schools,\nwhere such school districts lie within towns included in the supervisory\ndistrict or supervisory districts comprising the territory served by a\nboard of cooperative educational services, such union free school\ndistricts may upon the consent of the board of cooperative educational\nservices be included as component districts for the purposes of this\nsection and shall have all of the rights and obligations of such\ncomponent districts under this section. Notwithstanding any other\nprovision of this chapter, and with the consent of the commissioner,\nlikewise, at the request of the board of education of any city school\ndistrict, having a population of less than one hundred twenty-five\nthousand inhabitants, such city school district may, upon the consent of\nthe board of cooperative educational services, be included as a\ncomponent district for the purpose of this section and shall have all\nthe rights and obligations of such component districts under this\nsection.\n 8-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and with the\nconsent of the commissioner, the city school district of the city of\nSyracuse may, upon consent of the board of cooperative educational\nservices for the sole supervisory district for Onondaga and Madison\ncounties, be included as a component district for the sole purpose of\noperating a combined program and/or constructing a combined facility for\nchildren with developmental disabilities in the city of Syracuse and the\ncounty of Onondaga. Such city school district shall add an amount to its\nbudget and levy, collect and pay the same to such board of cooperative\neducational services to defray the proportional expenses of constructing\nand operating such facility for such children. Such city school district\nshall not be liable for payment of administrative expenses as provided\nfor in paragraph b of subdivision four of this section nor shall such\ncity school district be eligible for the payment of state aid under this\nsection except such city school district shall receive state aid based\non its proportionate share of building expenses related to this program\nas determined by the commissioner.\n Such city school district shall continue to receive aid under\nsubdivision five of section thirty-six hundred two for the attendance of\nchildren in this program.\n 8-b. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section and with the\nconsent of the commissioner, city school districts of cities in excess\nof one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants but less than one\nmillion inhabitants, upon consent of the board of cooperative\neducational services approved by the commissioner may be included as a\ncomponent district of such board of cooperative educational services for\nthe sole purpose of purchasing student information system services\nconsistent with standards established by the commissioner from such\nboard of cooperative educational services. Each such city school\ndistrict shall add an amount to its budget and shall levy, collect and\npay the costs of such program to such board of cooperative educational\nservices to defray their portion of the expenses of such a program. Such\ncity school district shall not be liable for payment of administrative\nexpenses as provided for in paragraph b of subdivision four of this\nsection nor shall such city school district be eligible for payment of\nstate aid under this section.\n 8-c. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any school\ndistrict not a component of the board of cooperative educational\nservices of the supervisory district serving its geographic area,\nincluding a city school district in a city having a population in excess\nof one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants, upon consent of the\nboard of cooperative educational services and with the approval of the\ncommissioner, may be treated in the same manner as a component school\ndistrict of the board of cooperative educational services of the\nsupervisory district serving its geographic area, or an adjoining board\nof cooperative educational services in the case of a city school\ndistrict in a city having one million inhabitants or more, for the sole\npurpose of purchasing instructional support services, as defined by the\ncommissioner. Each such school district shall add an amount to its\nbudget and shall levy, collect and pay the costs of such program to such\nboard of cooperative educational services to defray its portion of the\nexpenses of such program, including a charge for administration not to\nexceed the restricted indirect cost rate, provided that the board of\ncooperative educational services shall not charge any portion of the\nadministrative costs incurred pursuant to this subdivision to its\ncomponent school districts. Such school districts shall not be liable\nfor payment of administrative expenses as provided for in paragraph b of\nsubdivision four of this section and subdivision one of section nineteen\nhundred fifty-one of this article. In the case of city school districts\nin a city with a population in excess of one hundred twenty-five\nthousand inhabitants, such participation shall be in addition to the\nparticipation authorized by subdivisions eight-a and eight-b of this\nsection. In the case of a city school district in a city with a\npopulation of one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more, in\nlieu of participation as a component district of an adjoining board of\ncooperative educational services, the city school district may opt to\nprovide such support services as shared services directly or in\ncollaboration with one or more institutions of higher education. The\napproved costs of such services shall be eligible for state aid in\naccordance with the provisions of subdivision twenty of section\nthirty-six hundred two of this chapter, and shall not be eligible for\naid pursuant to subdivision five of this section.\n 8-d. Notwithstanding the provision of any law, rule, or regulation to\nthe contrary, the city school district of the city of Rochester, upon\nthe consent of the board of cooperative educational services of the\nsupervisory district serving its geographic region, may purchase from\nsuch board as a non-component school district, services required by\narticle nineteen of the education law.\n 9. No person shall be eligible to be elected to the office of member\nof a board of cooperative educational services who is an employee of a\nschool district in the supervisory district.\n 9-a. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of member of a\nboard of cooperative educational services who does not reside within the\nboundaries of a component school district of any such board.\n 10. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or of any\nother general or special law to the contrary, if and when two or more\nsupervisory districts shall be combined into a new supervisory district\npursuant to the provisions of section twenty-two hundred one of this\nchapter, as a result of which the boards of cooperative educational\nservices for such supervisory districts shall become a single board of\ncooperative educational services for such redistricted supervisory\ndistrict, such single board of cooperative educational services for such\nredistricted supervisory district shall, in such case, allocate the\nappropriate amounts of payments required to be made to the dormitory\nauthority for rental of facilities or otherwise to the school districts\ncontained, respectively, in such former boards of cooperative\neducational services for such supervisory districts, as if such boards\ncontinued to exist in law for the sole purpose of making such payments.\n 11. With the approval of the commissioner, one or more boards of\ncooperative educational services and one or more school districts may\nenter into an agreement or agreements to provide for sharing costs of\nconstruction of or leases for facilities acquired for the purpose of\nhousing services to be provided by a board or boards of cooperative\neducational services for provision of which services such facilities are\nconstructed or leased, provided, however that no new agreements for the\nsharing of costs of construction or leases of facilities may be entered\ninto pursuant to this subdivision on or after July first, two thousand\nthree. No such agreement may be for a longer term than is required to\nretire any obligations issued by one or more of the parties to such\nagreement for the purpose of acquiring such facilities, or to pay the\ndormitory authority in full for the acquisition of such facilities.\n 13. a. A board of cooperative educational services and the component\nschool districts of such board of cooperative educational services may\nenter into an agreement providing for the acquisition from the dormitory\nauthority of facilities designed to house services to be provided by\nsuch board of cooperative educational services and for the sharing of\nthe cost of such acquisition. Such agreement in addition to providing\nfor all other matters deemed necessary and proper shall (i) set forth\nthe cost of such acquisition which shall be the amount certified by the\ndormitory authority as sufficient to pay the principal of, the\nredemption premium, if any, and interest to the earliest of either the\nmaturity date or the next redemption date on all obligations of the\ndormitory authority issued in relation to providing such facilities,\nincluding all incidental expenses in relation thereto, and (ii) provide\nfor an allocation and apportionment of the cost of such acquisition\namong the component school districts on such equitable basis as the\nparties thereto shall determine and agree, and the proportion of the\ntotal cost to be provided by each such district in accordance with such\nallocation and apportionment. In those cases where construction of such\nfacilities shall not have been completed, the amount so certified by the\ndormitory authority shall include the amount estimated to be necessary\nby the dormitory authority to complete such construction by it acting\nfor and on behalf of such board of cooperative educational services;\nprovided, however, that such agreement shall provide that such board\nshall pay to the dormitory authority any additional amounts thereafter\ndetermined and certified by the dormitory authority to be necessary in\norder to complete the construction of such facilities. Existing\ncontracts awarded by the dormitory authority for the construction of\nsuch facilities shall not be modified, nor shall any work not covered\nthereby be authorized, without the prior consent of an officer of such\nboard authorized to so act by a resolution of such board. Such agreement\nshall be executed by all the component school districts of such board of\ncooperative educational services whose allocation of administrative\nexpenses would include a portion of the amounts required to be paid the\ndormitory authority for the rental of such facilities.\n b. The acquisition of such facilities is hereby declared and\ndetermined to be a school district purpose and an object or purpose for\nwhich each such component school district is hereby authorized to expend\nmoney and contract indebtedness. The period of probable usefulness of\nsuch object or purpose is hereby determined to be thirty years. Each\nsuch component school district is hereby authorized to finance its share\nof the cost of the acquisition of such facilities together with costs\nincidental to such financing, including, but not limited to legal fees,\nprinting, engraving and publication of notices, either from any current\nfunds legally available therefor, or by the issuance of obligations\npursuant to the local finance law; provided, however, that (i) no\napproval of the voters of such component school district shall be\nrequired, (ii) the voting of a special tax or a tax to be collected in\ninstallments shall not be a condition precedent to the adoption of a\nbond resolution for such object or purpose, (iii) a majority vote of the\nentire voting strength of the board of education shall be sufficient for\nadoption of such a bond resolution, which bond resolution may be adopted\nat a regular meeting, or a special meeting of the board of education\ncalled on not less than twelve hours oral or written notice, which may\nbe held either within or outside of such district, (iv) any such bond\nresolution shall take effect immediately and shall not be subject either\nto a mandatory or permissive referendum, and (v) no such bond resolution\nshall be adopted prior to the execution by the board of cooperative\neducational services and the component school districts of such board of\ncooperative educational services of the agreement required by paragraph\na of this subdivision.\n c. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to permit any school\ndistrict in a city (as defined in paragraph two-b of section 2.00 of the\nlocal finance law) to contract indebtedness for such object or purpose\nin excess of the limitation prescribed by paragraph b of section 104.00\nof such law, without a compliance with the provisions of paragraph c\nthereof. A school district, other than a school district in a city, may\nissue bonds or bond anticipation notes for such object or purpose in\nexcess of the limitation prescribed by paragraph d of such section\n104.00, without complying with the requirements of subparagraphs one\nthrough three of such paragraph. Notwithstanding any other provision of\nlaw to the contrary, a special act school district, as defined in\nsubdivision eight of section four thousand one of this chapter, shall\nnot be deemed a component school district of the board of cooperative\neducational services for purposes of this subdivision.\n d. Upon certification by the dormitory authority of the receipt by it\nof the amount set forth in the agreement as the cost of the acquisition\nof such facilities, title thereto shall vest in the board of cooperative\neducational services without any further action or deed or conveyance,\nwhich title shall be held by the board of cooperative educational\nservices for the benefit and on behalf of all the component school\ndistricts of such board executing such agreement.\n e. The validity of any obligations issued by any school district in\naccordance with this subdivision shall not be affected or impaired by\nany omission, defect or irregularity in any previous acts or proceedings\nby the board of cooperative educational services, or by any of the\ncomponent school districts of such board of cooperative educational\nservices in relation to the authorization of such facilities or the\nconstruction and financing thereof by the dormitory authority.\n f. State aid on account of the acquisition of such facilities shall be\npaid to each component school district based upon its respective debt\nservice or share thereof paid pursuant to the agreement herein provided\nfor, and upon its respective aid ratio.\n g. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the dormitory authority, any\nboard of cooperative educational services and any component school\ndistrict thereof, are all hereby authorized and empowered to perform any\nand all acts and to enter into any and all agreements necessary or\ndesirable to effectuate the purposes of this subdivision.\n 14. a. All provisions of this subdivision shall be applicable only if\nany agreement or agreements referred to herein shall be entered into by\na board of cooperative educational services and all of the component\nschool districts of the board of cooperative educational services. A\nboard of cooperative educational services and the component school\ndistricts of such board of cooperative educational services may enter\ninto an agreement providing for the acquisition or construction,\nincluding new construction, additions or reconstruction of facilities\ndesigned to house services to be provided by such board of cooperative\neducational services and for the sharing of the cost of such acquisition\nor construction. Such agreement in addition to providing for all other\nmatters deemed necessary and proper shall (i) set forth the cost of such\nacquisition or construction and costs incidental thereto and (ii)\nprovide for an allocation and apportionment of the costs of such\nacquisition or construction among the component school districts on such\nequitable basis as the parties thereto shall determine and agree, and\nthe proportion of the total cost to be provided by each such district in\naccordance with such allocation and apportionment. Such agreement shall\nbe executed by all the component school districts of such board of\ncooperative educational services and such board of cooperative\neducational services. Such agreement may provide that each component\nschool district of such a board of cooperative educational services\nshall issue an agreed upon amount of its obligations in a total amount\nsufficient to acquire or construct such facilities, or that all\ncomponent districts of such board shall together issue joint obligations\npledging the full faith and credit for all component districts jointly\nand that each such district shall pay a specified share of annual debt\nservice on such joint obligations in accordance with the provisions of\narticle five-g of the general municipal law and applicable provisions of\nthe local finance law.\n b. The acquisition or construction of such facilities is hereby\ndeclared and determined to be a public purpose and a school district\npurpose and a specific object or purpose for which each such component\nschool district is hereby authorized to expend money and contract\nindebtedness. The period of probable usefulness of such specific object\nor purpose is hereby determined to be thirty years. Each such component\nschool district is hereby authorized to finance its share of the cost of\nthe acquisition or construction of such facilities, together with costs\nincidental thereto, either from any current funds legally available\ntherefor or by the issuance of obligations pursuant to the local finance\nlaw; provided, however, that (i) no approval of the voters of such\ncomponent school district shall be required, (ii) the voting of a\nspecial tax or a tax to be collected in installments shall not be a\ncondition precedent to the adoption of a bond resolution for such\nspecific object or purpose, (iii) a majority vote of the entire voting\nstrength of the board of education shall be sufficient for adoption of\nsuch a bond resolution, which bond resolution may be adopted at a\nregular meeting, or a special meeting of the board of education called\non not less than twenty-four hours oral or written notice to the members\nof such board as provided in section sixteen hundred six of the\neducation law, which meeting may be held either within or outside of\nsuch district, (iv) any such bond resolution shall take effect\nimmediately and shall not be subject to either a mandatory or permissive\nreferendum, and (v) no such bond resolution shall be adopted prior to\nthe execution by the board of cooperative educational services and all\nof the component school districts of such board of cooperative\neducational services of the agreement required by paragraph a of this\nsubdivision.\n c. No further approval of the voters of such board of cooperative\neducational services or any component district thereof shall be required\nother than that required by paragraph t of subdivision four of this\nsection.\n d. Such agreement shall further provide that title to the facility\nshall vest in the board of cooperative educational services which title\nshall be held by the board of cooperative educational services for the\nbenefit and on behalf of all the component school districts of such\nboard executing such agreement.\n e. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to permit any school\ndistrict in a city (as defined in paragraph two-b of section 2.00 of the\nlocal finance law) to contract indebtedness for such specific object or\npurpose in excess of the limitation prescribed by paragraph b of section\n104.00 of such law, without complying with the provisions of paragraph c\nthereof. A school district, other than a school district in a city, may\nnot issue bonds or bond anticipation notes for such specific object or\npurpose in excess of the limitation prescribed by paragraph d of such\nsection 104.00, without complying with the requirements of subparagraphs\none through three of such paragraph. Notwithstanding any other provision\nof law to the contrary, a special act school district, as defined in\nsubdivision eight of section four thousand one of this chapter, shall\nnot be deemed a component school district of the board of cooperative\neducational services for purposes of this subdivision.\n f. State aid on account of the acquisition or construction of such\nfacilities shall be paid to each component school district based upon\nits respective debt service or share thereof paid pursuant to the\nagreement herein provided for, and upon its respective aid ratio. Any\nsuch computation of state aid shall further be based upon the cost of\nsuch acquisition, or construction, and including incidental costs, to\nthe board of cooperative educational services but not to exceed the cost\nallowance set forth in subdivision six of section thirty-six hundred two\nof this chapter.\n 18. Accountability of personal property. On or before January first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-seven, each board of cooperative educational\nservices shall develop and adopt a formal policy on personal property\naccountability, including the acquisition, sale and disposal of personal\nproperty. Such policy shall be approved by the commissioner consistent\nwith regulations adopted for such purpose, which shall include but not\nbe limited to (a) procedures for the acquisition of personal property\nboth by purchase and by gift, (b) procedures for the periodic inventory\nof personal property, and (c) procedures for the sale of valuable\npersonal property to the highest bidder, except however that vehicles\nreceived at no cost for use in an authorized welfare to work program may\nbe transferred at no cost or at cost of repairs, where repairs have been\nmade to the vehicle at the board of cooperative education services, to\nparticipants who have met all the program requirements. Each such board\nshall periodically review and update such policy, provided that any\namendments of the policy shall be subject to approval of the\ncommissioner.\n 19. Where the district has provided transportation to students\nenrolled in such district to a school sponsored field trip,\nextracurricular activity or any other similar event, it shall provide\ntransportation back to either the point of departure or to the\nappropriate school in the district, unless the parent or legal guardian\nof a student participating in such event has provided the school\ndistrict with written notice, consistent with district policy,\nauthorizing an alternative form of return transportation for such\nstudent or unless intervening circumstances make such transportation\nimpractical. In cases where intervening circumstances make\ntransportation of a student back to the point of departure or to the\nappropriate school in the district impractical, a representative of the\nschool district shall remain with the student until such student's\nparent or legal guardian has been (a) contacted and informed of the\nintervening circumstances which make such transportation impractical and\n(b) such student had been delivered to his or her parent or legal\nguardian.\n